Funding handicaps

SCHOOLS are siphoning money from libraries and playgrounds to pay for specialist staff and equipment to help the one in five Australian students with a disability.

A new Australian Education Union (AEU) survey of 12,307 teachers and principals reveals that 93 per cent of primary schools want more funding to teach students with a disability, and are forced to redirect money from other budget areas.

One in three teachers said their university training had not prepared them well for the classroom.

More than 40 per cent of teachers said the needs of students with disabilities were not being met.

One school revealed it had spent $200,000 of mainstream funding — earmarked for items such as repairs, playgrounds and library books — to pay for one-on-one teaching of students with disability and behavioural issues.

Another school had 40 students with “significant needs’’ placed in mainstream classes.

“Staff are stressed and stretched,’’ the principal stated. “(Disabled students) are in mainstream class with minimal funding support and finding it very challenging.

“The rooms are small and not able to accommodate the sensory equipment these students require.

“It takes so long to get funding through and when it does arrive it is very little and does not always reflect the child’s needs.’’

AEU president Correna Haythorpe called on governments to give schools more money to teach students with special needs.

“One in five students needs special assistance,’’ she said.

The federal government is reviewing the system to make “reasonable adjustments’’ to ensure pupils with a disability have the same opportunities as mainstream students.

Down Syndrome Australia said some schools were rejecting students with a disability, and some private schools charged higher fees to cover the cost of a teacher aide.