2017 data on students in Australian schools receiving adjustments for disability In 2017, 18.8% of school students received an adjustment to participate in education because of disability. The 2017 Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (the collection) identified 724,624 students received an educational adjustment due to disability. Through this collection, teachers use their professional judgement based on evidence to capture information on: • the level of adjustment that students with disability are being provided to enable them to participate in education on the same basis as other students: - extensive - substantial - supplementary - support within quality differentiated teaching practice (QDTP) • the broad category of disability under which each student best fits: - physical - cognitive - sensory - social/emotional The collection is based on the broad definition of disability used in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) and the Disability Standards for Education 2005. The collection is designed to collect information on the full range of students receiving adjustments to support their access and participation in learning because of disability, not just those who have a medical diagnosis. As a result, higher numbers of students are reported through the collection than in other data collections on students with disability. The collection is having a positive impact on the support that is provided to students with disability in Australian schools. Through participating in the collection, schools are embedding better support for all students with disability in their routine day-to-day practice by: • focussing attention on the educational needs and adjustments required to support individual students; • facilitating a more collaborative and coordinated approach, including improvements in support systems at the school level; and • strengthening communication between schools, parents and the broader community, increasing transparency and reinforcing a culture of inclusion. This is the third year of the data collection. The results show variability across states and territories and sectors. Until the quality of the data improves, the data cannot be directly compared. Independent reviews of the quality of the data by PricewaterhouseCoopers has found that schools’ level of understanding of the collection model, the DDA and the Disability Standards for Education 2005 contributes directly to the quality of the data collected. Further, as this understanding grows stronger each year the school participates, the quality of the data also improves. Protecting student privacy is a key consideration over all stages of the collection cycle. No personal information on an individual that is collected by schools is passed on to the Australian Government for the purposes of this data collection. Any information that is published is aggregated sufficiently so that no student’s identity could reasonably be ascertained. For further information on levels of adjustment and data collection model, refer to the NCCD Guidelines 2017 on the Australian Government Department of Education and Training website: www.education.gov.au/students-disability TABLE 1 Students with disability receiving adjustments by level of adjustment as a percentage of the total student population in each sector and nationally (2017) Level of Adjustment Government Catholic* Independent National Support within QDTP 6.2% 4.2% 9.0% 6.2% Supplementary 7.8% 9.9% 7.7% 8.2% Substantial 3.3% 2.3% 2.5% 3.0% Extensive 1.9% 0.5% 0.7% 1.5% All Adjustments 19.1% 16.9% 19.9% 18.8% *Catholic independent schools have been included in the Catholic sector. NB: Numbers may not add up due to rounding TABLE 2 Students with disability receiving adjustments by category of disability as a percentage of the total student population in each sector and nationally (2017) Categories of Disability Government Catholic* Independent National Cognitive 10.9% 9.3% 9.7% 10.4% Physical 2.4% 2.9% 4.5% 2.8% Sensory 0.8% 0.5% 0.7% 0.7% Social-Emotional 5.1% 4.2% 5.0% 4.9% All Categories of Disability 19.1% 16.9% 19.9% 18.8% *Catholic independent schools have been included in the Catholic sector. NB: Numbers may not add up due to rounding TABLE 3 Students with disability receiving adjustments by level of adjustment as a percentage of the total student population in each state and territory and nationally (2017) Level of Adjustment NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS NT ACT National Support within QDTP 4.3% 7.5% 6.1% 7.4% 8.9% 4.4% 6.6% 3.7% 6.2% Supplementary 10.8% 6.6% 6.1% 9.2% 8.3% 5.0% 10.7% 6.6% 8.2% Substantial 2.8% 3.1% 3.3% 3.1% 2.5% 2.5% 6.6% 2.5% 3.0% Extensive 1.4% 1.9% 1.4% 1.4% 0.8% 0.8% 2.8% 1.0% 1.5% All Adjustments 19.2% 19.1% 16.8% 21.0% 20.5% 12.7% 26.8% 13.7% 18.8% NB: Numbers may not add up due to rounding TABLE 4 Students with disability receiving adjustments by category of disability as a percentage of the total student population in each state and territory and nationally (2017) Categories of Disability NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS NT ACT National Cognitive 10.8% 9.6% 9.5% 13.5% 11.8% 7.6% 12.0% 7.4% 10.4% Physical 2.7% 3.5% 1.6% 1.8% 5.0% 1.9% 3.0% 1.5% 2.8% Sensory 0.6% 0.5% 1.0% 0.8% 0.8% 0.3% 2.3% 0.5% 0.7% Social-Emotional 5.1% 5.5% 4.8% 4.8% 2.9% 2.8% 9.5% 4.3% 4.9% All Categories of Disability 19.2% 19.1% 16.8% 21.0% 20.5% 12.7% 26.8% 13.7% 18.8% NB: Numbers may not add up due to rounding TABLE 5 Students with disability receiving adjustments by level of adjustment as a percentage of all students receiving an adjustment in each state and territory and nationally (2017) Level of Adjustment NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS NT ACT National Support within QDTP 22% 39% 36% 35% 44% 35% 25% 27% 33% Supplementary 56% 34% 36% 44% 40% 40% 40% 48% 44% Substantial 14% 16% 19% 15% 12% 20% 25% 18% 16% Extensive 7% 10% 8% 7% 4% 6% 10% 7% 8% All Adjustments 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% NB: Numbers may not add up due to rounding TABLE 6 Students with disability receiving adjustments by level of adjustment and sector as a percentage of all students receiving an adjustment nationally (2017) Level of Adjustment Government Catholic* Independent National Support within QDTP 21% 4% 7% 33% Supplementary 27% 10% 6% 44% Substantial 12% 2% 2% 16% Extensive 7% 1% 1% 8% Share of all students 67% 18% 15% 100% requiring an adjustment *Catholic independent schools have been included in the Catholic sector. NB: Numbers may not add up due to rounding TABLE 7 Students with disability receiving adjustments by category of disability as a percentage of all students receiving an adjustment in each state and territory and nationally (2017) Categories of Disability NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS NT ACT National Cognitive 56% 50% 56% 65% 58% 60% 45% 54% 55% Physical 14% 18% 9% 9% 24% 15% 11% 11% 15% Sensory 3% 3% 6% 4% 4% 3% 9% 4% 4% Social-Emotional 27% 29% 28% 23% 14% 22% 35% 31% 26% All Categories of Disability 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% NB: Numbers may not add up due to rounding TABLE 8 Students with disability receiving adjustments by level of adjustment and category of disability as a percentage of all students receiving an adjustment nationally (2017) Disability Category Level of Adjustment Cognitive Physical Sensory Social-Emotional Total Support within QDTP 43% 30% 4% 23% 100% Supplementary 62% 9% 3% 26% 100% Substantial 58% 5% 4% 32% 100% Extensive 66% 6% 4% 24% 100% All Adjustments 55% 15% 4% 26% 100% NB: Numbers may not add up due to rounding