School encourages autistic student to go elsewhere for VCE

Virginia Trioli: I want to share with you a particular story of what happens to kids with particular challenges and special needs when they get to the senior years. Suzanne West is with you. She’s the mum of Charlie who is or was, maybe we still say is, a student at the Overnewton Anglican Community College. Suzanne good morning, nice to talk to you.

Susanne West: Good morning Virginia, thanks for having me.

Virginia Trioli: Tell me all about your boy Charlie. What does he like to do?

Susanne West: Charlie is a proud autistic young person. He’s been at his present school for eight years and he’s been magnificently supported by the teaching and support staff there. He’s an artist. He works part time as a kitchen hand at the local golf club and he’s operating his own small art micro enterprise where he sells his art as greeting cards.

Virginia Trioli: Sounds brilliant. What’s the problem? I mean, my heart would be bursting with pride if that was my son, Suzanne. Good on you, good on him.

Susanne West: Thank you. Yes, he’s an amazing boy. And a couple of weeks ago he was the winner of a Macedon Ranges Youth Award in the pure imagination category.

Virginia Trioli: So all of that just sounds fantastic. So what’s gone wrong?

Susanne West: Well, Charlie needs support with his learning, more time, adjusted curriculum and tasks broken down into manageable pieces for him. But he gets there in the end. The school, Overnewton, told us only in late July that they couldn’t foresee a successful pathway for Charlie in the VCE. And I quote, “exploring other education settings may be of benefit”. So at the end of July, we found ourselves in the situation of essentially the school saying to us that they didn’t think he could succeed there and that they couldn’t necessarily provide for him. So we’ve had to scramble to find another education pathway for him for next year so that he can complete year 11 and 12.

Virginia Trioli: But I know a little bit about Overnewton and it’s a good set of schools and got a good, really good teaching philosophy. And clearly, as you say, your boy has been well supported up until now. They surely must be supporting all sorts of diverse students at years 11 and 12 and getting them through those VCE years in their own way.

Susanne West: I would imagine that they are, Virginia, but the school have chosen not to offer the Victorian Pathways Certificate. That’s an inclusive and flexible way to do year 11 that is part of the VCE. So that would have been the opportunity for Charlie to potentially complete year 11 and 12. And that’s designed for kids with disabilities, kids who’ve had interrupted schooling or have particular learning needs like high anxiety or other issues. And it’s a way that those young people can be supported through year 11 and 12.

Virginia Trioli: Now had they offered that pathway before?

Susanne West: No.

Virginia Trioli: Okay. They never have?

Susanne West: No.

Virginia Trioli: And were you hoping that they would in time?

Susanne West: Well, it was certainly spoken about at a careers night that we went to last year. And so we had anticipated that that was a pathway for Charlie, but it hasn’t turned out that way. So we’ve accepted an enrolment at another school in the same area. And Charlie will move on to there at the end of the year.

Virginia Trioli: It’s interesting. You hear all sorts of dark rumours about, you know, what’s called the tap on the shoulder by some high performing schools with kids who might not, you know, meet that high performing benchmark, the gentle encouragement that maybe, you know, your child might do better in another school. And a lot of people conclude that’s because they want to keep their figures looking schmick. Do you think that’s the reason why?

Susanne West: I think there’s definitely an element of that. I think shoulder tapping does go on in independent schools. And I think, you know, it’s outdated, it’s discriminatory and it needs to stop. There’s a valued place for everyone in school and in further education. And it really is all about, you know, lifelong learning and work outcomes that matter. Virginia, there’s no place for comparisons and, you know, the sort of outdated perceptions of, you know, measures of success that we have. And I look at my boy and I can see he’s incredibly successful in his own way. And so, you know, it’s incredibly sad for us. And for him and for our family that it feels like he’s been discarded rather than included. I’ve had so many families who’ve contacted me since I published my open letter who’ve had similar situations happen to them in other schools where they’ve had that polite tap on the shoulder at year nine or year 10 to look for alternatives. And I think it is quite a hidden, subtle practice. And that’s why I’m talking about it today.

Virginia Trioli: Yeah. And look, it’s nice that you’ve acknowledged, Suzanne, that the school has been supportive up until now. And I know of many, many independent schools that do that. And also that don’t just have the word diversity and inclusion on the brochure that actually, you know, walk the talk and take that all the way through. It’s not impossible. So it’s a little disappointing. We’re contacting the school and we’d love to hear from them as well, just what their approach and philosophy is here. But if we’re going to actually be meaningful and realistic about the terms diversity and inclusion, these kids have to be able to go all the way in their own terms.

Susanne West: That’s right. And, you know, as you say, inclusive isn’t just a word on a brochure or on a website. It’s, you know, schools need to deliver on it for all children, even when it’s challenging and even when it requires resources. This is – it isn’t easy. But when it’s all said and done, Virginia, it’s really about valuing young people for who they are and whether that’s their student getting stellar exam results and ATARs or they’re a student who struggles but absolutely tries their guts out and has, you know, has talents in other areas. We really need to be thinking about what is it that we value about our young people and what do we, as they grow into adulthood, what do we want to create for them? And it’s certainly not a situation where, you know, we’ve had to explain to Charlie about what’s happened with the school. And we’ve had to do that in a way that he’s very clear that it’s not about anything he lacks, that this change is occurring. The school that where we’ve enrolled have welcomed him with open arms and are very acknowledging of the unique talents and quirks that he will bring to their school community. And we’re very grateful for that. But I know that students, not all students have a me that’s advocating and speaking for them. And I think it can be very challenging for families to face this kind of transition, especially so late. It’s August and for an autistic young person to make a transition to new people and a new environment is very, very challenging.

Virginia Trioli: Yeah, no, that’s really hard. You know, it’s really interesting, Susanne, and I think the education system could do a whole lot better just listening to parents like you, because you more than anyone else, you and your partner would have seen just what capacity your son has, what Charlie has, where you started out and where Charlie is ending up right now is an incredible arc that I’m sure at certain moments you thought, oh, goodness, can he, will he be able to, will he be able to, will he be able to? And, you know, and then he does. And that’s an incredible backing of his capacity.

Susanne West: Yeah. And look, I think, you know, Charlie was at the age of three when he was diagnosed with autism. He was almost nonverbal, Virginia. And I look at him now and he has exceeded every expectation we could ever have had of him. We’re so incredibly proud of who he is and the man that he’s growing into. And – but it is a road. And I often talk with other parents I know about walking on the autism road. And, you know, I think what I’d say is that the lived experience of families in this situation is incredibly powerful. And we need schools to, you know, we need schools to walk that road with us rather than thinking about how do we categorise, you know, how do we categorise kids like this? How do we, you know, push them in or out or, you know, where do they belong or not belong? They absolutely belong. Neurodivergence is a part of our community and our society. And it needs to be it needs to be front of mind for schools. It’s it really is about walking the talk.

Virginia Trioli: Good to talk to you, Suzanne. I’m happy to hear that Charlie’s been welcomed at a new school, but we’d like to talk to Overnewton about why, without, you know, invading anyone’s privacy, why they do this. And, you know, maybe they’ve got a reason, but we’ll give them a right of reply as well. Good luck, Susanne. Thank you.

Susanne West: Sure. Thanks, Virginia.

Virginia Trioli: Emily Fitzsimons, who’s Overnewton Anglican Community College principal joins you now. Emily, I’m glad you could join. Thanks so much. Good morning.

Emily FitzSimons: Good morning. Thank you so much for having me. It’s lovely to be with you.

Virginia Trioli: Well, I’ve got to say, Susanne was really very proud of and praiseworthy of everything that you’ve done over the years to support her son, Charlie. But why did you give them the tap on the shoulder and say, go elsewhere?

Emily FitzSimons: Oh, well, Virginia, look, we we need to make it really clear that at Overnewton, every child is at the centre of the decisions that we make. And our goal is to provide a pathway for every child in our care and to enable them opportunities to succeed. And we certainly did not tap Charlie on the shoulder there. What we’ve done is we’ve met with Charlie’s family. We’ve talked to staff. We have offered a variety of pathways. And we’re at the point now where we’re still hoping to be able to work together with that family. We’ve been very privileged to have Charlie as part of our community for eight years. We have loved having him here. And it was really generous of Sue to acknowledge the support that he’s received. But we’ve also loved having him here. He’s been wonderful and continues to be wonderful in the community. So it certainly was not a tap on the shoulder by any stretch.

Virginia Trioli: So why couldn’t you provide the pathway that he needed? Because it seemed to be an opportunity or an actual program that was articulated at an original meeting when Susanne joined the school, but then not offered later on. And that’s the Victorian Pathways Certificate.

Emily FitzSimons: Yeah. Oh, look, look. And I don’t really feel it’s appropriate to go into that, I guess, from a privacy point of view, the details of conversations had with with Charlie and his family. I think that’s up to to them to share with you. But what I want to say is that it’s been a process for us of moving from… and look it’s an interesting point in time, I think, for us, for all of Victoria as we move from what was a VCE system and what was previously called VCAL. I don’t know if you’re familiar with VCAL, Virginia?

Virginia Trioli: I am yes.

Emily FitzSimons: And so the VCE, sorry, VCAA have moved away from VCAL. And we weren’t a school that offered VCAL previously. We’ve been a really proud and strong VCE school. And so when the movement away from VCAL happened, we were informed that there were two different courses being offered. And so one of those was the VCE vocational major and the other one was the Victorian Pathways Certificate. And so we thought that that vocational major looked like a really good opportunity to expand our offering at the school. We were quite excited by what we saw initially from VCAA because it was something that was still giving students a VCE qualification, but was offering it in a much more applied and slightly more flexible way. And so we set about preparing for and seeking permission from VCAA to run that program here. I would add probably that we are one of very few schools in the area here who were not a VCAL school, but yet are offering the vocational major. I’ve spoken to many other principals who aren’t as sort of far down the track as we are with ours. And so we introduced that program.

Virginia Trioli: Sorry. I just want to say, just because time is against us. And VCAL was not acceptable to Susanne or Charlie?

Emily FitzSimons: Well, VCAL no longer exists as an option. So you’re talking about the vocational major?

Virginia Trioli: Yes.

Emily FitzSimons: So with the vocational major that came in this year, introduced this year for the very first time. So we’re only six months into teaching the course and we’re really dedicated to making sure that we understand the lived experiences of students doing that course. And the course is actually rigorous. It’s actually a bit more rigorous, I think, than we and some other schools anticipated, particularly in the literacy and…

Virginia Trioli: You mean academically?

Emily FitzSimons: Yeah, academic. Yeah. And so we actually said to that family that we think, you know, Charlie could have success at year 11 in that. But we would need to reassess whether the year 12 would be an option. And I think that’s the reality for many schools who are looking at that VCE. It’s not quite as accessible as perhaps we had hoped it was going to be for all students. And ultimately, why would we want a student to spend a year studying something to then have that pathway cut off at the end or to spend two years and not have the qualification at the end of it, if indeed that’s what the families are after.

Virginia Trioli: Emily, I’m sorry, I do have to move on. I’m sorry about that. But just very quickly, was there no other way, if he would make it through year 11, that something else could be offered at year 12?

Emily FitzSimons: Well, once he’s in that vocational major, we would be wanting to see him succeed in that. And so that’s what we’ve been trying to talk to the family about. And we’d continue to do that if they were wanting to do that. But we’re really about wanting to offer success, a nurturing and safe environment for children where they’re going to be able to have some success at the end. And we welcome diversity. This is actually absolutely not about autism. It’s absolutely not about ATAR scores and rankings. That’s not what we’re about as a college. Proudly open and continuing to do so.

Virginia Trioli: Emily FitzSimons, thank you for joining us today.

Emily FitzSimons: Thank you for having me, Virginia. Thank you.