General information for students with disability

Resources provided to help schools make reasonable adjustments

Schools can access a wide range of resources and supports to assist them to make reasonable adjustments. School staff will talk with you about your child's learning goals and the supports available to help your child to be successful at school.

Resources are provided to support all students with disability as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. These resources are provided as a total pool to the school and not to individual students. This allows the principal to use resources flexibly across the school for all students.

All schools receive an allocation of teachers and teacher aides for every student. Additional teachers and teacher aides are provided to schools to make reasonable adjustments for all students with disability through the new students with disability—reasonable adjustments resourcing model. This new model provides additional teachers and teacher aides based on the level of reasonable adjustments a student needs to access and participate in education on the same basis as their peers.

State and non-state schools can also access services from non-government organisations funded by the department through the:

• Specialist Disability Support in Schools Program
• Special Needs Organisations Program.

To find out more about the supports available for your child, visit the appropriate disability-specific page.

Early childhood and getting ready for school

Starting Kindy and school is an exciting time for children and families. Support is available for children with disability (which may or may not be diagnosed) before they start school. This includes support at Kindy, through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and through Early Childhood Development Programs (ECDPs).

Kindergarten (Kindy)

Going to Kindy provides opportunities for your child to learn through play, make friends and prepare for the transition to Prep. Your child can go to Kindy in the year they turn four before 30 June. More information about going to Kindy can be found on the Queensland Government and Early Childhood Education and Care websites.

All children in Queensland are eligible and encouraged to attend an approved Kindy in the year before school. Your child may be able to access 15 hours a week of free or low cost Kindy. More information about this can be found on the Queensland Government's website.

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

Your child may be eligible for help through the NDIS and their Early Childhood Partners if they have a disability or developmental delay. The NDIS Early Childhood Early Intervention (NDIS ECEI) pathway is for children from birth to 6 years to help them build the skills they need for daily living and achieve the best possible outcomes throughout their life. This fact sheet provides more information about how you can access the NDIS.

Early Childhood Development Programs (ECDPs)

ECDPs support children's early learning and development as they transition to school. ECDP staff can work with your child's Kindy, early childhood provider, NDIS ECEI partner, other NDIS providers, families and the future school to give them a great start to school. More information is available on the ECDP fact sheet for parents.

You can contact the local regional office or refer to the ECDP locations map if you need more information about accessing an ECDP.

ECDP resources:

• ECDP fact sheet for parents
• Application for access to early childhood development programs and services
• Frequently asked questions—registration at an early childhood development program.

A combination of ECDP, Kindy and NDIS ECEI supports can help your child have a great start to school.

More information and resources:

• My child has: information for Queensland families of young children
• Autism Hub
• Reading and Writing Disorders
• Queensland Government—kindergarten
• Queensland Government—preparing for Prep
• Early Childhood Education and Care—kindergarten programs
• Early Childhood Education and Care—inclusion of children with disability
• Transition to prep for students with disability fact sheet—ideas for parents/carers to prepare for Prep routines
• Children's Health Queensland

Starting and finishing school

Starting and finishing school is an exciting time for all children and young people. Support is available for children and young people at all stages of learning.

Schools plan transition programs that can be tailored to support the individual needs of your child. You and your child can talk to the school principal (or other staff member) of the future or current school about the supports needed for them to succeed. For example, your child may need to start their transition earlier or may need some reasonable adjustments to ensure that they are able to participate and engage in transition activities.

The following information outlines some important ways that you can help your child during these transition times.

Starting school or starting at a new school

As parents and carers you play an important role in helping your child feel positive about starting school. Transitioning to Prep is an ongoing process in which children may feel a combination of emotions. Some days children may feel happy and confident. At other times, they may appear sad, anxious, tired or overwhelmed. These are all typical responses as children adjust to new physical and social environments, with new sets of routines and expectations.

You can talk to your child's early childhood program provider (e.g. kindergarten, ECDP) about completing a transition plan that will be shared with your child's prospective school.

The following resources, information and links may be helpful for you to support your child's successful transition to school:

• Early Childhood Education and Care—transition to school
• Early Childhood Education and Care—moving to school
• Early Childhood Australia—parent resources
  
• Transition to Prep for students with disability fact sheet—ideas for parents/carers to prepare for Prep routines
• Community Resource Unit Ltd—inclusive education and transition fact sheets

Starting secondary school

Starting secondary school is an exciting time. It is a more complex schooling environment that involves more classroom teachers and new routines. Transition to secondary school provides opportunities for students, parents/carers and schools to work together and develop productive relationships.

The transition to secondary school for students with disability: ideas for parents/carers fact sheet may be helpful in supporting you and your young person during the transition phase. It provides a sample approach to plan for the transition to junior secondary.

Other useful resources

• Community Resource Unit Ltd—inclusive education and transition fact sheets
• Choosing a school
• Enrolment in state primary, secondary and special schools.

Starting senior secondary and finishing school

The senior phase of learning provides students with the opportunity to develop the skills, knowledge and abilities they will need to finish school, be active and informed citizens, continue their learning journey and be engaged in the community.

The school will talk to you and your young person about planning future pathways into the senior phase of learning and post-school. This planning will be personalised to meet the individual needs of your young person and may include:

• starting the Senior Education and Training (SET) plan earlier than other students
• exploring a wide range of options for future pathways (e.g. education, training and employment)—this could include visits to university and career expos and working with school staff to explore options
• sampling employment during the senior years, e.g. work experience, volunteering
• working with a broad team of specialists, community organisations or National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) providers.

It is important that the student and parents/carers are involved in the planning process and that the student's goals, abilities, interests and strengths are considered. The plan may need to be reviewed regularly.

A range of resources are available for school staff, students and parents relating to SET planning:

• Walking you through the SET plan (PDF, 574KB)
• Senior secondary: Parents and families FAQs
• Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA)—Year 10: What next? brochure (PDF, 643KB)
• QCAA—myQCE (Queensland Certificate of Education) website
• Australian Blueprint for Career Development (the Blueprint).

There are many things to consider when planning for life after school. Careful planning and preparation helps ensure a smooth transition into employment, further education, vocational training and life in the community.

Your young person may be a participant of the NDIS. You can work closely with the NDIS to plan for life after school and explore available options for support, such as access to school leaver employment supports (SLES) under the NDIS. Read more information about the NDIS.

The transition to post-school fact sheet gives students and parents/carers important information to support them to plan for life after school.

Resources are available for students and parents relating to career planning on the Your Career website. This includes a range of information for school leavers and the school leavers information kit.

If you need more information about planning for post-school options, contact the school principal (or other nominated staff member).

How parents and carers can be involved

Working with parents is one of the very important ways schools can support students with disability.

You can talk to your child's teacher about how you can be involved in your child's learning and how they can keep you updated on your child's progress.

There may be times when you need to talk to your child's school and teacher about their needs. Staff at your child's school will consult with you about the supports that can be provided to help your child to learn and participate in education. Consultation with students is also important, with the student's age and individual circumstances guiding how best to include them in consultation.

Being involved in other school activities such as the parents association or volunteering at school are important ways parents play an active part in the school community. More information about how you can become involved and participate is provided on the parent participation page.

The department has also engaged the Community Resource Unit Ltd (CRU) to provide support to parents of students with disability to work with their child's school. More information about the Families for Inclusive Education Project (including fact sheets, webinars, resources and workshops) can be found on the CRU website.

Phones away for the day

From the start of the 2024 school year, students will be putting their mobile phones away and turning off smartwatch notifications during the school day—including break times.

Removing the distraction of mobile devices during the school day will help students to concentrate on learning, connect with their friends and teachers, and support their safety and wellbeing.

Some students with disability, or those with a medical condition, may require an exemption from this procedure such as students:

• who use an application on their mobile phone to monitor and manage diabetes
• with cardiac conditions who use their wearable device to monitor their heart rate during the school day
• with disability or learning difficulties who use a mobile phone as an agreed reasonable adjustment to access learning
• who use a mobile phone as an augmentative or alternative communication system or as an aide to access and participate in the school environment (for example, navigation or object/people identification applications).

Principals will make decisions about exemptions for students in their school.

Parents and carers should speak with the school about obtaining an exemption for their child. School staff will work with you and your child to identify the specific requirements for exemption, and processes for communicating this exemption to staff.

Community supports and the NDIS

Some students with disability may need or receive services and support outside of school through community organisations or the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

National Disability Insurance Scheme

You can find out about your child's eligibility for the NDIS by contacting either an Early Childhood Partner for children aged 0 to 6 years or a local area coordinator for older children.

Information about the NDIS and schools is available in the department's NDIS fact sheet.

The NDIS does not provide supports for children while at school. Schools provide supports to students with disability to access and participate in education.

To help you make an NDIS access request, your child's school can provide current copies of relevant plans and reports. This may include your child's Education Adjustment Program report, therapy report, personalised learning plan, individual curriculum plan or health management plan. The disability support summary provides a snapshot of the supports your child receives at school. Contact your child's school to request this information.

You can share information with your child's school about their NDIS plan and provide consent for school staff and NDIS providers to discuss consistent supports at school and at home.

You will need to make a request to the school in writing if there are reasons why supports in your child's NDIS plan need to be delivered at school during school time. Requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.

More information about NDIS provider access to schools, including a parent fact sheet and parent request form, is available at:

• NDIS provider access to state schools—policy (PDF, 830KB)
• NDIS provider access to state schools—procedure (PDF, 893KB)
• NDIS provider access to state schools—access agreement (DOCX, 97KB)
• NDIS provider access to Queensland state schools—principal fact sheet (PDF, 199KB)
• NDIS provider access to Queensland state schools—provider fact sheet (PDF, 215KB)
• NDIS provider access to Queensland state schools—parent fact sheet (PDF, 191KB)
• NDIS provider access to Queensland state schools—parent request form (DOCX, 94KB).

School transport assistance for students with disability

The Queensland Government is continuing to deliver school transport assistance for students with disability under an agreement with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). Students who are NDIS participants and access school transport assistance may see in the notes section of their NDIS plan that this service is being delivered by the Queensland Government.

Further information on how to access school transport assistance is available.

School leaver assistance

The NDIS provides a range of support for eligible students who are considering pathways including volunteering, employment, study and training. This may include assistance for students who are at school or school leavers, to prepare, look for and gain employment.

For further information visit the NDIS website.

Contacting the NDIA

For more information, contact the NDIA by calling 1800 800 110 or by filling out the online contact form. For people with hearing or speech loss, call TTY on 1800 555 677. For speak and listen, call 1800 555 727. For people who need help with English, call TIS on 131 450.

Find out more at the NDIS in Queensland website, view the Queensland NDIS events calendar, or sign up to the NDIS e-blast.

Community organisations

There are many organisations that can help children and young people with disability and provide advice and support to parents and families.

Disability Online—Australia's Disability Hub provides an alphabetical list of a number of national disability associations and services.

Some links to community organisations have been provided on the disability-specific pages.

Further information about community support services available for your child and for yourself is also available on the department's learning@home website in the inclusion section.

Making an enquiry or complaint

If you have concerns about your child's education, the first step is to discuss these with your child's teacher or the school principal.

In some situations, it can take time to identify and provide the most appropriate supports for your child. It is important to continue working with your child's teachers and other staff to solve issues.

If you still have concerns after talking to the school principal you can raise them with your regional office.

You can also make a complaint in writing, by phone or email.​