The establishment of the Special Assistance Program in Victorian Primary Schools was the most significant development in remedial education in Australia. It was a Hamer Liberal Government initiated strategic plan designed to address falling literacy and numeracy standards. The totally new component of the Special Assistance Program was the provision of 1000 Special Assistance Resource Teachers (SARTs) for the delivery of services to children with learning needs. These designated teachers were also given an on-site school responsibility for facilitating a productive relationship between parents and pupils and teachers. The program involved the training of these primary teachers as SARTs and their placement in schools. Their role was the early detection and remediation of children at risk of illiteracy and innumeracy. The position was the focus of this substantial change in the delivery of special educational services to children at risk of illiteracy and innumeracy. The role incorporated all the elements of services previously performed by external consultants visiting schools.
The Special Assistance Program
The development and implementation of the Special Assistance Program in Victorian Primary Schools during the period 1979 - 1982 constituted the most significant innovation in the provision of special education services to children experiencing learning difficulties and in addressing declining literacy and numeracy standards.
Up until the political directive to initiate this program was given, there had been no policy within the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (previously Education Department of Victoria) directing Principals of Primary Schools to develop special programs for pupils at risk of illiteracy and innumeracy.
In July 1979, the Assistant Minister of Education the Hon. Norman Lacy established a Ministerial Committee on Special Assistance Programs. The committee consisted of people drawn from school staffs, special education facilities, teacher training institutions and the Education Department administration. The committee's report was the basis upon which the Special Assistance Program was established. The major components recommended for the program were: the designation of a Special Assistance Resource Teacher (SART) at 877 Primary Schools throughout Victoria (full-time at 575 schools with more than 300 pupils; and half-time at 302 schools with between 150 and 300 pupils) the development of 20-day Special Assistance In-Service Training Course to be delivered to designated SARTs without formal training in Special Education at four teacher training colleges the re-organisation of the existing special education support services into 50 state wide Special Assistance Support Centres to be accessed by each primary school through its SART.
The process for the establishment of the Special Assistance Program in Victorian Primary Schools was outlined in a speech made by Mr Lacy to SARTs at a seminar on 15 December 1980.
Special Assistance Resource Teachers
Concept
The concept of a school based resource teacher identifying deficits in literacy and numeracy in individual children and providing assistance and resources to classroom teachers to address those deficits through special programs had been supported by the findings of numerous major committees of inquiry. Reports such as: the Report of the UK Committee of Inquiry appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and Science (the Bullock Report, 1975) the Report of the Australian Parliament's House of Representatives Select Committee on Specific Learning Difficulties (the Cadman Report, 1976) the Report of the Working Party on Provisions for Children with Special Needs (ACT, 1977) the Report of the UK Committee of Inquiry into the Education of Handicapped Children and Young People (the Warnock Report, 1978) the Report of Task Force 8 to the Victorian State Council for Special Education (1979) the Report of the Victorian Ministerial Committee on Special Assistance Programs (1980)