The NDIS and Catholic schools in the Diocese of Ballarat

Summary

• Schools are encouraged to support students and their parents/carers in exercising a level of choice and control with their NDIS supports at school where it is safe and practical to do so.
• Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA) has produced Guidelines for Victorian Catholic Schools related to requests for the delivery of funded therapy in schools.
• Ultimately, the decision to allow funded therapists to conduct therapy on school grounds rests with the principal.
• The therapies funded by the NDIS are related to the student’s functional whole-of-life support needs, and not for educational purposes. The responsibility for therapy for educational attainment remains with the education system.

NDIS

If you have questions about your child’s development or potential disability, your child may be eligible for support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). For more information, visit the NDIS website (https://www.ndis.gov.au/) or call 1800 800 110.

The NDIS is how the Commonwealth Government provides support to Australians with disability, their families and carers. Eligibility is focused on lifelong, functional impairment.

The NDIS does not cover services that are deemed reasonable and necessary for children’s participation in education. These responsibilities fall under government (Department of Education) and non-government schools.

Providing information on your child’s disability to NDIS
When you apply for the NDIS you will need to provide information about your child’s disability or their need for early intervention. Your child’s school may be able to help with this by providing documentation such as:

• Copies of Student plans (such as Personalised Learning, Positive Behaviour Support, Medical Management and Safety Plans)
• Existing letters or reports from the Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited (DOBCEL) Wellbeing Team or allied health practitioners.

For more information relating to DOBCEL Student Services referral information please see: https://dobcel.catholic.edu.au/services-to-schools/wellbeing-diverse-learning/referral-services/

You do not have to tell the school that your child is an NDIS participant or ask for copies of supporting information if you do not want to.

SUPPORT IN SCHOOLS

Schools are responsible for supports for your child’s learning at school, including:

• teaching, learning assistants and other supports such as Auslan interpreters
• general support, resources and training for teachers, tutors and other staff
• therapy delivered in schools for education or training purposes, such as allied health practitioners
• aids and equipment to make the curriculum accessible, such as modified computer hardware, software and Braille textbooks
• school building modifications such as ramps, lifts and hearing loops
• transport for educational or training activities such as excursions, field trips and sporting carnivals.

If your child is an NDIS participant this will not affect any extra support they get at school to support their education. This includes support your child may be getting if they are eligible for the NCCD Nationally Consistent Collection of Data / SWD Students with Disabilities Program. NCCD is one of the supports available to help schools meet the requirements of eligible students with disability.

SUPPORTS THE NDIS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR

The NDIS is responsible for the support your child receives for their disability to assist with their daily lives. For instance:

• equipment that needs to be transported such as a wheelchair or personal communication devices
• therapies a family and school have agreed may be delivered during school time but are not for educational purposes. Please note while delivery of therapy services in a school is a partnership between the school and parents or guardians, it is the principal’s decision whether an externally funded service can be delivered in the school.
• specialised training of teachers and other staff about the specific personal support needs of a student with a disability
• personal care and support
• transport to and from school and specialist transition supports to and from school to further education, training or employment.

NDIS funded therapy and schools

You may want your child’s NDIS therapist to work with them while they are at school, for example to:

• observe your child in the classroom or in the school environment
• attend a Program Support Group (PSG) meeting to monitor and tailor the support they provide to your child
• deliver your child’s therapy at school, in person or virtually.

The principal will decide if it’s safe and practical for your child to have NDIS therapy at school. They’ll consider:

• your child’s individual circumstances
• whether having NDIS therapy at school will affect your child’s learning – student access to curriculum
• practical and administrative capacity
• duty of care
• the safety of all students, staff and members of the school community
• child safe standards
• where NDIS therapy can take place.

If approved, a meeting will be scheduled to discuss practical arrangements and conditions. This meeting will include you, the school, and your child’s therapist. During the meeting, the school’s procedures for therapist collaboration, reporting on student goals and progress, and PSG attendance and expectations will be outlined and agreed upon.

You will be responsible for letting your child’s therapist know:

• the agreed times and conditions for therapy
• occasions when therapy cannot take place. This may be because your child is absent or other school activities are taking place.

You will also be responsible for letting the school know:

• if your child stops getting therapy or you change therapy providers
• how therapy is going.

PERSONAL CARE IN SCHOOLS

Your child may need personal care assistance at school to support their activities of daily living. This may include help with:

• toileting
• eating and drinking
• dressing
• moving around
• complex health or medical support.

Personal Care in Schools
If your child is an NDIS participant and gets personal care it will be in their NDIS plan. When you see ‘personal care in school’ support in your child’s NDIS plan, it’s only there to show that you get the service. You do not need to use your NDIS funds to pay for this service, and you can’t manage it yourself. You do not need to pay anyone for your child’s personal care at school and you cannot use the money in your child’s plan for a different personal carer.

Students with Disabilities Transport Program (SDTP)
If your child gets support under the SDTP nothing will change for your child until at least the end of the 2024 school year. If your child gets support under the SDTP and is an NDIS participant, school transport will appear in their plan as an in-kind item. When you see student transport in your child’s NDIS plan, it’s only there to show that you get the service. You do not need to pay anyone for this service, and you cannot use the money for a different transport provider.

School leaver employment supports
The NDIS funds a range of post-school supports to help young people with disability to move from school into employment or other options, for example: social and community participation, building life and work skills, mobility or communication technology, finding and maintaining a job.

For more information see: https://www.ndis.gov.au/

References

• NDIS in Schools https://www.vic.gov.au/ndis-and-schools
• NDIS https://www.ndis.gov.au/
• VCEA Guidelines and 2019 Fact Sheet