Children with disability getting raw deal at schools, parents tell Senate inquiry

Dozens of parents have spoken out about their frustrations with schools that are struggling to cope with their special needs children.

Parents have told a parliamentary committee of their exhaustion and emotional strain fighting for a basic education for their children in mainstream schools.

In submissions to the Senate inquiry into students with disabilities, a mother said she discovered her intellectually-impaired son had been held in a seclusion room.

Another learned her daughter had been moved outside the classroom because she struggled with the sensory overload of a ticking fan.

One mother said her autistic son had been verbally and physically abused at the “hands of both teachers and peers”.

Parents also discussed their dismay in having their children suspended from school for behaviour related to their disability.

However, teachers submitting to the inquiry also described being “set up to fail” as more students arrived at schools with special needs, requiring greater attention and expertise.

One teacher said it was difficult to provide adequate support to students with disabilities in the absence of additional funding.

The advocacy group Children with Disability Australia said a good education for children with disabilities was like winning the lottery.

“To have any chance of accessing basic education rights in Australia, students with disability must rely on fierce advocacy and the stars aligning,” the group’s chief executive, Stephanie Gotlib, said.

The report also strongly condemns restrictive practices used against students with disabilities, including restraints or isolation.

It has recommended that the federal government commit to funding the final two years of the Gonski reforms, despite revelations last month that it would not.

However, Coalition senators in the committee stressed that the states were the primary funders of schools and the government was already providing record levels of funding for students with disabilities.