EDFD221 AT1 Cassandra Lia: S00142660

EDFD221 Assessment Task 1: Letter

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to you about my concern in regards to the refusal of my

daughters enrolment into your school. My daughter, Sarah Lia, is a

child with epilepsy, and it is in her best interests to be moved out of

her current school and into the environment that your school will

provide. Due to her low self-esteem and quiet tendencies, as well as

her poor health, Sarah has been a target for bullying. I fear her

mental health will further decrease if she is not able to enroll in

another school. Sarah has a quick mind, and excels in reading and

literacy, though her attention and memory struggle due to her

health. After much research, Sarahs step-father, father and myself

have decided that your school best meets the needs of Sarahs

education and mental well-being, and we were devastated at her

refusal.

It is my belief that, regardless of the weaknesses and strengths of a

student, inclusion is a philosophy in which all students are a full

part of the learning community (Titone, 2005, p7). In refusing

Sarahs enrolment, your school is failing to acknowledge the basic

principles of inclusion. Under these principles it is acknowledged

that all students can learn (Foreman & Arthur-Kelly, 2014). Your

argument that Sarah would struggle within a regular classroom does

not account for this fact. I honestly believe that with an

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individualized teaching program, Sarah will be able to flourish within

the classroom just as any other student would. I also wish for Sarah

to be able to live out the normal life of a child. A second principle of

inclusion is normalization (Foreman & Arthur-Kelly, 2014). Sarah has

the right to live as normal a life as possible, and being refused

enrolment goes against this right. The principles of social justice and

human rights aim to ensure that injustice is eliminated in regards to

students by providing equally accessible education (Foreman &

Arthur-Kelly, 2014). This is again where your school is neglecting the

main principles of inclusion, and is partaking in a questionable role

in regards to being a safe school.

Accordingly, the National Safe Schools Framework (NSSF) provides a

set of guiding principles for schools to assist them in adopting safe

and supportive environments for all their students (Standing Council

on School Education and Early Childhood (SCSEEC), 2013). You state

on your website that your teachers are trained to link the eleven

guiding principles of the NSSF into the classroom, and that you

utilise a whole-school approach as recommended (Cross, Epstein,

Hearn, Slee, Shaw & Monks, 2011). It is evident that, as per the

NSSF, you have instigated procedures related to bullying,

harassment, and violence (Cross, et al., p399). These policies

should be more than sufficient at protecting my daughter. The

framework outlines that in a safe school the risk from all types of

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harm is minimised, diversity is valued and all members of the school

community feel respected and included (SCSEEC, 2013, p2).

In my research of your school I have discovered that you heavily

abide by the National Framework for Values Education (NFVE). This

is one of the many reasons I was eager for Sarah to be accepted

into your school. It is my belief that a school which provides values

education is one where students understand and are expected to

live out the values within the framework, thus providing the safe

and supportive environment my child needs (Department of

Education, Science and Training, 2005). The value of integrity

suggests that the school must abide by principles of moral and

ethical conduct (Department of Education, Science and Training,

2005). This value is not demonstrated in the refusal of my child.

Alternatively, if your school abides by value nine, understanding

tolerance and inclusion, there should be no reason for Sarah to not

be included within the school grounds (Department of Education,

Science and Training, 2005). For if your students are educated in

regards to the NFVE they will understand the importance of

accepting diversity and inclusion of others (Department of

Education, Science and Training, 2005).

It is my belief that a fundamental definition of social justice is to

ensure that all students have equal access to education (Foreman &

Arthur-Kelly, 2014). A school which models social justice should hold

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a perspective on the impact that unjust situations have on the

ability of a child to flourish (Shriberg & Poonam, 2014). This raises

the belief that your school should be taking a critical stance

regarding the school district policies and practices and the supports

being offered (Shriberg & Poonam, 2014, p10). In fact, in refusing

enrolment due to my daughters epilepsy, you are dismissing the

Convention on the rights of the child. Both my family and my

daughter are aware of the rights held by all children, and as a school

it is expected that you are as well. Article 2 of the Convention

details non-discrimination (UNICEF, 2014). This means that

regardless of my daughters abilities, the convention applies directly

to her. Article 28 outlines my daughters right to education (UNICEF,

2014). Every child needs to be given the opportunity to attend

school to the highest possible level, regardless of their situation

(UNICEF, 2014). This means that regardless of her disorder, Sarah

has the right to be accepted into your school and attend to the best

of her ability.

Because my daughter has a neurological disorder, she requires the

support of the Discrimination Standards for Education. These

standards provide Sarah with the ability to be accepted as holding

the same rights as every other child (Department of Education and

Training, 2005). The Disability Standards for Education 2005, as

formed under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, were put in

place to stop situations such as this, where you are discriminating

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against my child because of her disorder, from ever occurring

(Department of Education and Training, 2005). Under this

legislation, schools are expected to make reasonable adjustments to

assist Sarah in enrolment, participation and use of facilities

(Department of Education and Training, 2005). Such adjustments

that would need to be made for Sarah would include alterations to

the arrangement of the classroom, extra time given for tests, and

accommodation of medical appointments. None of these

adjustments are of any cost to the school. Similarly, I have been

given no reason to believe that your teachers fail to meet the

Victorian Teaching Code of Conduct. Therefore, all your teachers

must be aware that they are expected to be able to cater for the

individual abilities of all students and must protect students from

intimidation, embarrassment, humiliation or harm (Victorian

Institute of Teaching, 2015, p2). Therefore, despite your concerns

that the teachers may come across difficulties dealing with Sarahs

extra needs, I have complete faith that, due to their training, they

will be able to cater for Sarah in the same way they cater for all the

other students in their class.

It is my belief that upon re-evaluation you may now realise that

there are numerous policies and legislation that back up Sarahs

right to be educated at your school. I still strongly believe that your

school is the best choice for my daughter. Therefore, on the basis of

the discussion I have presented within this letter, and on the event

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of a future meeting, I ask you to please reconsider your decision on

Sarahs enrolment.

Kind regards,

Cassandra Lia

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References

Cross, D., Epstein, M., Hearn, L., Slee, P., Shaw, T., & Monks, H.

(2011). National safe schools framework: policy and practice

to reduce bullying in Australian schools. International Journal

of Behavioural Development, 35(5), 398-404. doi:

10.1177/0165025411407456

Department of Education and Training (2005). Disability standards

for education 2005. Retrieved from www.education.gov.au

Department of Education, Science and Training (2005). National

framework for values education in Australian schools.

Retrieved from www.curriculum.edu.au

Foreman, P. & Arthur-Kelly M. (2014). Inclusion in action. South

Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning Australia.

Shriberg, D. & Desai, P. (2014). Bridging social justice and childrens

rights to enhance school psychology scholarship and practice.

Psychology in the Schools, 5(1), 3-14. doi: 10.1002/pits.21737

Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood (2013).

National Safe schools framework. Retrieved from

www.safeschoolshub.edu.au

Titone, C. (2005). The philosophy of inclusion: roadblocks and

remedies for the teacher and the teacher educator. The

Journal of Educational Thought, 39(1), 7-32. Retrieved from:

http://uofcpress.com/

UNICEF (2014). Rights under the convention on the rights of the

child. Retrieved from www.unicef.org

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Victorian Institute of Teaching (2015). The Victorian teaching

profession code of conduct. Retrieved from

www.vit.vic.edu.a

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