Is your child eliglible for Funding Support in a NSW public school mainstream enrolment?

In preparation for planned discussions with the NSW Minister for Education and Training, we are interested to know how many children with Down syndrome in NSW have been classified as having a mild intellectual disability, and are therefore ineligible to apply for Funding Support in a mainstream enrolment, or for enrolment in a support class (at least until they are 8), in a NSW public school.

Our current understanding is that these students do not have a current Disability Confirmation Letter (a DET document required for Funding Support applications to proceed), and that for at least some students, lack of individually funded support is a real problem for both the student and the classroom teacher.

Funding Support is not a generic term, it is a particular funding stream available to students enrolled in mainstream classes in NSW public schools, who meet particular eligibility criteria, and for whom funding is granted on an individual basis over a period of time.

Please call us on 02 9683 4333, or email to info@dsansw.org.au if your family is in this situation, whether it is a problem for your child or not, so that we will be better prepared to represent the real concerns of families.