Disability Inclusion Profile

Supporting information for the Disability Inclusion Profile

Principles of the supporting information guidance

The Disability Inclusion Profile meeting will discuss the student’s:

• strengths and educational aspirations
• functional needs across 6 domains and 31 educational activities
• adjustments required to enable participation in their education.

The Functional Needs Domain Table (PDF) summarises these 31 activities.

The facilitator will support meeting participants to discuss and agree to the ‘level of adjustment’ being provided or required for the student to participate in each of the profile’s 31 educational related activities. The Levels of Adjustment (PDF) resource provides a description of each level.

Supporting information is used within the profile process to confirm that the level of adjustments identified accurately match the student’s functional needs, particularly for adjustments at the substantial or extensive level. In some cases, particularly when seeking to support the differentiated and supplementary levels of adjustment, no additional documentation will be required as a verbal description of the student’s characteristics and adjustments will be sufficient.

Schools are required to upload supporting information and complete the profile information form before a meeting. The profile request is considered complete for the purposes of accessing backdated funding when the screening requirements, supporting information and completed profile form have all been submitted. Refer to: Requirements to submit a ‘complete profile request’.

It is recommended that schools upload a maximum of 15 individual documents as supporting information. When collating supporting information, schools should think critically about the quality and relevance of documentation they provide and ensure that it demonstrates the planning, implementation and monitoring of adjustments. Schools should be able to talk to this at the profile meeting and connect it to the relevant activities within the profile.

The optional Profile Adjustments and Supporting Information Summary Tool (Profile ASIST) (DOCX) is available to support schools to identify relevant and quality supporting information. For examples on how to complete the Profile ASIST, refer to the Profile Adjustment and Supporting Information Summary Tool (Profile ASIST) – Annotated Example (DOCX).

It is strongly encouraged that schools consult with their health and wellbeing or student support services key contact and/or disability coordinator prior to any initial profile request to ensure that supporting information relates to the specific levels of adjustment in the domains or activities identified.

Refer to the Supporting information guidance for schools (DOCX) to identify and prepare key information for the profile.

Should the student be eligible for tier 3 funding, the student’s levels of adjustment across all 31 educational activities contribute to the tier 3 funding allocation. As such, schools should provide supporting information related to all relevant activities and domains within the profile. Refer to: Tier 3 student-level funding.

A flexible approach is taken to the supporting information requirements for eligibility for tier 3 – student level funding. This approach minimises the burden for schools and families in collating information. It seeks to understand the adjustments that are required for the student to participate in their education on the same basis as their peers.

Sources of supporting information

Supporting information should be documentation already held by the school. New documentation or clinical reports and assessments are generally not required. Documentation should demonstrate the planning, implementation and monitoring of adjustments and show the frequency, intensity and personalisation of the adjustments in place to support a student.

Schools should ensure that their documentation of adjustments is of a high-quality – refer to the list of sources below that typically contain high-quality supporting information.Schools should consult with their disability coordinator, health wellbeing or student support services key contact before requesting a profile to discuss the documentation required to support a profile request.

The following types of supporting information can be provided to support the profile process:

• information about both the school-wide and student-specific adjustments currently being provided to support the student
• information on the implementation of these adjustments over time, including the frequency, intensity and personalisation of adjustments, and the student’s responsiveness to them.

School-wide adjustments include any adjustments, policies, facilities, resources and supports in place that are not specific to any one student. Schools can complete the optional school-wide adjustment form to share with facilitators their school policies, facilities, resources and supports. Refer to the School-wide adjustments guidance (DOCX).

Student-specific adjustments are adjustments in place to meet the specific needs of a student to participate at school.

For students in out-of-home-care (OOHC), an Educational Needs Analysis may also be provided as a source of supporting information.

Supporting information relevance and privacy considerations

Supporting information must be an authentic representation of the adjustments and supports in place for a student. Should supporting information that does not appear to reflect adjustments in place be provided (for example, the school provides the same IEP for various students with only the name changed), the facilitator service may contact the school to clarify and flag that there are issues with the supporting information. The continued provision of inaccurate supporting information may result in the document/s not being considered, leading to a change in the indicative level of adjustments discussed in the meeting.

School staff attending the meeting will be expected to speak in more detail to the frequency, intensity and personalisation of the adjustments and supports that the supporting information presents.

Schools must not provide personal, sensitive or health information or documentation that is not directly relevant to the student’s disability or functional needs at school. Examples of supporting information that are not relevant and must not be submitted may include budget information relating to NDIS plans or documents disclosing details of abuse or trauma. Schools can share any relevant general context with the facilitator service. This will ensure the facilitator can support participation in the meeting. Contact DIFS on contact@difs.com.au for further information.

Wherever possible schools must review the supporting information for names of students not directly relevant to the profile and avoid uploading supporting information that shows the full names of students other than the subject of the profile.

For more information, see: Privacy and Information Sharing

Collating and submitting supporting information

Following approval of a profile request screening requirements, schools are encouraged to work with parents/carers to collate relevant supporting information, to be provided in addition to that provided at the request stage. If they have not done so already (refer to: Requesting a Disability Inclusion Profile meeting), schools are also encouraged to discuss the supporting information with their health and wellbeing or student support services key contact before the meeting.

Schools are required to upload supporting information via the DIFS Portal before the profile meeting. Refer to: the DIFS Portal User Guide (PDF). The facilitator service will be unable to accept hard copies of supporting information, including at the profile meeting.

It is recommended that schools upload a maximum of 15 documents as supporting information before the meeting. To avoid delays or confusion, schools must ensure that the file names of these documents are consistent and clearly describe the contents. The facilitator service may contact the school to request more supporting information, if limited documentation regarding the adjustments has been provided.

Schools can table additional documents during the profile meeting and these will be considered by the facilitator. If these documents are required to substantiate a level of adjustment, facilitators will request that these documents are uploaded after the profile meeting.

School documentation as supporting information

Profile information form

Schools must complete a profile information form as part of the profile request in the DIFS Portal. This form collects information about the student and details of SSG members that will attend the profile meeting. Refer to: the DIFS Portal User Guide (PDF).

Once the profile information form and supporting information is provided, the profile request is considered complete for the purposes of accessing backdated funding.

Optional school-wide adjustments form

Schools can also complete an optional, but strongly recommended, school-wide adjustment form (DOCX). The facilitator service will send this form to schools when requesting supporting information. This form gives schools the opportunity to outline all the adjustments, policies, resources, facilities and supports they have in place for all students with disability.

The facilitator service will keep a record of this form to use for future profile meetings held at your school. Schools only need to provide this form once, though schools may wish to revisit this form periodically.

For more information, refer to the School-wide adjustments guidance (DOCX).

Disability Inclusion and supporting information produced by NDIS funded therapists

Disability Inclusion funding is not related to a student’s eligibility for supports under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Many students who have a profile meeting will also participate in the NDIS. Documentation provided by the parents/carers regarding NDIS supports may be provided for the profile process, however, its use or consideration is not mandatory and it is not a substitute for school-based documents.

Supporting information regarding the work of specialists provided for the profile may include:

• a copy of a NDIS plan
• any therapy reports, assessment reports or progress reports produced by an NDIS funded therapist.

There is no need for NDIS funded therapists to produce additional or new documentation for use in the profile process.

The Disability Inclusion Profile processes are separate from the NDIS and the outcome of the profile meeting is not related to a student’s eligibility for supports under the NDIS. NDIS participants are not compelled to disclose their participation in the NDIS. If a student is an NDIS participant, they may choose to self-report this to the school.

Parents/carers, pending agreement from the school, can invite people that are involved with their child through the NDIS to the profile meeting, including:

• NDIS funded therapists
• local area coordinators
• early childhood professionals, such as an early childhood teacher and allied health.

The role of these attendees in profile meetings is to support the discussion of adjustments and supports within their scope of practice of expertise.
For more information refer to Participating in the Disability Inclusion Profile Meeting – roles and responsibilities.

Students with low attendance

In progressing the profile for students with low or no attendance, schools may provide information and documentation that demonstrates the adjustments, re-engagement activities and monitoring and future planning for students with low attendance. Facilitators will apply a flexible approach when reviewing this documentation, noting that more emphasis may be placed on the effort of the school in planning for school attendance and re-engagement activities.

Digital supporting information

Digital supporting information (such as videography and photography) can be provided as part of the profile process. Digital supporting information may be helpful to have a visual representation of adjustments, where it cannot be demonstrated through formal documents. Digital supporting information should not replace other kinds of school-based documentation and should not be used to demonstrate a student’s functioning, presentation, challenging behaviour or to highlight their disability.

Any provision of digital supporting information must be consistent with consent provided by parents for use of photos, videos and images of the student and needs to align with the department’s Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy requirements and your school’s local policy.

Third-party software, programs or applications used for collating student information

No third-party software, programs or applications with the exception of the DIFS portal have been accredited by the department for use as part of the Disability Inclusion Profile process. There are a range of risks related to the use of such software, programs of applications, including related to child safety, records management and privacy.

Should schools wish to use any software, programs or applications they are free to do so. However, any use must be compliant with all relevant legislative requirements, including those that relate to child safety, records management and privacy. Schools must also comply with the requirements for schools to use the Safer Technologies 4 Schools (ST4S) risk assessment reports – refer to ICT Software in Schools – Risk Assessment.

Use of third-party software, programs or applications must be approved by the school’s principal and schools are encouraged to complete a Privacy Impact Assessment. Refer to Privacy and Information Sharing: Privacy impact assessments.

Ideally, schools must have a contract with the software, programs or applications to ensure appropriate use of private, personal and health information.

In deciding to use any software, programs or applications schools should weigh a range of factors including the potential benefits and financial costs to the school and whether alternative solutions exist.

Refer to the Privacy and Information Sharing Policy and ICT Software in Schools – Risk Assessment.

Supporting information from specialists and school-based experts, including Health, Wellbeing, and Inclusion Workforces

The profile can be supported by professionals who provide evidence-based advice and guidance that enables schools to effectively implement appropriate adjustments to support students in the school environment. These professionals include specialists and school-based experts.

In some circumstances, such as where there is a safety risk to the student, a specialist with the appropriate qualifications will be required to contribute to supporting information for a profile. Facilitators will advise where this is the case. As an example, for students with swallowing difficulties that result in a risk of aspiration or choking, their supporting information must be informed by a medical practitioner and/or speech pathologist.

The department’s HWIW are considered specialists and should have their involvement demonstrated in supporting information for students undertaking the profile.

HWIW comprise:

• student support services
• primary and secondary school nurses
• visiting teachers
• Koorie engagement support officers
• other regional/divisional or area-based staff whose key role is to provide support to schools. Schools are encouraged to identify appropriate additional workforces with their disability coordinator, health and wellbeing or student support services key contact.

Mental health practitioners are also considered specialists where their area of expertise aligns with specific activities.

More information on the role of specialists and school-based experts, including HWIW, in providing supporting information is detailed in the Supporting information guidance for schools (DOCX).

Specialists/school-based experts and supporting information

The involvement of specialists and school-based experts in supporting students can be demonstrated in the supporting information held and submitted by the school. At times, specialists and school-based experts may provide additional supporting information that is separate to school documents. This may include a formal report or a record of specialist involvement. These must be completed by the relevant practitioner and provided to the school to collate with other supporting information. Schools are responsible for co-ordinating the submission of all supporting information to the facilitator service.

In the case of private specialists (including those working through the NDIS), schools will need to work with the parents/carers to provide consent/release of this information to share with the school. Refer to: Supporting information guidance for schools (DOCX).