Calls for Federal leadership on inclusive education.

Speaker 1 00:00

Up next, Australia has signed up to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which include Goal 4, to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning for all. Yet that right for Australian children living with disability will not be there for now, after federal government and seven of the eight states and territories opted not to bring an end to segregated education,

Speaker 1 00:23

when the response to the Royal Commission on Disability was released this week. Inclusive education has been adopted in many countries around the world, including amongst others Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania in Africa, but remains beyond the reach of children in this country.

Speaker 1 00:39

It was a disappointment to the CEO of Children and Young People with Disability Australia, Skye Kokoschke -Moor, who was also alarmed that restrictive practices for children with disability will stay in place.

Speaker 1 00:51

She spoke with Powered Medias, Emma Myers.

Speaker 2 00:54

We have a particular interest in inclusive education. For very many years we've been advocating for what we refer to as a real transformation of Australian's education system. So a way that we can move to a full inclusion in schools in a way that just doesn't happen now.

Speaker 2 01:10

When we saw the Disability Royal Commission's report come out, there was a split between the Commissioners as to the future of inclusive education in Australia. On the one hand, the Commissioners with Disability recommended a phase in other segregated education over a period of about 28 years.

Speaker 2 01:29

Whereas the other Commissioners recommended that the continued dual -track system that we have at the moment continue. The federal government didn't take a position on that issue. They noted those recommendations.

Speaker 2 01:42

State and territory governments have done similarly. They've either noted them or said they were going to give them further consideration with the exception of Victoria. And in Victoria, the government there has said that they are supportive of the recommendation made by the Commissioners without disability and that's for essentially the status quo to continue.

Speaker 2 02:01

But with some moves to I think what they call integration and more inclusion in schools. But certainly not a move to the transformation of the education system for so many children with disability and their families that they would really want to see.

Speaker 3 02:17

And what about the 2002 survey that revealed that 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 children and young people living with disability had experienced some sort of restraint in the classroom?

Speaker 2 02:34

Yeah, absolutely. One CIDR ran a survey a few years ago. We heard it was one in four students had reported having to endure some form of restrictive practice in the classroom. The Royal Commission makes recommendations about that, that the federal government has accepted in principle in relation to restrictive practices.

Speaker 2 02:56

The recommendation or the government has said that they're going to invest about $1 .2 million to set up a framework, looking at how to reduce restrictive practices. At CIDR, we think that that doesn't go far enough.

Speaker 2 03:10

We want to see a complete elimination of restrictive practices in the classroom because when you look at the reality of what that means, it's absolutely devastating for the children who need to undergo this.

Speaker 2 03:23

It could be physical, they may be restrained physically, they may be put in covered within the school, they may be required to take medication that they don't want to take. So restrictive practices have a huge impact on children with disability and it's still happening in schools.

Speaker 2 03:41

This isn't something that stopped when the Royal Commission handed down its final report. So we're pleased to see that the government has agreed to take some action on this, but it doesn't go far enough in our view.

Speaker 3 03:51

What's the worst case of what's the drink you've seen in the education sector?

Speaker 2 03:56

It was only this week that I was talking to somebody who was recounting to me a conversation that they'd had with somebody in the school community, I went sad for it was a parent or if it was a teacher, but only recently they were talking about the fact that a child had been put in a cage in school.

Speaker 2 04:11

It's completely outrageous, unacceptable doesn't go nearly far enough. And that's why the government taking really urgent and swift action to address the use of restrictive practices in school is so critical.

Speaker 3 04:24

And just finally, what's the best case scenario you can think of?

Speaker 2 04:28

That's a great question. So often we get caught up in the here and the now and trying to understand what the government's response is. I think best case scenario we take a long -term view and we're able to look back and say 10 to 15 years time and see that the recommendations that the DRC made that were implemented by the government has actually made a difference so that in 10 to 15 years time we don't need another Royal Commission into Violence Abuse Neglect and for me that's not the best possible outcome it's the only acceptable outcome and we actually need to go much further than that and see people with disability including children and young people truly included in their communities not segregated not experiencing violence abuse neglect and really thriving just as they should just as they're entitled to with all of their human rights recognized

Speaker 1 05:17

CEO of Children and Young People with Disability Australia, Sky Kokoschke -Moore, speaking with Powered Medias, Emma Myers.