Thursday, 3 August 2023

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Inclusive education

Tim BULL (Gippsland East) (14:02): My question is to the Minister for Education. Due to the government’s broken promise, thousands of vulnerable children like 13-year-old Louis, who suffers from acute physical disabilities, will be left without one-on-one classroom support, with the sacking of frontline staff from the visiting teacher service. Minister, why did you authorise this cruel and callous cut?

Natalie HUTCHINS (Sydenham – Minister for Education, Minister for Women) (14:03): I thank the member for his question, and I welcome the opportunity to talk about disability reform in schools across our state, including $1.6 billion worth of investment by this government to make sure that our mainstream school system is well supported. We are extremely proud of how this program has been running out. It is now fully in place across 850 schools and will continue to roll out, and what the school gets – this is an absolute game changer, this program – is an application for all of the teachers to be educated in how disability should be handled in the classroom and how kids can (a) get assessed through their school system and (b) get a great education plan put in place and to wrap around their parents support with those teachers that are in the classrooms. We are not just putting one teacher that visits the school –

Tim Bull: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance. The question was very specific in relation to the service provided by the visiting teacher service and why that is being cut, and I think that those families that are impacted deserve an answer in relation to that specific service.

Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Speaker, the minister was being entirely relevant to the question. It was about disability education and our government’s investments. It gives the minister an opportunity to talk about our government’s record investments in inclusive education for children with disabilities.

The SPEAKER: Order! I have repeatedly said that as Speaker I cannot direct the ministers on their feet how to answer a question. The minister was being relevant to the question that was asked.

Natalie HUTCHINS: The visiting teacher program was brought into place in 1974. Since then we have made a tonne of investments and changes to policies under this government that is leading this nation in this space. What the new program of disability inclusion provides is 82 coaches to go out into schools to educate our schoolteachers and our school leaders, to make absolute change in those places. Perhaps you might want to talk to some parents at one of those schools that have had disability inclusion rolled out in their school, because we are getting some really positive feedback on this program. Now, there will be 32 teachers based in our regional offices that will continue to go out and support those students with visual and hearing disabilities that need that one-on-one attention. That will continue. But the game changer that this government has made for kids with disabilities in our education system is to roll out a disability inclusion program to the tune of $1.6 billion to overhaul all of our specialist schools. Every one of our specialist schools is getting an upgrade, a major upgrade, and we are also –

Tim Bull: On a point of order, Speaker, relating to relevance, the minister referred to those students that have hearing difficulties receiving support. My question related to 13-year-old Louis who has acute physical disabilities, and I would ask you to bring the minister back to answering that specific element of that question relating to students with physical disabilities.

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister was being relevant to the question that was asked.

Natalie HUTCHINS: Perhaps the opposition do not understand that our new disability inclusion program is specifically designed to deliver better supports for exactly the student that those opposite are raising. We also have the Diverse Learners Hub and the Inclusion Outreach Coaching initiative, the master of inclusive education and the graduate certificate initiatives that we are rolling out across our school system for all teachers.

Tim BULL (Gippsland East) (14:07): The visiting teacher service assists approximately 4000 children with disabilities, some who suffer from life-threatening illnesses like cancer. Will the minister now understand the error of her decision and reverse today the slated sackings of these frontline workers and issue an apology to the 4000 families who were receiving this frontline one-on-one service in the classroom?

The SPEAKER: Order! I believe there were two questions in that supplementary question, but I will ask the minister to respond.

Natalie HUTCHINS (Sydenham – Minister for Education, Minister for Women) (14:08): We are all still waiting on this side for an apology for the $1 billion you slashed out of education when you were in government.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I would encourage members on their feet not to refer to ‘you’. It is disrespectful to the Chair.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this is an important question. These are important questions about services that are available to some of the most needy children in our schools, and I would ask you to bring the minister back to that important question.

Mary-Anne Thomas: 10 seconds she has been on her feet – 10 seconds.

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister will come back to answering the question.

Natalie HUTCHINS: Importantly, with the savings and efficiency targets that have been set on all government departments and that the Department of Education is delivering on, no school-based staff are being impacted. We will work with those that are currently in the roles of visiting teachers to transition their positions where they want to into schools on a permanent basis. This is about expanding the support to those kids with disabilities by making sure the whole school is responsive and that their teachers are well trained in order to work with them to get the best abilities out of our students.