Implementation of the Students with Disability Review Recommendations:
The focus on supporting the implementation of SEQTA (teaching and management sortware) to record evidence of adjustments had a positive impact on teacher engagement in the 2021 National Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) process. In many schools the Inclusive Education Coordinator has had the sole responsibility for the NCCD process; SEQTA has enabled shared staff responsibility. This meant that potentially, schools have captured students that had not been included in previous NCCD data. The ability to drill down using the Business Intelligence (BI) tool has provided schools with targeted information to support intervention, assessment, and teacher professional learning. Access to the BI report has also significantly increased engagement of school Leadership Teams.
In 2021 a targeted approach to aligning CESA’s NCCD with the Australian Government’s four Phases of the NCCD – Planning, Implementation, Validation and Reflection provided schools with a structured, planned and more support-based approach to the NCCD cycle.
To understand and improve the consistency and reliability of the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) on school Students with Disability (SWD), the Learning Diversity and Equity team provided:
The Inclusive Education Coordinators Network Day was reintroduced in 2021, with an overwhelming response of over 120 attendees.
Region Network Days occurred once a term with a focus on: NCCD, the Personalised Plan for Learning (PPL), functional impact on learning and SEQTA.
Individual school requests for support focused on complex disability, assessment, differentiation, the PPL, and transition and enrolment for students with high support needs. This included:
The CESA Complex Case Multi-Disciplinary Team (CESA CCMT) was established in Term 4, 2021.The CESA CCMT works collaboratively with the Learning Diversity and Wellbeing Team and the School Performance Leaders to provide specialised services and tailored responses to support the inclusion and wellbeing of students with complex and high needs. The CESA CCMT is coordinated through a referral process by the Learning Diversity and Wellbeing Team and includes a Psychologist and a Speech Pathologist.
CESA continues to work in partnership with the Dr Jae Yup Jung, University of New South Wales (UNSW) to develop a locally research-based and contextually relevant Gifted Education Strategy, recommendations, pilot school programs, professional learning, and parent workshops. Despite COVID-19 interruptions, the survey collection and quantitative data analysis with students, teachers, and parents/caregivers was completed in 2021. Student interviews were finalised and in 2022 parent and teacher interviews will conclude the data collection phase. A draft CESA Gifted Education Strategy informed by the quantitative results, was presented to the CESA Gifted Education Strategy Reference group for review in November 2021.
Catholic Education SA celebrated Gifted Awareness Week by hosting teacher and parents/caregivers’ workshops and by launching the ArchD Podcast series interviewing gifted students and their parents/caregivers. Catholic Education SA hosted the first Gifted Awareness Week Art and Lego Maze Competitions which drew over 177 student entries from Reception to Year 12.
A focus for 2021 was responsive, evidence and research-based professional learning aimed at building teacher knowledge and capacity. School and region requests for professional learning included Identification, Acceleration and Enrichment, and Perfectionism.
In 2021 the Engagement and Wellbeing Team consisted of two Education Advisors who supported three regions each. Despite COVID-19 the Engagement and Wellbeing Education Advisors continued to provide response-based and proactive support across schools, clusters, and regions. This included:
In supporting the SWD Review priority: Relationship between disability, behaviour, learning and wellbeing the team delivered:
In 2021 the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum was delivered to over 198 teachers.
In 2020 CESA established a scholarship program for children and young people in care. The initial aim of the scholarship program was to make Catholic education available to 100 children and young people for whom this would otherwise be beyond reach. The CESA Scholarship Program proved to be very successful and in 2021 the program was extended to include an additional 100 children and young people. By the end of 2021, 211 scholarships were awarded. Of these, 63 were in the South Region and 51 in the North Region. Scholarships were offered across 73 schools.
In recognition of the generosity and care that Catholic Education South Australia, extended through our schools to scholarship recipients, the Department of Child Protection awarded Catholic Education South Australia the Improving Education and Learning Outcomes for Children and Young People in Care Award for 2021.
In 2021, 617 primary and 351 secondary students in Catholic Education identified as Aboriginal. Of the total 968 CESA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) students in 2021, there were 364 students included in the NCCD as receiving adjustments because of Disability.
Grants for the Artist in Residency Program and Cultural Competency Training have been the basis of support to schools provided by the CESA Aboriginal Education Team for many years. The ongoing impact of COVID-19 from 2020 into 2021 had a significant impact on the ability to source artists and provide training and mentoring support for schools.
The Aboriginal Education Strategy Working Group was formed with CESA staff working in collaboration with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal academic partners from the University of Adelaide and Flinders University.
The Catholic Education Office renewed its commitment to Reconciliation through our Reflect
Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). As Catholic Educators we are called to action, to build a community in which all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are characterised as Thriving, as Capable and as Leaders.
Reconciliation implies “making right” or healing. It is not an act of charity on the part of non-Indigenous people, rather, it is an orientation to a world founded in justice, human dignity, love, and compassion. We work in partnership with parents, children, and communities of the oldest living culture on earth, celebrating First Nations peoples’ wisdom and deep understanding of the spiritual connections to country, culture, heritage, and sustainability.
In 2020 a collaborative process was undertaken to develop a foundation paper to generate a system-wide platform for reflecting on and implementing wellbeing initiatives in Catholic schools in South Australia. Leading the process was Louka Parry, CEO, and founder of The Learning Future, along with many leaders from our school communities. The process resulted in the development of LearnWell: Our Foundations for Learning through Wellbeing in 2021. The LearnWell foundation paper was due to be launched and animated in Term 4, 2021 via a series of workshops in Regions lead by Louka Parry. The intention of these workshops was to familiarise participants with the structure and content of the paper and build capacity to draw on the document for inspiration in schools. Due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, the launch and workshops have been postponed. It is envisaged that the LearnWell: Building Momentum workshops will be followed later in 2022 by a series of LearnWell: Peace and Wellbeing Ambassador Community workshops.
