Inclusive education fact sheet for teachers

This fact sheet offers tips for early career teachers to engage with policies and processes to address Teacher Standard 1.6: Strategies to support full participation of students with disability.

1
  • Understand the protocols for contacting families.
  • Identify the Learning Diversity Leaders and/or NCCD coordinators in your school and discuss your student/s.
  • Contact the student with a disability to introduce yourself to your student and their family.
  • Contact the service providers and allied health professionals who support your students with disability, introduce yourself.
  • Keep relevant notes that will help you connect with the student such as information about their cultural background, hobbies and interests, strengths and areas of focus etc.
  • Undertake in regular check in times when you can have conversations, these can be a mixture of informal and formal meetings.
  • Consult with other educational professionals who have taught and know your student such as other teachers and teaching assistants.

(see AITSL’s Inclusive education fact sheet for teachers: Connecting with Teacher Assistants)

2
  • Ensure you understand your student’s learning needs and the impact this may have on your teaching and the classroom.
  • Enquire about relevant resources and programs within your school and system/sector.
  • Read the student’s files for history, academic performance and social-emotional development information.
  • Explore appropriate adjustments that may support the student’s.
  • Consult with Learning Diversity Leaders and/or NCCD coordinators in your school about the proposed adjustments.
3
  • Examine past learning goals and determine where student is up to with their next goal.
  • Consider how the education environment may impact on the student’s learning experience (such as the tables, lights, visual elements and sounds).
  • Consider how the curriculum may affect the student’s learning experience (such as content, cultural assumptions, delivery modes).
  • Meet with the student with disability, their family/carers and service providers/allied health to discuss and decide on adjustments and NCCD levels.
  • Document outcome of consultation through Individual Learning Plan and/or other relevant documents.
  • Organise any required resources/program materials.
4
  • Embed agreed adjustments into teaching practice.
  • Assess progress by reflecting and taking notes.
  • Collect work samples, assessments and anecdotal notes about performance of student with disability.
  • Consult with the student and seek out feedback (you may need to do this discreetly).
  • Alter teaching practice where needed based on reflections and analysis.
5
  • Consult with student and other education professionals such as teacher assistants to review progress over time.
  • Attend Individualised Education Program progress meetings (minimum once a term).
  • In consultation - assess the progress of student, appropriateness of goals and levels of expectation.
  • In consultation - make necessary changes to support further growth of student.
  • Use information to inform next steps to adjust goals or develop new goals.