By Stephanie Gotlib
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A picture of a cage, built to restrain a 10-year-old child, has rightly outraged communities in the ACT, and around the country.
But this is not an isolated incident, rather a symptom that our education system is in crisis. Until we address the gross disadvantage students with disability typically contend with, incidents of restraint and seclusion will become more and more frequent.
The cage in a Canberra school which led to an independent review.
Our current education system is failing students with disability. Students, families, teachers and researchers are crying out for widespread reform, yet these calls have to date have been ignored.
At Children with Disability Australia, we hear daily of shameful education experiences of students with disability. Students are frequently denied enrolment, denied regular daily school experiences like attending school full-time or going on excursions, denied opportunities to learn and denied expertise.
It would be a national disgrace for the question to now focus on whether students with disability should be in mainstream schools. The right for all children to an inclusive education is clearly articulated in various human rights conventions to which Australia is a signatory. Further, existing research and evidence clearly supports inclusive education over and above models of segregated and integrated education for students with disability. Additionally there is significant research that demonstrates that inclusive education improves academic outcomes for all students, with and without disability.
Teachers also benefit from inclusive education, with research finding that they develop skills and confidence in their work. OECD research also found that countries with equal and inclusive distribution of skills have higher economic output and levels of social equality than countries with larger differences in the distribution of skills across the population.
For a long time, the need for urgent and critical reform for students with disability has been known but not acted on. There have been numerous state and federal inquiries over many years but children with disability must still contend with significant systemic challenges which continue to deny most a quality education.
A national Senate inquiry is examining the experiences of students with disability and the impact of inadequate levels of support. The big question is will any meaningful reform occur as a result of this inquiry or will children with disability continue to be overlooked.
The Australian government has funded the More Support for Students with Disability National Partnership which provided $300 million with the aim of ensuring that "Australian schools and teachers are better able to support students with disabilities, contributing to improved student learning experiences, educational outcomes and transitions to further education or work".
But this program was limited and is a "bolt-on" program outside the core funding and policy model for education. This was always viewed as a starting point while the full funding for children with disabilities was developed and rolled out. This funding ended in 2014 – we are still to see the final evaluation report or any indication of further resources.
There has been bipartisan support for better funding for students with disability but students and schools continue to wait desperately for a sign that the funding is coming.
Students with disability and their families remain exasperated by an education system which denies too many the education opportunities we typically take for granted for our children.
More incidents of restraint and seclusion are being reported. These are largely seen as a symptom of an inept system, grappling to adequately meet the needs of students with disability. A major learning from the this terrible incident should be that the need for and benefits of reform of our education system for students with disability are indisputable.
It is time to provide a clear map for reform. The Senate inquiry must articulate a clear way forward and all governments must act now to make real difference to the lives of these young people and the wider community.
Stephanie Gotlib is executive officer of Children with Disability Australia, the peak body for issues related to children with disabilities in Australia.