LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT CENTRES
974. Hon DONNA FARAGHER to the Minister for Education and
Training:
I refer to the answer given to
question without notice 925 asked on 10 November 2021 that stated that support
is available to students who are deemed eligible but are not enrolled in a language
development centre through the department's speech and language
outreach service.
(1) Can the
minister provide more detail on what direct support is available for these
students through the outreach service?
(2) How many
students who are deemed eligible but are not enrolled in a language development
centre are currently accessing this support?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) The outreach
service provides classroom teachers with resources, support and advice to use
approaches proven to effectively address the learning support needs of students
with speech and language difficulties. The
model of support delivered through the outreach service replicates similar
services provided to support students with additional learning support
needs in mainstream schools, including those provided through the School of Special Educational Needs:
Disability, and the School of Special Educational Needs: Sensory. This
model focuses on building the capability of school-based staff to implement
adjustments to support student learning so interventions can be sustained and
continuous rather than intermittent and dependent on the availability of an
external provider.
(2) The outreach
service responds to requests for assistance from schools to support teachers of
students with speech and language difficulties. Schools do not provide the
outreach service with numbers of students being supported.