All Australian students should have access to a supportive learning environment. But are young people, particularly those with a disability, receiving the support they need to achieve their educational outcomes? The Post-school Destination Survey (GENERATION) asked over 250 schools about the within-school services available to their students with a disability or additional needs.
Most schools (92%) that participated in the GENERATION Schools Survey offered at least one of five disability services (speech therapy, psychological assessment, learning support, occupational therapy, and behavioural management).
12% of schools offered all five services that were asked about; 16% offered four different services; 27% offered three; 27% offered two services and 10% offered only one service.
Learning support was the most offered support in participating schools – 90% of schools offered this service to students.
The least commonly offered service was occupational therapy – this was only offered in one in 5 (20%) schools.
In 2022, schools were asked whether they provided the following five services to students: speech therapy, psychological assessment, learning support (e.g. supports for students with dyslexia), occupational therapy, and behavioural management (e.g. organisational skills for students with ADHD).
Overall most schools (92%) offered at least one service, with 12% of participating schools offering all five services. The most common service offered in schools was learning support which was offered in 90% of participating schools. 72% of schools offered behavioural management, 51% offered psychological assessment, 34% offered speech therapy, and 20% offered occupational therapy support.
As shown in the above chart, there was some variance of services offered in schools across the different school sectors. Independent schools most often reported offering speech therapy, learning support, and occupational therapy to students. Catholic schools were more likely to offer behavioural management and psychological assessment. Interestingly, no Catholic schools reported that they offered occupational therapy.
While not shown here, there was no statistically significant difference between the percentage of services offered in metropolitan schools compared to schools in regional/remote areas.