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Teacher professional judgement
The NCCD model relies on the professional judgement of teachers and administrators to determine which students to include in the NCCD.
Schools are encouraged to establish a school team which comprises a range of staff within the school, or that support the school, who have a particular interest or knowledge in the area of students with additional needs. This team supports whole-school understanding and implementation of the NCCD process. Members of the team work together to determine whether students with disability or perceived disability who are provided with adjustments that enable their access to education are to be included in the NCCD. The team conducts moderation that evaluates the evidence available to support each student’s inclusion in the NCCD.
In order for school teams to feel confident when making decisions about which students to include, schools are encouraged to ensure teachers understand their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) and the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (the Standards). Online learning This link will open in a new window can assist teachers to understand this legislation.
Individual classroom teachers consider a range of information when suggesting to the school team which students might be included in the NCCD. This may include:
- whether the student is making expected academic progress
- whether the student has responded to school-based interventions, such as those targeting literacy or numeracy
- whether the student has social/emotional needs that require support at school
- whether the student has health or physical needs that require support at school
- the type and frequency of adult support the student needs to participate in the classroom, at play, or in specialist classes
- whether the student has required any modifications or adjustments to be formalised in a personalised learning plan
- the length of time adjustments have been provided
- whether the student’s parents, guardians or carers have raised concerns about their child’s academic progress, health, behaviour, or emotional wellbeing
- whether a formal diagnosis of a disability has been brought to the teacher's attention by parents, medical professionals or allied health professionals.
Under the NCCD model, the school team discusses whether individual students are to be included in the NCCD, using evidence of the above documented by teachers. Members of the school team use their professional, informed judgement to:
- determine which students are being provided with an adjustment to access education because of a disability, consistent with definitions and obligations under the DDA and the Standards
- determine the level of adjustment that students with disability are being provided with in both classroom and whole-of-school contexts
- determine the broad category of disability that best reflects each student’s primary area of need
- ensure the student and/or their parents, guardians or carers have been consulted about the adjustments the student requires
- ensure the adjustments provided to support the student have been reviewed and monitored over time
- ensure adjustments have occurred over a minimum period of 10 weeks of school education within the 12 months preceding the data submission.
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