Educational adjustments – information for schools

• In this Model, we don’t talk about what students can’t do, we talk about the educational adjustments they need to help them learn.
• We focus on the use of positive language and inclusive practice to support students and their learning needs.
• Funding is given to the school to make the educational adjustments students need. It is given based on what the school has been doing to support the student in the last 12 months.
• The level of adjustment is talked about during Moderation at each school.
• Parents and families work with schools to identify the educational adjustments that each student needs to access, participate and engage in school.
• The Educational Adjustments Model is based on the Nationally Consistent Collection Data for School Students with Disability (NCCD). There are four levels of adjustment within the NCCD:
  • Extensive
  • Substantial
  • Supplementary
  • Quality Differentiated Teaching Practice
• Students in the Quality Differentiated Teaching Practice level are supported through usual school programs.

For more information read the Model Overview.

To learn more about the timeline and how the process works in schools read the Understanding Educational Adjustments Flowchart (PDF, 425KB)

When schools decide if a student should be included in the NCCD, there are some important questions. They are:

• Is there evidence the student has a disability as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA)?
• What is the category of disability (PDF, 2.2MB) (sensory, cognitive, physical, social/emotional)?
• Is there evidence that the school has been making educational adjustments for the student because of their disability? Have these adjustments been made for at least 10 weeks in the past year?

Here is an overview of the Educational Adjustments Model.

• Budget and Resource Services (BRS) use the level of adjustment to work out school funding for the next year. From September, they tell schools about the funding for the following year using the Interim School Resource Package (SRP).
• There is Contingency funding available for students who arrive from interstate or from non-government schools during the year. Contingency applications are processed in Week 7 of each school term. Here is a link to more information about Contingency
• Other requests for funding are reviewed each year through the moderation process.
• During the year, The Disability Educational Adjustment Moderator team helps schools to complete the moderation process. This includes support to review evidence of a disability, evidence of adjustments and evidence of consultation with families for students included in the NCCD.

For more information about the model and resourcing, here are some Frequently Asked Questions. 

For questions about the funding supports for students with disability, please email: disabilityprograms@decyp.tas.gov.au

Contingency supports are available for students with evidence of disability at the time of enrolment, including:

• Students who come from outside of our school system – including those registered for Home Education with the Office of the Education Registrar, the Catholic and Independent School systems, and Interstate,
• Students starting Kindergarten who have not been moderated at Early Childhood Intervention Service (ECIS), but who have clear evidence of disability at the point of enrolment.
• Students with disability returning to school after a significant time of disengagement and who were not considered in the previous year moderation processes due to non-attendance at that time.

Contingency applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis if submitted within 12 weeks of the student’s enrolment/commencement date. If eligible, targeted Educational Adjustment funding will be backdated to this date.

As per Department for Education, Children and Young People (DECYP) processes, staffing resourcing is set at February Census, and does not change after this time. This means contingency applications approved after February Census will have cash funding only.

Students already in a DECYP school who have been identified as having a disability during the year are not eligible for contingency support and must wait until the school’s moderation process during the year.  Schools must provide adjustments for students based on their need even if they are yet to be included in Educational Adjustments Disability Funding.

The following documentation should be included as a part of the contingency application:

• Evidence of diagnosis of disability (eg paediatrician report/letter, psychologist diagnostic report)
• Evidence that demonstrates adjustments have been provided for a minimum of 10 weeks during the previous 12 months (eg Learning Plan from previous school) where available
• Previous level in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) on school students with disability, if the student was included in this
• Information regarding intensity and frequency of educational adjustments in the current school setting, as documented in the Learning Plan

The Contingency Panel reviews submissions in Week 7 of each term (and Week 3 in Term 1 only). Requests can be submitted at any time, and should be submitted no later than the week before the panel meeting, to allow time for a Moderator to review the documentation provided and ask you for further information if needed.

To request contingency support, please complete the Contingency Moderation Request Form (staff only).

Medical contingency supports are available for eligible students with disability. This includes students currently enrolled in DECYP who have a significant medical condition requiring immediate or short-term additional educational adjustments (for example a recent diagnosis of diabetes, or a newly acquired traumatic brain injury).

If the student has been in a motor vehicle accident, they may have support from Motor Accidents Insurance Board (MAIB).  Students receiving support from MAIB will not have medical contingency support.

Medical contingency applications are submitted on the Contingency Moderation Request form (staff only), along with the following documentation:

• Medical letter or report confirming the change of circumstances
• Information about the intensity and frequency of educational adjustments needed to be put into place

Due to the urgent nature of medical contingency requests, there is not a requirement of evidence of 10 weeks of adjustments.

Medical contingency requests are considered on a case-by-case basis, and are not limited to the contingency Week 7 timeframe, but can be sent in at any time.

Medical contingency requests are processed quickly to help with these urgent needs.

To request medical contingency support, please complete the Contingency Moderation Request Form (staff only).

What is an Imputed Disability?

Sometimes, educational adjustments are needed, but there are not reports that show the student has a disability.  For some students, the needs are because of other reasons that are not disability – for example, the student has missed a lot of school. Sometimes it is because the student has not yet had the chance to see a paediatrician or other professional for assessments to explore why they need educational adjustments. In this case, the school team, in consultation with the student’s family/guardians, may consider a student to have an undiagnosed disability that has a functional impact on their learning. This is called an imputed disability.

What is the process?

If a student needs educational adjustments to help them at school, the school team will have a discussion with their family/guardians about this. If everyone believes that there is enough information to impute a disability, then the school will talk with the Disability Educational Adjustment Moderator about the information and supports they have in place for the student.

The moderator will review all the information available with the statewide Moderation Team Moderation and Process for Review, and then advise the school if there is enough information to impute a disability for this student.

The school will be provided with an information sheet to share with the family/guardian to get them to sign their consent for this.

The student needs consent from family/guardian to be included as a student with disability in the Tasmanian Educational Adjustments Funding Model, because the student will be recorded as a student with a disability in the government system.

Tasmania is also required to share data in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) each year. The NCCD is an Australian wide collection of data that informs policy and resourcing for students with disability. The data is de-identified and includes things like the type of disability, and the level of adjustments that they receive. Individual names or details are not provided.

Imputing a disability is usually done for 12 months to allow more time to explore the reasons why a student needs educational adjustments.

Professional Learning sessions are run for school teams and professional support staff.  Information about these opportunities is in Principal Matters, Learning News, or through your school’s Support Teacher.

Here are some resources to help schools with the Educational Adjustments disability funding model:

• Educational Adjustment Descriptor Tool (PDF, 827KB)
• Educational Adjustments Disability Funding Model Overview
• Resources
• Frequently Asked Questions

Here is some more important information:

• Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD)
• Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA)
• Disability Standards for Education 2005 (DSE)

For questions about the funding supports for students with disability you can email: disabilityprograms@decyp.tas.gov.au