Tanya Valencic

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Assessment task 1: Letter to the school

22/03/2013
Dear Principal Smith,
I am writing to you in regards to the refusal of our application of enrolment for
our son Sebastian to attend your school. We have researched this matter further and the
reason you have given for declining our sons enrolment is denying him his human rights.
Sebastian has low muscle tone and has poor grapho-motor skills. This means he finds it
frequently hard to write because he is unable to connect his thoughts with his writing.
This is because grapho-motor skills are a combination of cognitive, perceptual and motor
skills which enable a person to write (Douglas Silas Solicitors, 2005-2013). Your refusal
on the grounds that you are unable to accommodate for Sebastians condition is
discriminatory. In particular it is disability discrimination as listed by the Disability
Discrimination Act as, people with disability have a right to be treated as equals in the
community (Disability Coordination and Regional Disability Liaison Officer, 2008).
Throughout this letter I will be explaining the rights you have violated and refused my
son.

Through the refusal of my sons enrolment I am led to believe that you are not
supporting the standards that are held by Australian schools listed in the National safe
schools framework. These values clearly identify inclusion policies for all children which
you have failed to demonstrate. In particular you have denied to make my son feel
connected to your school, and you have not developed a safe, supportive and respectful
learning environment for him (Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood
Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA), 2011, p.2-3). One of the guidelines also
states that the needs of specific groups (e.g. people with a disability) in the school
community have been recognised and addressed (MCEECDYA, 2011, p.3). I believe you
have recognised my sons disability, yet you have decided not to address it by refusing his
application for admission.

As an Australian school you are not supporting the values for all children listed in
the Framework for Values in Australian Schools. Your school is not demonstrating the
FOCUS AREA 7.2:
The highlighted
sections show my
understanding of
relevant
legislative,
administrative
and
organisational
policies and
processes
required for
teachers.
Tanya Valencic
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EDFD221- Assessment task 1: Letter to the school
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following values for Australian schooling; fair go and understating, tolerance and
inclusion. The Fair Go values pursue and protect the common good where all people
are treated fairly for a just society (Department of Education, Science and Training
(DEST), 2005, p.4). You have clearly not given Sebastian a Fair Go as you have not
treated him fairly. You have also denied my son Understanding, Tolerance and Inclusion
from your school as you have not accepted, understood or tolerated his diversity within
your school (DEST, 2005, p.4). These values are supposed to reflect a commitment to
Australians way of life which includes equality, to which you have denied my son an equal
chance to be a part of your school community (DEST, 2005, p.4).

By refusing my sons enrolment you have excluded him and rejected his rights as a
child listed by the United Nations Convention. This policy states that no government,
group or individual person has the right to do anything that violates anothers rights
(United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF), 2005). According to
this convention your school has just violated my childs rights, as these rights are universal
and are held by all people, everywhere- regardless of age, sex, race, religion, nationality,
income level or any other status or condition in life (UNICEF, 2005). These rights are
created so institutes like you are unable to deny my son rights such as article 23 which
states children who have any kind of disability should receive special care and support so
that they can live a full and independent life(United Nations International Childrens
Emergency Fund (UNICEF), 1996). Articles 28 and 29 declare that all children have a right
to a good quality education and that education should develop each childs personality
and talents to their fullest (UNICEF, 1996). Some of the core principles listed in the
Conventions on the Rights of the Child state that it is the right of all children to enjoy all
the rights of the Conventions on the Rights of the Child without discrimination of any
kind (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 2007, p.1).

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ((UNESCO),
1994) proclaim that every child has a fundamental right to education, and must be given
the opportunity to achieve and maintain an acceptable level of learning. They also talk
about how schools need to consider that every child has unique abilities and learning
needs (UNESCO, 1994, p.viii-ix). Contrary to what UNESCO believe you have decided that
Tanya Valencic
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you wont bother with finding ways of successfully educating my son who suffers from a
disability (UNESCO, 1994, p.6). This is something I dont believe you have even looked
into as if you had done some research into how to teach students with poor grapho-
motor skills you would find there are numerous approaches for improving Sebastians
condition that teachers would be able to take on board (North Shore Pediatric Therapy,
2009). All children have the same rights as others in the community, regardless of their
physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other conditions (UNESCO, 1994, p.6
& 18), however you have declined to provide my son with these rights.

The Victorian Institute of Teaching ((VIT) 2008) has formed a code of conduct that
identifies a set of principles, which describe the professional conduct, personal conduct
and professional competence expected of a teacher (p.1). According to this set of
principles teachers need to provide opportunities for all students to learn and should
respect students individual differences and cater for their individual abilities (VIT, 2008,
p.2). By refusing my sons enrolment application you have decided to overlook the part
where it specifies that ALL students have the opportunity to learn. Clearly you are not
aware of your legal responsibilities including discrimination of any kind listed in principle
3.2 that teachers are expected to abide by (VIT, 2008, p.4).

I have carried out my rights stated by UNICEF (1996) that I am able to act on
behalf on my child to exercise his rights and ensure his rights are protected. I am
disgusted with the way this situation has been dealt with, and your refusal is a blessing as
I would never want my son to attend such a discriminatory schooling environment. I hope
this letter enables you to reflect on your actions and the current values your school has.
Regards,
Tanya Valencic.




FOCUS AREA 7.1:
The following
section show my
understanding of
the key principles
described in
codes of ethics
and conduct for
the teaching
profession.
Tanya Valencic
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References

Department of Education, Science and Training. (2005). National framework for values in
Australian schools. Retrieved from
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/Framework_PDF_version_for_t
he_web.pdf.
Disability Coordination and Regional Disability Liaison Officer. (2008). Glossary. Retrieved
from http://www.ddaedustandards.info/glossary.php#dda.
Douglas Silas Solicitors (2005-2013). Graphomotor skills. Retrieved from
http://www.specialeducationalneeds.co.uk/UsefulInformation/TypesofSEN-
Disability/GraphomotorSkills.html
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. (2007). Australias commitment to
childrens rights and reporting to the UN. Retrieved from
https://leocontent.acu.edu.au/file/17ca8785-80c7-c04c-5d0f-
64f71cd102b2/1/HREOC%20Human%20Rights.pdf.
Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs. (2011).
National safe schools framework: Resource Manual. Retrieved from
http://foi.deewr.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/national_safe_schools_framewor
k_resource_manual.pdf.

North Shore Pediatric Therapy. (2009). Graphmotor skills. Retrieved from
http://nspt4kids.com/health-topics-conditions/graphmotor-skills/.
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United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (1994). The Salamanca
Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education. Retrieved from
http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/SALAMA_E.PDF.
United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund. (1996). A simplified version of
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved from
http://www.unicef.org.au/Discover/What-we-do/Convention-on-the-Rights-of-
the-Child/childfriendlycrc.aspx.
United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund. (2005). Convention on the
Rights of the Child. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/crc/index_30196.html.

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.