Inclusive Education

By John Berger

16 AUGUST 2023

Today I want to speak to motion 156, moved by Dr Bach. I got involved and decided to run for politics for a few reasons. I hope the chamber will indulge me today, as I believe this is relevant to the case. This motion has three parts, and I will not repeat them because I do not agree with them. It is safe to say that the Andrews Labor government does not cut frontline educational services, and it is safe to say that we do not cut support from students who need it the most. We all remember the Liberal’s track record on cuts. In the 1990s Kennett cut everything – and I know. It gets talked about a lot in this chamber because it is true. Our government, the Andrews Labor government, believes in education. I ran for politics for a few reasons. Everyone knows that I spent my life representing members of my trade union, the Transport Workers’ Union, in industry and beyond. I fought for workers rights, and I deeply care about the dignity of work and its ability to support a family, raise kids and build a life for your future and yourself. We also believe in doing the big things like the Big Housing Build. I was pleased to visit Bangs Street yesterday with the Prime Minister and Premier to speak about the transformational 445 new homes that we are building there. And of course there are our transport infrastructure projects, the Level Crossing Removal Project and the Metro Tunnel.

I also got involved in politics because I believe in the power of education. I care deeply about what school my children attended. Remember, I have six kids, so I have seen my fair share of it. That is why I have made it a priority to visit as many schools as possible since being elected. I have not just visited schools that are large, fancy, big and well known and I have not just picked and chosen schools based on some political equation. No, I have picked the schools that have often been overlooked, the schools that need a voice and the schools that need a champion. Camberwell Primary School, with their incredible principal Janet Gale, is one of the few schools in our state that is truly bilingual – in this case, French. And the Belmore School is more modernised as part of the Andrews Labor government’s $9.6 million capital works project. When I visited in May I was taken aback by the incredible staff – led by principal White and the amazing school captain Livian – who literally teach student by student.

I visited Andale School in March, long before they were in the news, and there I spoke to the principal Justin Walsh and the teachers about their work. For over 40 years they have nurtured an inclusive and collaborative environment. We know that sometimes your child cannot attend mainstream school, and schools like Andale back students like them in. So I am incredibly proud that our government has a history of record spending on education, and I am committed to ensuring all students get the support they need. No state government in the history of our state – yes, the history of our state – has committed to and generally done the hard policy work to deliver wholesale and transformational change to improve the lives of Victorian children with a disability, so we are opposing this motion because it ignores the hard work we are doing each and every day and it is insulting to the many hardworking people who are getting this done.

The Andrews Labor government is delivering a record $1.6 billion investment into disability inclusion. This includes delivering better support to students with disabilities in every Victorian government school. When that is fully rolled out, these reforms will create 1730 new jobs. Despite what those opposite say, we are not cutting jobs. We are creating additional teacher support staff and professionals with formal training – no less inclusive training. Disability inclusion is being progressively rolled out across the state over a five-year period to reach all Victorian government schools by 2025. These reforms will increase the number of students supported by additional targeted funding to more than 130,000, or 21 per cent of the students. This is a massive, transformational increase when compared to the current program for students with a disability, which currently supports around 29,000 students. That is an almost five times increase, and that is a big deal.

The investment in disability inclusion includes the funding of 82 new inclusion outreach coaches. These coaches will develop the capacity of the school. They will work with and support students with a disability, which has been an important component of visiting teachers work in schools. Under these reforms all you will need to do is complete a new disability inclusion profile and you can determine your eligibility for individual support. This will involve a student, their family, specially trained school staff and other experts meeting to discuss the student’s capabilities and what they need to do to make the most of their school time. Following the profile, schools can receive student-level funding for staff and resources to deliver the support they need. I reckon this is a great innovation that is going to change lives.

Despite the noise and despite what some may say, as part of this process we are upskilling hundreds of teachers. Part of disability inclusion is a master of inclusive education, and graduate certificate initiatives are there. It provides hundreds of teachers with the chance to upskill at mainstream, specialist and supported inclusion schools. This will ensure deeper levels of support, knowledge and understanding and the capacity to include, motivate and challenge students with disabilities and additional learning needs by focusing on their strengths.

As I have limited time today I want to take the opportunity to list some of the figures and statistics that demonstrate what we have been doing for students with a disability and how we are supporting teachers that support these children. First, we have invested $1.6 billion in disability inclusion reforms to massively increase the levels of funding and support for all students with a disability as well as for those who have additional needs in Victorian government schools, and we have invested $203 million over four years to deliver Fighting for Students with a Disability and their Families. This package will support students with disabilities at Victorian specialist schools. Our inclusion reforms include the recruitment of 82 inclusion outreach coaches, who are specialist schoolteachers that build the capabilities of mainstream schools, and of course the recruitment of 25 additional regional disability support roles and dedicated regional implementation teams. In this year’s 2023–24 Victorian budget ‍–

Business interrupted pursuant to sessional orders.