Education and Child Development

In reply to Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (25 May 2016).

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for Higher Education and Skills): I have been advised:

As of May 2016, there are currently 2,886 students that receive support from Behaviour Support Coaches across South Australia.

All Behaviour Support Coaches are qualified teachers and some have additional qualifications such as social work and nursing.

There are 30 Behaviour Support Coaches that provide support to students, teachers and schools across South Australia. While they provide input to individual students, they also provide support to teachers and schools to enable them to effectively engage students in positive behaviours that will support their learning.

This support includes:

Functional assessments of behavioural issues, underlying causes and co-morbidity factors

Individual, family, group, whole school level, and direct support to sites

Provision of advice and case management/coordination

Capacity building of staff and families through training, modelling and provision of information, resources and strategies