Childcare and schooling

This toolkit compliments the ‘Navigating School’ guide to supports families of children with disability, developmental delay, additional needs or Autism as they navigate primary school in New South Wales. This toolkit provides worksheets, conversation examples, scripts, prompts and templates that you can use when preparing for conversations, meetings and next steps.

This guide supports families of children with disability, developmental delay, additional needs or Autism as they navigate primary school in New South Wales, with ideas also useful across other school systems. It explains how schools provide support, how decisions are made, how to prepare for meetings, build strong relationships with teachers, address concerns, and use practical tools to stay organised.

This dataset is an indication of current support classes operating in NSW public schools. It is not a definitive list of support classes available.

Parents and carers are advised to contact their local public school to discuss all support options available. Applications for support placement are through the Access Request process. An Access Request is usually arranged by the school learning and support team at the local public school, but can also be organised through the local School Services team if a child is not yet enrolled.

With all of the options available, it’s difficult to know which early education path to take. Let Care for Kids lead your discovery to the services available for your family and choose the right childcare.

Newcastle Temporary Care is a community-based, not-for-profit respite care service for children and young adults with a disability and their carers and families, who live in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas.

The Y NSW Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) services provide a safe and enriching place for children to have inspired minds and active bodies in Sydney, Newcastle and Central Coast. You may register through the link on their website.

CYDA hosts webinars on early childhood inclusion featuring lived experiences from young people with disability, alongside insights from CYDA staff and field experts for parents, caregivers, educators, and specialists.

raisingchildren.net.au has a range of resources to support children with disability throughout their education, from child care to secondary school and work.

raisingchildren.net.au has a range of resources to support children with autism throughout their education, from child care to secondary school and work.

This Inclusion Toolkit for Parents has been written with leading inclusive education experts to guide parents in supporting their child’s inclusive education journey.

raisingchildren.net.au has resources on rights, laws, inclusion and advocacy for children with disability, autism and other additional needs. This includes articles on education rights for children with disability and anti-discrimination laws in Australia.

Disability provisions in the HSC are practical arrangements that help students who couldn’t otherwise make a fair attempt to show what they know in an exam room. This website provides information and resources about HSC disability provisions.