Overview

This article provides information for the NCCD and PPSD sections in Personalised Planning.

Prerequisites

• Your NETiD login details

• Personalised Planning application

Instructions

NCCD Section - Eligibility

Are there videos for stepping us through this new section?

YES! There are four (4) videos located in the red HELP button on both the Student Management screen (where the student details page is) as well as in the red HELP button in the new NCCD section. The videos go through the functional aspects of the new NCCD section as well as recapping important eligibility, disability category and adjustment level aspects from the National NCCD Guidelines.

To keep evidence for the four key areas of the NCCD, do we need to keep an explicit register for each student, or can teachers just make notes in their registers?

There are numerous examples of what can be used for each of the four key areas of evidence for the NCCD – refer to NCCD Guidelines). Registers completed by teachers would be just one example and would only cover one or two key areas at best. As with Personalised Plans, they are one example of evidence that can be used but would not cover all the four key areas required. Schools must make provisions for how they will keep various and multiple pieces of evidence for each student included in the NCCD for what is logistically best for each educational setting. Note: Schools must ensure that each student’s NCCD evidence each year must be kept, stored and be accessible for seven (7) years.

If a student had adjustments for 10 weeks or more in Term 3 and 4 in 2018 but not any this year in 2019 – can we still include them in this year’s NCCD count?

Yes – the adjustments do not need to be happening at the time of census. As long as the school holds evidence for adjustments and eligibility of the student from after the previous August census date, they can be included. Disability Support: NCCD Frequently Asked Questions Personalised Planning Tool 2 0 1 9 UPDATED: FAQ UPDATED

Does a student have to be enrolled on the date of the census to be included in the NCCD?

YES! The student must be enrolled prior to the census date. The school must also hold evidence from the previous school of adjustments in place AND evidence of adjustments that are occurring at their new school (including collaboration with students and/or parents/carers) that combined make up a minimum of 10 weeks of adjustments.

If you are not using a Personalised Planning section in the tool, the student name will not be on the system. What would we press on to get to the new NCCD section?

You will still need to create a student profile by clicking on “Add new record”. You will need to complete the “Student Details” section in student management. It is on the bottom of this “Student Details” page that the blue PPSD button and green NCCD button will appear – click on the green NCCD button to access the NCCD section for this student

If a child enrols at a school at the beginning of the year with a diagnosed LD & adjustments are going to be made for them between Jan & August, can you add the student to the tool in January KNOWING that this student will have had adjustments for more than 10 weeks?

You will be able to add the student to the Personalised Planning section (PPSD) at any time from January to create a profile and to start to record adjustments. Students should not be added to the NCCD section until they have met the NCCD Guidelines eligibility criteria – which includes schools having evidence that there has been a minimum of 10 weeks of adjustments.

NCCD Levels Of Adjustment

What level of adjustment should it be for a Life Skills student?

The level is determined by the extent of adjustments that are in place for that student over a range of areas. Each student’s circumstances must be considered individually, however based on advice from NESA below, only a small percentage of students would be engaging in Life Skills and would therefore be potentially accessing a range of adjustments at a higher level in more than one area.

Advice from NESA regarding Life Skills indicates:

• A few students with special education needs may find Years 7–10 courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content and Years 11–12 Life Skills courses are the most appropriate options to follow for the RoSA or HSC. These are particularly students with an intellectual disability

• Courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content are not an appropriate curriculum option for students performing below their cohort OR who could be helped with appropriate adjustments and support

Archiving Students

Is there a timeline for monitoring students before they get archived? At what point do we archive a student?

The school decision to archive a student is based around the length of time that adjustments have not been implemented or in place for the student. For example, if a student had not had any adjustments in place for a student for the last 12 months, then best practice would be to archive this student. They can always be unarchived if adjustments are re-implemented at a later date. If a student has left your educational setting and they are not transitioning to another catholic school or are graduating from school after 17 years of age, then those students should be archived when their enrolment ceases with your school.

Collaborative Planning & Parental Permission

Is consulting with a senior student in Year 12 sufficient for collaboration and consulting if they are 18 years old. Do we still need to consult with parent?

The Standards provide that, before the school makes an adjustment for a student, it must consult the student or an associate of the student to determine the type of adjustment/s required. Under the Standards, an associate of the student includes another person who is living with the student on a genuine domestic basis, a relative or a carer. For most students, this means their parents and carers. For some students, it may be more appropriate to consult only with the students themselves or with another associate, depending on their individual circumstances.

Can a collaborative planning meeting take place over the phone?

Yes – schools would be advised to keep an accurate and detailed account of the phone conversation and to have evidence that this has been shared with the parents/carers after the meeting to confirm the adjustments discussed.

Why has the parent name been left to archive in the Collaborative Planning Tab?

CSNSW thought that when a change of parent/guardian took place that this would be very important historical information to keep within a plan and so this function remained.

Do we need to keep notes in Collaborative Planning Summary section?

Congregational schools and dioceses are free to make their own autonomous decisions regarding whether or not this section is completed.

Can a collaborative planning meeting take place over the phone?

Yes – schools would be advised to keep an accurate and detailed account of the phone conversation and to have evidence that this has been shared with the parents/carers after the meeting to confirm the adjustments discussed.

Why has the parent name been left to archive in the Collaborative Planning Tab?

CSNSW thought that when a change of parent/guardian took place that this would be very important historical information to keep within a plan and so this function remained.

Do we need to keep notes in Collaborative Planning Summary section?

Congregational schools and dioceses are free to make their own autonomous decisions regarding whether or not this section is completed.

To be noted:

➢ the Disability Standards for Education legislate that consultation and collaboration must occur with parents before adjustments are put in place for a student to address their disability

➢ the NCCD Guidelines mandate that schools must keep evidence of consultation and collaboration with parents if a student is included in the NCCD

➢ the Guidelines do not stipulate how that consultation or collaboration must take place, therefore this could be by email, phone, in a formal meeting, in an informal discussion

Do you need to have parental permission to have a personalised plan? What if the student has an imputed disability – do you need parent permission for them to have a personalised plan too?

In short – yes – you need to have parental permission. It is legislated within the Disability Standards for Education that collaboration and consultation with the student and/or parent/caregiver MUST take place BEFORE adjustments are put in place at school. This is regardless of whether the student has a diagnosed disability or imputed disability. A personalised plan is a way of recording and documenting these adjustments, therefore to have a personalised plan created means that the collaboration and consultation with parents regarding adjustments have already taken place.

What about for the NCCD though – does a parent need to give permission for their child to be included?

No. Schools do not need to seek the permission of parents to include students in their NCCD census.

Is there still a tick-a-box for including a student in the NCCD disability count?

No – this is now a completely different section that will be launched on 1st March. If a student is to be counted in the NCCD, the user will click on a button to enter this new section, confirm the disability category, select a level of adjustment and verify that evidence is kept in the four areas as stipulated in the NCCD Guidelines. This is to create the flexibility for congregational schools and dioceses to be better placed to make operational decisions about the use of the CSNSW personalised plan portal on NETiD. This now means that potentially within the CSNSW NETiD portal schools may have:

➢ Students with personalised plans but whom are not included within the NCCD

➢ Students with NCCD sections completed but with no personalised plans completed (as the school has alternate planning documents in place)

Disability Categories

What disability category does Mental Health come under?

Mental Health fits the DDA descriptor in the SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL disability category.

Do I need to create personalised plans for students with health care plans?

Personalised plans are best practice and a piece of evidence for the NCCD for documenting the adjustments that are in place for a student where their disability is having a functional impact on their participation in aspects associated with schooling/learning on the same basis as their peers. An example of when it may not be necessary: A student has asthma but there are NO adjustments whatsoever taking place at school as well as NO functional impact on their schooling (e.g. the student carries their own inhaler and self-medicates, when necessary). This student also would not meet the eligibility requirements to be counted in the NCCD.

On the "Planning & Personnel Support" section where the primary disability section is, does "other" include mental health?

Users must first select a disability category before selecting “other”. A mental health diagnosis (imputed or not) would fall under the SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL disability category. There is then a drop-down box to select from for common diagnosis – if one is not listed then simply select “other” and then enter into the text box the diagnosis. Do we still put "imputed" for students with anxiety that aren’t diagnosed? If there is not a formal diagnosis for any disability (including students with anxiety) then selecting “IMPUTED” is correct. The category of disability for undiagnosed anxiety would be SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL. What about Language Disorders and Disabilities? What category do they go under? A language disorder/disability (imputed or not) would fall under the COGNITIVE disability category. There is then a drop-down box to select from for common diagnosis – Language is currently not listed (but will be added in the future) so simply select “other” and then enter into the text box the type of language disorder or diagnosis.

Imputed And Diagnosed Disabilities

Does the Personalised Planning section (PPSD) allow you to enter more than one disability? If so, do you put the disability with the most adjustments first?

Yes – you can add up to 9 additional disabilities within the PPSD section. And YES, the primary disability is the main driver or focus of the disability adjustments being provided for the student. Note: If a student has multiple disabilities or does not readily fit within one category, select the disability category that requires the greatest extent/level of adjustment to enable the student to access and participate in education as the primary disability.

If a student has a learning disability what verification do you need to be diagnosed rather than imputed? Do they get included as cognitive?

Firstly – yes – a student with a Learning Disability (imputed or diagnosed) would meet the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) criteria for fitting under COGNITIVE for the NCCD. For any disability to be verified as a diagnosis, a diagnostic assessment or report from a specialist/allied health professional is necessary that clearly indicates what the disability diagnosis is. For diagnosing a Learning Disability, best practice would be a comprehensive assessment that includes procedures to determine levels of performance in the following domains: motor, sensory, cognitive, communication, and behavior with the following areas assessed: listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, mathematics, and social skills. The assessment should also focus on the presenting problem(s) and possible correlate(s).

If you are imputing a student’s disability, do I only create a personalised plan if I am making adjustments for them?

Personalised plans are best practice and a piece of evidence for the NCCD for documenting the adjustments that are in place for a student where their diagnosed disability/imputed disability is having a functional impact on their participation in aspects associated with schooling/learning on the same basis as their peers. If you are NOT making adjustments for a student, then they do not require a personalised plan. They also would not meet the eligibility requirements to be counted in the NCCD. However, congregational schools and dioceses are free to make their own autonomous decisions regarding creating personalised plans for students that do not have adjustments in place.

Is there a threshold for evidence for an imputed disability? How much is enough evidence? What about imputed learning disabilities?

Currently, there are no national guidelines as to how much evidence must be collected to include a student in the NCCD or justifying what adjustment level (QDTP, Supplementary, Substantial, Extensive). However, this is an ongoing area that is constantly being reviewed by the National Joint Working Group and will be continued to be considered at a national level. For evidence of imputed disabilities, schools should ensure that they have enough available evidence so that if they were challenged to explain their decisions, they would feel that they have reasonable grounds and documentation to support their judgement. Simply being included in Reading Recovery or MiniLit or Multi-Lit does not equate to a child having a disability, and therefore schools should not assume automatic inclusion in the NCCD.

The four areas of evidence that must be collected for a student with imputed disabilities would be the same as for other students included in the count with specifics given below:

1. Consultation and collaboration with the student and/or parents/carers/associates At a minimum the student’s parent/carer must have been consulted about concerns the school has and be involved in identifying reasonable adjustments to address the identified concerns.

2. Assessed individual needs of the student Detailed documentation of ongoing learning needs that have limited response to targeted intervention over time.

3. Adjustments being provided to the student to address the disability Detailed documentation of ongoing learning needs that have had a limited response to targeted intervention over-time

4. Ongoing monitoring and review of the adjustments Detailed evidence of interventions provided over time, with monitoring of the effectiveness of the intervention and changes to intervention occurring as required

Are there any plans to make the evidence/assessments required for diagnosed and imputed disabilities consistent across NSW to help make it more clear for schools?

The guidelines for evidence required for diagnosed and imputed disabilities lies within the annual NCCD Guidelines that get published by the Commonwealth Government each year, it is not the authority of Catholic Schools NSW to place further stipulations on such guidelines. NCCD funding is not based on a medical funding model (such as previous SWD funding), but rather the levels of adjustment that occur to support a student with disability – as defined under the Disability Discrimination Act. Hence, the national NCCD Guidelines do not specify what medical, diagnostic or specialist information is required (e.g. WISC V, Connors, CELF, etc). This is because the definition for disability under the Act is much broader, and to do so, would limit/restrict the ways a school can collect evidence and the ways parents can provide evidence.

Should schools accept documentation from paediatricians who label/diagnose students without a formal test?

This would depend on the purpose of the documentation and what the school requires it for. If it is for evidence of a disability so that the school can include a student in the NCCD then yes. The national NCCD Guidelines do not specify what medical, diagnostic or specialist information is required (e.g. WISC V, Connors, CELF, etc). This is because the definition for disability under the Act is much broader, and to do so, would limit/restrict the ways a school can collect evidence and the ways parents can provide evidence. If it is for student’s with a disability applying for the Assisted School Travel Scheme – then no. This process (through a separate government department) still operates on a medical model for diagnosis and therefore more specific information referring to how the diagnosis was made by the paediatrician is necessary.

How do we know if a formal diagnosis is 'recent'?

If the students’ presenting challenges still meet the formal diagnosis outlined within accepted norms. Examples for when a more updated diagnosis may be required:

➢ A student may have deteriorated, or new challenges presented that now do not match an existing diagnosis

➢ A student may have been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder at two years of age under much older accepted diagnostic guidelines (e.g. DSM 3 or 4 criteria) and may now not meet the current accepted diagnostic guidelines for the disorder (e.g. DSM 5)

Student Learning Goals

Does it prompt you to review the goals?

No, however this is a feature that potentially may be developed for the future. I’m confused with their only being 6 student learning goals available.

What about for substantial and extensive students? Is this the total for the year?

The goals can be recorded, updated, archived and more added throughout the year, it is only that 6 will be displayed at any one time on the personalized plan. There is a box to tick to view archived goals – these will re-appear so that they can be read/viewed. Important to note: Student learning goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-bound & Time-bound. Best practice would be to not have too many multiple goals occurring for a student at any one time concurrently – especially for those students who require much higher adjustment levels.

What are some good examples of student learning goals?

A student learning goal should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-bound and Time-bound. Examples:

• Jackson will with verbal prompting only identify his first and surname in print, within two minutes on three consecutive occasions.

• Ella will independently complete a given task at Structured Work Placement within the requested time on three consecutive occasions.

• Michael will participate in classroom discussions respectfully by giving others a chance to voice their opinions 75 % of the time by the end of Term 4.

• By the end of Term Three, Sam will listen to instructions from the teacher then attempt to start her work independently on more than 75% of occasions.

Miscellaneous

Not sure if I have to delete previous information from primary school regarding people who have been involved in Personal Planning Meetings?

If the student plan from primary school has been downloaded and saved by your school as a best practice as a transition document, then yes, delete the previous primary personnel.

Why has the NESA Registration Identification Number been added for students in Year 9, 10, 11 and 12 on the Student Details Tab?

The NESA Registration Identification Number is not a compulsory field (it has no red asterix next to it). It has been added for the potential of cross reports to be generated, for example, how many students with a personalised plan for disability undertake which courses for their ROSA or HSC (including VET courses and Life Skills courses). This helps give CSNSW, dioceses and schools insights into educational patterns and how to plan targeted resources for them.

Will the online tool talk to Compass and potentially other school database systems to help prepopulate student details?

Not in 2019 but in the future, we are planning for this. This is definitely a priority for CSNSW but there are lots of technical issues to sort out first. We hope to be able to give some more details regarding this in the short-medium term.

What information is being transferred over from the 2018 plans?

All student information from their 2018 plan that fits within the categories/fields that still exist within the redeveloped 2019 plans with the exception of:

➢ The Category of Disability (Personal and Personnel Planning Tab)

➢ Personnel and their roles and details (Personal and Personnel Planning Tab)

➢ Levels of Adjustment for each domain area (Eg curriculum, communication etc etc) Don’t forget – that a new feature will allow users to be able to select and generate/download/print the 2018 individual student report as it existed in December 2018 when clicking on the icon to generate an individual student report. This will allow you to access any missing 2018 information that you may want to or need.

What and how long into records have to be kept for evidence e.g. for Commonwealth government audits for NCCD?

It is noted that there are lots of different stipulations under the Education Act about the keeping of student records. The National NCCD Guidelines however clearly state that evidence for a student’s inclusion in the NCCD MUST be kept for 7 years. Best practice is for schools to download and save individual student personalised plans at regular interval/s throughout any one year.

What about students who do TAFE courses?

These students may be catered for with a personalised plan if they require adjustments. These students would be eligible for including in the NCCD IF they meet all the other eligibility requirements AND require adjustments.

Do we need information in each tab?

Only where and when it is applicable for the student and their adjustments. However congregational schools and dioceses are free to make their own autonomous decisions regarding what other sections are completed and to what extent or detail.

Related articles