Disability Inclusion Profile

Participating in the Disability Inclusion Profile meeting – roles and responsibilities

Overview of profile meeting

The Disability Inclusion Profile (profile) will be completed in a specially convened meeting of the student’s student support group (SSG).

In the profile meeting, all participants will be asked to contribute information about the student to understand their strengths, aspirations and functional needs and the adjustments required to enable them to participate in their education on the same basis as a student without disability.

All participants are expected to engage respectfully throughout the meeting. Where respectful behaviour is not maintained, the facilitator may pause or suspend the meeting.

The video below provides an example of how the profile meeting works, and the roles and responsibilities of attendees. A shorter version of this video for parents/carers is available at Disability Inclusion: a new approach for students with disability.

Facilitator role in the profile meeting

The facilitator will support participants to discuss and agree on the indicative level of adjustment being provided or required for the student’s participation and learning at school. Facilitators generally conduct profile meetings by focusing on students’ functional needs and adjustments at a domain level. This allows for a holistic understanding of students and their experience in the school setting. This will include:

• adjustments currently in place to support the student:
  • adjustments that are being provided, as well as the personalisation, frequency and intensity of those adjustments to enable the student’s participation and learning
  • the individual education plan (IEP) learning goals that have been identified for the student and the specific adjustments that the school has in place
• the specific adjustments that may be required to enable the student to reach their individual learning goals.

The discussion should not focus on the student’s disability or impairment, or how challenging it is for the school to enable the student’s participation.

The facilitator will assist the SSG to understand each of the profile sections and may ask the meeting participants questions to ensure detail of the student’s strengths, needs, and adjustments are discussed and well understood by all participants.

The Levels of adjustment resource (PDF), Meeting guide (PDF) and Functional Needs Domain Table (PDF) are available to support profile meeting participants.

If the participants are unable to agree on the indicative level of adjustment the student requires, the facilitator will record the different levels of adjustment discussed in the meeting. The facilitator finalises the profile considering the discussions at the profile meeting and the supporting information provided by the school. Moderation and quality assurance processes are in place for all profiles to ensure final profile outcomes are consistent across the state. In some cases, finalisation processes may lead to changes to the indicative levels of adjustment discussed in the profile meeting.

Schools should share all relevant information in the meeting, as only information shared with the full student support group will inform level of adjustments.

The facilitator will lead a discussion to agree on a recommended date for a subsequent profile meeting. The recommended subsequent profile date is indicative only and may change as part of the finalisation and quality assurance processes. Refer to: Finalising the Disability Inclusion Profile.

For more information about student support groups, refer to the Student Support Groups Policy.

Student’s role in the Disability Inclusion Profile meeting

It is important that students play an active and age-appropriate role in the profile process and contribute to the discussion and decision-making process, either in person or via a trusted adult. For more information and resources to support student voice, refer to: ‘Students’ in : Preparing for the Disability Inclusion Profile meeting – roles and responsibilities.

Parents/carers role in the Disability Inclusion Profile meeting

Parents/carers are essential participants in the profile meeting (an exception to this can be made if the student is deemed to be a mature minor for the purposes of this meeting).

At the meeting, they will be responsible for:

• providing information about the student’s aspirations, learning, participation, social engagement, and experiences at home, that are relevant to the student’s learning
• providing information on past adjustments and their effectiveness and any experiences from home that are relevant to the student’s learning both at home and at school
• supporting or providing student voice in the process if the student does not attend the profile meeting.

Schools must ensure that they provide reasonable supports to parents/carers to understand the purpose of and their role in the Disability Inclusion Profile meeting. Refer to: Parents/carers for more information and resources to support parent voice.

Teacher role in the Disability Inclusion Profile meeting

At the meeting, teachers will be responsible for:

• providing information about the student’s learning, social engagement, and participation
• discussing current and potential adjustments
• providing student voice in the process, where appropriate
• providing information on student’s progress.

For more information on how to prepare for a profile meeting, refer to ‘School staff’ in Preparing for a Disability Inclusion Profile meeting – roles and responsibilities.

The teacher attending the meeting should be the teacher with the best knowledge of the student and the adjustments in place to support them. For more information, refer to 'Teacher attendance' in Scheduling a Disability Inclusion Profile meeting.

Preschool/kindergarten teacher role in the Disability Inclusion Profile meeting

For incoming prep students, preschool/kindergarten teachers may be invited to participate in a Disability Inclusion Profile meeting.

At the meeting, preschool/kindergarten teachers will be responsible for:

• providing information about the student’s learning, social engagement, and participation
• discussing adjustments in place at the kindergarten
• providing student voice in the process, where appropriate
• providing information on the student’s progress.

In addition, early childhood settings can support the profile process by providing high quality, strengths-based transition learning and development statements, including Section 1.2, which supports enhanced transitions for children with disability or developmental delay, and by completing other assessments such as early ABLES. As per current practice, schools may also ask kindergarten teachers to complete a Vineland assessment.

Principal (or nominee) role in the Disability Inclusion Profile meeting

In the meeting, the principal or principal’s nominee is responsible for:

• providing information about the school environment and school wide adjustments (refer to the DIFS Portal User Guide (PDF))
• providing information about the student’s learning and social engagement
• helping make sure the voice of all the student’s teachers is provided, where required, such as in secondary schools
• helping ensure the profile meeting is collaborative and constructive.

Principals or principal’s nominees, while typically responsible for running SSG meetings, are not required to lead the discussion or set the profile meeting’s agenda. The principal or principal’s nominee may wish to record key information or actions from the meeting. Schools can use the profile notes tool (DOCX) for this purpose.

Principal or principal’s nominee role when a student attends 2 schools (dual enrolments)

For students who are enrolled at both a mainstream and specialist school and split their school week between the 2 locations, a principal or principal’s nominee from both settings should attend the profile meeting.

The principal or principal’s nominee of the school the student attends the most is responsible for ensuring that the profile meeting is organised. Where there is a 50/50 split, school leaders can decide which school organises the profile meeting.

Principal or principal’s nominee role when a student attends a re-engagement program

If a student is attending a re-engagement program, these settings may not be sufficiently familiar with the profile or surrounding process to take responsibility for organising the profile meeting. The principal or principal’s nominee of the school in which the student is enrolled should consult the leaders of the re-engagement program and decide who will organise the profile meeting.

If the school in which the student is enrolled takes responsibility for organising the meeting, they should work closely throughout the process with the re-engagement program as they may be best placed to contribute to supporting information, support the student’s voice to be represented, support parents/carers attendance, and contribute to the meeting itself.

Advocate’s role in the Disability Inclusion Profile meeting

It is the right of parents/carers to have an advocate. This can help with:

• sharing the parents/carers’ knowledge about the student
• discussing any difficulties the parents/carers may have in the profile meeting
• developing a cooperative relationship between the parents/carers and the school
• assisting parents/carers to understand the department’s procedures
• linking parents/carers with relevant services
• debriefing with parents/carers after the meeting and filling in gaps in their understanding of the outcomes of the meeting.

Advocates must not be paid. As per the SSG guidance, the role of the parents/carers’ advocate in the meeting is a constructive, supportive and enabling one. Refer to: Student Support Groups.

If required, parents/carers can work with the school to support the advocate to attend.

Interpreter’s role in the Disability Inclusion Profile meeting

Where required, an interpreter (or interpreters), including AUSLAN and deaf interpreters, should be present at the meeting to help with communication in line with the department’s Interpreting and Translation Services policy.

Schools are responsible for organising interpreters, including AUSLAN and deaf interpreters.

For more information about accessing interpreting and translation services, refer to: Interpreting and Translation Services.

Other attendees’ role in the Disability Inclusion Profile meeting

Other people who work with the student, such as an allied health/social worker, medical professional, education support staff, or person who is involved with the student through the NDIS, can also attend and support the discussion of adjustments by providing information about the student related to their specific expertise and their work with the student.

The role of other attendees is to provide additional information to support the school and parents/carers to discuss and complete the sections of the profile.

All additional attendees must be agreed upon by the school and the parents/carers.