Teachers fear resources devoted to children with special needs and disabilities could be downgraded if a trial running at Illawarra schools for the past two years is rolled out across the state.
The NSW Teachers Federation has raised concerns the funding model trial is simply a cost-cutting exercise that will reduce the amount of support for students with learning difficulties, behaviour problems and disabilities.
Support teacher Cherylyn Fenton is one of the many specialist teachers in the Illawarra whose jobs changed dramatically under the trial.
Ms Fenton, secretary of the Illawarra Teachers Federation, used to be part of the central Wollongong Behaviour Team helping schools across the region support children with behaviour issues and autism.
This team was disbanded when the new trial started in 221 schools in the Illawarra and South-East region two years ago.
Ms Fenton now works in just three schools as a learning support teacher with children who have needs spanning reading and language difficulties, mental health issues and physical disabilities.
In January, when the Federal Government announced an additional $48million for students with disabilities in NSW, Premier Barry O’Farrell said he was ‘‘determined to ensure that this funding is applied sensibly off the back of a trial that’s been going on in the Illawarra for the past couple of years’’.
The Teachers Federation believes he will soon announce the state-wide roll-out of the Illawarra trial, but a statement from the NSW Education Minister’s office yesterday said plans for the $48 million were still awaiting endorsement by the Federal Government.
Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said the final plan would help to develop ‘‘an increased range of opportunities for teachers and educational support staff to understand the learning and support needs of their students as well as access quality professional learning.’’
If the Illawarra model is used, the Teachers Federation has many concerns, among them the lack of training and support available for new support positions.
When their jobs changed, Ms Fenton and her fellow learning support teachers were given 100 hours of online training to help them adjust to their new roles.
She said the training was ‘‘interesting’’ but no substitute for university education.
‘‘I’ve got a Masters in Special Education but I didn’t specialise in language difficulties, and even though I’ve done the online training and it’s very interesting, I still don’t feel like I’m qualified to do language difficulties,’’ she said.
‘‘Talking to my colleagues when I’m at federation meetings ... they say a lot of people who were traditionally in the role of a support teacher in a primary school feel uncomfortable taking on the role of behaviour [difficulties] or autism. They don’t feel that is their role and they signed on [to teach] literacy and learning difficulties, not behaviour issues.’’
Ms Fenton said she was concerned some schools would benefit more than others from the new model because the learning support teachers didn’t all have the same background.
‘‘We have had success [in the Illawarra trial] but a lot of the success we’ve had is at the schools that have been lucky enough to have a support teacher with a special education background appointed,’’ she said.
‘‘I’m worried that other people who don’t have the background in special education would struggle.’’
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