Mr MATT KEAN (Hornsby) [7.27 p.m.]: On 23 March I celebrated World Down Syndrome Day at Clarke Road School in Hornsby. While I was there I met staff and students and gained a comprehensive understanding of the issues and challenges facing students with intellectual disabilities.
Too often we see these students as disabled, but the reality is that they are people living with a disability. That is an important point to make. Thanks to the strong leadership and vision of Principal Diane Robertson, Assistant Principal Debbie Howell and the school's dedicated teachers, Clarke Road School has become an educational role model for special schools across the State. Each student is gifted and the staff harness the student's potential for the betterment of their wellbeing and development. Despite the students facing countless challenges in their lives, they treat each day as a blessing and warm the hearts of those they meet. I was lucky enough to meet these wonderful, loving children who are enjoying the same opportunities that we enjoyed when we attended school because of the fantastic efforts of those working in special schools.
Having a disability does not preclude an individual from gaining employment, participating in recreational activities or living independently, and it is great that our education system recognises that fact. The students do not view such challenges as threats; they view them as opportunities. The students at Clarke Road School do not seek to move mountains or to change the world; they simply want the same rights to which every other citizen in this country is entitled. For most students, buying a train ticket or walking to school is a common daily occurrence. However, for a student with an intellectual disability, the impact of gaining such life skills can be life changing and empowering. However, unless special schools are provided with adequate funding and the independence to manage their school learning support officer budget, these opportunities will not be realised. School learning support officers assist students with special needs by providing them with social development, life skills development and independent living skills. The current system is too centralised and fails to consider schools' differing requirements and demands.
I believe the New South Wales Government has a duty to protect and promote the interests of our society's most vulnerable individuals. I applaud Minister Piccoli for his commitment to the Local Schools, Local Decisions policy. That policy recognises the benefits of decentralising the education system and giving decision-making authority to those who have a detailed knowledge of students and their needs. I take this opportunity to call on my Government to reform the current system to ensure that funding for school learning support officers is decentralised and individualised so that special schools can train their staff, many of whom are school learning support officers, according to their student's needs and demands. By doing so, special schools will be able to target the goals and aspirations of their students to ensure that their dreams become reality.
I was honoured to visit the Clarke Road Special School and privileged to witness the wonderful work of so many dedicated and talented teachers and support staff who ensure that those attending the school are not regarded as disabled people but, rather, as people who are living with a disability. The staff provide the school's cohort with opportunities that, for example, members of this House and members of the wider community may otherwise take the granted. As a society and as a government, we should be judged by how we care for those who most need care. Students with disabilities are certainly in the category of people who need most support and who should be empowered by having opportunities that also are afforded to able-bodied people and people who do not live with a disability. I am delighted to draw this matter to the attention of the House. I call for our Government to continue with its good work of supporting students who have a disability. I ask the Government to consider my call for funding for school learning support officers to be decentralised and individualised.
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