Family Advocacy

28/10/2026

🍎 Tomorrow is World Teachers’ Day!

We recognise and thank the teachers and educators who help create classrooms where every student is welcomed, valued and has opportunities to learn alongside their peers.

Inclusive education is strengthened when teachers have access to practical ideas, evidence and examples of what inclusion can look like in everyday school life. On World Teachers’ Day, we recognise the important role educators play in continuing to learn, reflect and take action to build school communities where every student belongs.

To mark World Teachers’ Day, we’re sharing two resources that support inclusive classroom practice:

📚 All Students Learning Together – practical ideas around classroom culture, curriculum, participation and supporting students to learn together.

🎥 Teacher Impact – Access Symposium – a collection of presentations exploring the important role teachers play in creating inclusive learning environments for students with disability.

These resources are a great starting point for educators wanting to reflect on and strengthen inclusion in everyday classroom practice.

🔗 All Students Learning Together:https://www.family-advocacy.com/assets/ce93bc49e3/all-students-learning-together-booklet.pdf

🔗 Teacher Impact: https://access.family-advocacy.com/watch/teacher-impact/

Reshare this post for World Teacher's Day 🍎

28/10/2026

ONLY ONE WEEK TO GO
Successful transitions through school starting next week!

With the right resources and support, all students with disability can have a positive and successful start and finish to their schooling journey.

These free webinars aim to empower families through knowledge and ongoing support for successful student transitions. You will learn how to work collaboratively with educators to increase the well-being and school outcomes of your child as they move through the various stages of school.

To register, please click on the desired link below.

PRIMARY SCHOOL
Tuesday 3 November, PM session:https://bit.ly/Transitions_PrimarySchoolPMNov2026
Tuesday, 10 November AM session: https://bit.ly/Transitions_PrimarySchoolAMNov2026

HIGH SCHOOL
Thursday, 5 November PM session: https://bit.ly/Transitions_HighSchoolPMNov2026
Thursday, 12 November AM session: https://bit.ly/Transitions_HighSchoolAMNov2026

28/10/2026

A great FREE training opportunity from Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA)! 💻

Enjoy this short webinar miniseries exploring how to build more inclusive workplaces, cultures and communities.

Each 30-minute session shares insights from people with lived experience, starting with preventing ableism and workplace discrimination on Monday 16 November.

Original post: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1c4wDyDf9z/

Want to know how to make your workplace more inclusive, but short on time? ⏰

Join CYDA’s lived experience team as we launch our FREE training miniseries: Building Inclusive Workplaces, Cultures and Communities.

Each 30-minute webinar will tackle an issue relevant to your workplace.

Our first session on Monday, 16 November, focuses on Preventing Ableism and Discrimination in the Workplace. Reserve your spot now!

➡️ Link to Humanitix: https://events.humanitix.com/cyda-mini-training-series

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21/10/2026

🏫 Leading Inclusive School Reform with Dr Loren Swancutt

What does it take to create schools where every student is welcomed, included and supported to learn alongside their peers?

Join us for a FREE webinar with Dr Loren Swancutt, exploring how educators and school leaders can create meaningful, lasting change through whole-school inclusive education reform.

Together, we'll explore practical ways to:

✅ Build a shared vision for inclusive education
✅ Strengthen inclusive teaching practices and school culture
✅ Identify barriers and opportunities for improvement
✅ Turn inclusive education goals into meaningful action

💛 We encourage both families and educators to attend, building a shared understanding to strengthen conversations and work together towards more inclusive schools.

📅 Wednesday 4 November 2026

🕔 5pm – 7pm AEDT

💻 Online via Zoom | FREE

📚 Teachers: This webinar covers two hours of professional development across the teaching standards. A certificate of completion is available upon request.

🔗 Register here: https://bit.ly/LeadingInclusiveSchoolReformWebinar

Inclusive education is about every student belonging, participating and learning together.

15/10/2026

It was wonderful to have Gavy Culey, Year 8 student at Kiama High School and his mum Carol, one of our parent leaders, come all the way from the South Coast to attend our Parliamentary Forum on Tuesday.

Afterwards, Gavy attended question time and was welcomed by name by the Speaker.

Read more about Gavy's visit to parliament in the post below

13/10/2026

💙 From Recommendations to Reality: Building Belonging Together! What a powerful day at NSW Parliament House! 🏛️

A heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who joined us in person and online for Family Advocacy's Parliamentary Forum, From Recommendations to Reality: Inclusive Education and Employment.

Today, we came together to reflect on 20 years since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, three years since the Disability Royal Commission and two years since the NSW Parliamentary Education Inquiry.

The message was clear: We have the evidence. We have the recommendations. Now we need action.

👏 Thank you to Daniel McDonald (Deadly Hand Talk) for opening our forum with a meaningful and thought-provoking Welcome to Country.

🎤 A special thank you to our speakers:

Skye Kakoschke-Moore, CEO of Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA), highlighted the urgent need for a funded and accountable NSW Inclusive Education Roadmap.

"Inclusive education is not simply placing a student with disability in a mainstream classroom. It is about changing the system so that every student can genuinely participate, learn and belong."

Professor Erin Wilson, Director of the Centre for Social Impact Swinburne, shared compelling evidence about the importance of early work experience, inclusive employment and meaningful pathways from school into community life.

"We know exactly what to do."

We were also pleased to welcome Michael Regan MP and Abigail Boyd MLC, and thank NSW Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car and Shadow Minister for Education Mark Speakman for contributing video messages to today's forum.

💬 One of the strongest messages of the day was the need for an independent, accessible and effective education complaints system, so families have somewhere fair to turn when things go wrong.

As we look towards the 2027 NSW election, Family Advocacy is calling for three important reforms through our Building Belonging Together campaign:

💙 **BELONG** – A NSW Inclusive Education Roadmap.

🗣️ **BE HEARD** – An independent statutory complaints and oversight mechanism for education.

🌱 **CONTRIBUTE** – A NSW Inclusive Employment Pathways Strategy.

Real change requires families, schools, communities, employers and government working together.

To the families, people with disability, advocates, parliamentarians, speakers, supporters and everyone who helped make today possible, thank you for being part of this important conversation.

The time for recommendations alone has passed. It's time to turn them into reality.

Together, let's keep building a NSW where people with disability can belong, be heard and contribute. 💙

13/10/2026

💼 **LIVE from NSW Parliament House!**

We're now hearing from Professor Erin Wilson Director of the Centre for Social Impact Swinburne, who is sharing compelling evidence about employment opportunities for people with disability and why we urgently need better pathways from school into meaningful employment.

Some powerful statistics from Erin's presentation:

🔹 Approximately 130,000 people with intellectual disability are in Australia's labour market.

🔹 In 2024–25, just 930 people with intellectual disability achieved a 52-week employment outcome through Disability Employment Services (DES).

🔹 An estimated 14,000–16,000 people are employed in supported employment enterprises through NDIS-funded arrangements.

"Work experience and paid employment is the single biggest predictor of later employment." – Professor Erin Wilson

Erin is highlighting the importance of inclusive education, career planning, early work experience and strong community connections in creating better employment outcomes for young people with disability.

And her message is clear:

💬 "We cannot claim we do not know what to do."

The evidence already exists. We know what works. What's needed now is meaningful action to ensure young people with disability have the same opportunities to explore their interests, build skills and pursue employment as their peers.

We have the evidence. Now we need action.

This is why Family Advocacy is calling for a NSW Inclusive Employment Pathways Strategy in the lead up to the election.

13/10/2026

HAPPENING NOW: Leanne Varga, Family Advocacy's Systemic Advocacy and Campaigns Manager, reminded us today:

"Inclusive education lays the foundation for belonging."

Leanne emphasised that children and young people with disability deserve to belong, have their voices heard and access meaningful opportunities throughout their education and beyond.

"But inclusion cannot sit on the shoulders of families alone."

Creating lasting change requires families, schools, communities, employers and government all playing their part.

12/10/2026

We're busy behind the scenes getting everything ready for today's Parliamentary Forum starting at 11am, at NSW Parliament House!

Our team is putting the finishing touches in place, and our friendly faces will be waiting at the front desk to welcome you💙

We're looking forward to bringing families, advocates and decision-makers together for important conversations about inclusive education, employment and creating opportunities for people with disability to belong, be heard and contribute.