Sarah Baker S00118838

EDFD 221 Liz Weir

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Assessment Task 1: Letter to the school


Task: (Individual) Compose a letter from your student (avatar) and/or their parents/carers
responding to a school that is refusing enrolment. You will need to include information about
the philosophy and principles of inclusion, the intent behind the National Safe Schools
Framework, the relevant values in the Framework for values in education issues of social
justice and childrens rights and the legislative requirements on the school. (1500 words) 50%


Sarah Baker S00118838
EDFD 221 Liz Weir
2

To whom it may concern,
It has been brought to our attention that your school has refused enrolment to our Son
Harry Smith. We understand that the reason you refused Harry to enrol in your school is
because of his Aspergers syndrome. Aspergers syndrome is described as a form of Autism
Spectrum Disorder (ASD), therefore he has difficulty in three main areas of his life:
communication, socialisation and inflexibility of thought. This is known as the Triad of
Impairment (Ansell, G. D, 2011, p.23). Aspergers syndrome is now seen as a high
functioning form of ASD (Baron-Cohen, 2008). This however is no reason to refuse a child
entry to your school and our Australian government supports my beliefs and reasoning.
As an Australian school you have not demonstrated that you are upholding the values of the
National Safe School Framework (NSSF). This framework allows you to follow the
guidelines on ways to be proactive and ensure your school is developing policies on the
wellbeing and safety of your students (Department of Education, Employment and
Workplace Relations, 2012). The NSSF has a vision that all Australian schools are able to
provide a safe, supportive and respectful teaching and learning community that promotes
student wellbeing (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2012).
Your school vision adheres to the vision of the NSSF however your actions are not
coinciding with your school vision.
Your school does not seem to be demonstrating the following guidelines and requirements
from the NSSF: to teach, model and promote respect, acceptance and tolerance of diversity. If
these are guidelines that you believe to adhere to then you should be demonstrating to the
other members of your community the ability to accept and support diversity by allowing
Harry to be apart of your school community despite his Aspergers syndrome.
Sarah Baker S00118838
EDFD 221 Liz Weir
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Australia is apart of the international agreement UN Convention on the rights of the child
(UNICEF). UNICEF (2012) has influenced 150 countries worldwide and supports all
children under the age of 18. This document makes teachers aware of what they need to know
when working with children, however again it seems that your school has overlooked Harrys
Aspergers syndrome and refused him into your school without seeking the rights of the
child.
UNICEF (2012, pp.1) express in article 4 that the government has a responsibility to make
sure your rights are protected. They must help your family to protect your rights and create an
environment where you can grow and reach your potential. This specific article allows one
to see that the government itself supports an inclusive environment in which every child
should an equal opportunity of developing to their fullest potential. How can you refuse
Harrys enrolment just because he has Aspergers syndrome, when you dont even know
what his potential is?
Article 3 states that All adults should do what is best for you. When adults make decisions,
they should think about how their decisions will affect children (UNICEF, 2012, pp.4).
When you declined Harrys ennoblement at your school you did not have Harrys best
interest at heart. However, when we applied for him to attend your school we did. We didnt
want him to go to a special school but rather we wanted him to go to a school in an area that
he was familiar with, were he had a few friends already attending and where he would be
accepted and nurtured by the staff and students. We want what is best for Harry and we
believe that, that would be your school.
The UNICEF (2012) rights show there should not be any discrimination (Article 4), that the
childs best interests are always priority (Article 3), that children with any disability have
equal rights opposed to any child with no disability (Article 23), every child should have a
Sarah Baker S00118838
EDFD 221 Liz Weir
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right to an education (Article 28) and within their education they have the opportunity to
develop their personality and talents to the full (Article 29) (Childrens week, 1991).

We understand that currently you might not have the correct facilities to cater for Harrys
needs however; Foreman (2011) mentions that to be an effective school you need to
recognise the need for change and facilitate it if it is needed. Therefore Harry should have the
opportunity to be apart of your school community whether you have or dont have that extra
teaching support to assist him in his education.
Under the philosophy and principles of inclusion, Foreman (2011, p. 67) states that
successful inclusive school communities aim to meet the diverse needs of all their students,
including those with additional needs. It is important to be an inclusive cultured school in
order for families to feel like they belong and are accepted. Having a supportive environment
that the whole school community can adopt can ensure families to have that sense of
belonging (Department of education, 2013). The Victorian Institute of Teaching (2008) has
produced a code of conduct that expresses teachers need to provide opportunities for all
students to learn and understand that each individual student have different learning needs
and abilities (Principle 1.1). Teachers need to work in collaborative relationships with
students as they come from various cultural backgrounds therefore the school and families
need to work together for effective communication in order for this to benefit the childs
education (Principle 1.6). Teachers also need to be aware of the legal requirements as a
teacher; this includes any discrimination (Principle 3.2). Through the refusal of Harry it
shows me that you are not providing opportunities for all students, that you are not working
together with the families to support having a multicultural community and you seem to be
discriminating against students.
Sarah Baker S00118838
EDFD 221 Liz Weir
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ComLaw (2012) created the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 which supports my
reasoning for why Harry should not have been refused, because no school should refuse a
child due to any learning difficulties that they may have. The Disabilities Standards for
Education (Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations, 2012. p.1) state
that schools should ensure as far as practicable that a person with a disability has the same
rights to quality education and training opportunities as the rest of the community. This
means that Harry should have the same opportunity as every other member of our community
and his Aspergers syndrome should not impact on his acceptance or refusal to your school.
The National Framework for Values in Australian Schools has developed nine values that all
Australian schools should demonstrate and implement within their school community. These
are; care and compassion, doing your best, fair go, freedom, honesty and trustworthiness,
integrity, respect, responsibility, and understanding, tolerance and inclusion (Department of
Education Science and Training, 2005). By refusing Harry into your school you are not
giving him a fair go, nor are you demonstrating inclusion respect or responsibility.
The National Framework for Values in Australian Schools also states that values education
is an essential part of effective schooling (Department of Education Science and Training,
2005, p.4). By you not demonstrating these values in your decision to refuse Harry you are
not showing the other members of your school community what it means to include and give
each and every child a fair go regardless of their ability.

As Harrys parents we understand that he is lacking in his motor functions, social cognition
and has poor attention but we do know that he has a good memory. We hope that his skills
can be developed and improved on within an environment that is known to him and
somewhere where he feels comfortable and safe. Harry is always willing to give things a go
Sarah Baker S00118838
EDFD 221 Liz Weir
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although sometimes he requires a little more attention but we hope that your school will give
Harry a chance to show himself to you.
We hope you take into consideration all of the points we have put forth to you and reconsider
Harrys enrolment at your school. Dumbleton once said that to question a persons
educability is to question an aspect of their humanity (1990, p.16).

Kind Regards
Mr and Mrs Smith












Sarah Baker S00118838
EDFD 221 Liz Weir
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Reference List:
Ansell, G. D. (2011). Working with asperger syndrome in the classroom: an insider's guide /
Gill D. Ansell. Retrieved from
http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy2.acu.edu.au/lib/australiancathu/docDetail.action?docID
=10477018
Baron-Cohen, S. (2008). Autism and Asperger syndrome. New Youk, United States: Oxford
University Press.
Childrens week. (1991). UN Convention on the rights of the child. Retrieved from
http://www.childrensweek.org.au/UN%20poster%20Jan%202008.pdf
ComLaw. (2012). Disability discrimination act 1992. Retrieved from
http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2012C00110
Department of Education Science and Training (2005). The National Framework for Values
in Australian Schools. Retrieved from
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/Framework_PDF_version_for_the_w
eb.pdf
Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations. (2012). The National safe
schools framework. Retrieved from http://deewr.gov.au/national-safe-schools-
framework-0
Foreman, P. (2011). Inclusion in Action (3
rd
ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning
Australia Pty Limited.
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EDFD 221 Liz Weir
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Smith, C., (2006). Including the Gifted and Talented: Making inclusion work for more gifted
and able learners. New York: Routledge.
http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=KL1-1jfUF7wC&oi=fnd&pg=PA3
&dq=principles+of+inclusion&ots=cIqoN2gQQp&sig=V9cyK0OlyXPZlKuFkUfkQb
auDHs#v=onepage&q=principles%20of%20inclusion&f=false
UNICEF. (2012). UNICEFs approach to education. Retrieved from
http://www.unicef.org.au/Discover/What-we-do/Education/UNICEF-s-Approach-to-
Education.aspx
Victorian Institute of Teaching. (2008). The Victorian teaching profession code of conduct.
Retrieved from http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Code-of-
Conduct-June-2008.pdf