Australia launches free disability resources to help teachers build inclusive classrooms

One in four Australian students receives disability-related support at school, yet conversations about disability remain largely absent from classroom learning. A new national initiative aims to change that by helping teachers make inclusion a regular part of school life.

The Dylan Alcott Foundation (DAF), in partnership with its Official Education Partner ClickView, is offering Australian schools free videos, classroom resources and a national webinar featuring disability advocate Dylan Alcott ahead of the Foundation's first national Disability Week, scheduled for November 30 to December 6. The initiative seeks to help teachers move beyond occasional discussions about disability and create classrooms where students understand differences, challenge assumptions and recognise the importance of inclusion.

According to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 1.1 million students received educational adjustments because of disability in 2025, representing 27% of total enrolments. The figure has risen from 18% a decade ago. Despite the growing number of students requiring support, disability awareness is not always meaningfully addressed in everyday classroom teaching.

Too often, students with disability are left to explain their own experiences to classmates, answer difficult questions and challenge misconceptions. At the same time, teachers and other adults may remain hesitant to initiate conversations because they are unsure how to approach the subject. Disability Week aims to change this dynamic by placing teachers at the centre of these conversations and giving them the knowledge and resources to lead them.

Dylan Alcott AO, founder of the Dylan Alcott Foundation, said even a single hour of disability education during his school years could have made a significant difference to his life. "Growing up, I really struggled with disability. If we'd spent even one hour a year at my school talking about disability, it would have changed my life," he said.

"It would have meant I didn't have to be the one constantly explaining and normalising my disability to my friends. It's a tough thing to do when you're eight years old." The initiative builds on a successful Victorian pilot conducted by the Foundation last year. Initially aiming to involve 25 schools in dedicating an hour to disability discussions, the campaign attracted 150 schools. Encouraged by that response, the Foundation is now expanding the programme nationally into a week-long initiative, centred on the International Day of People with Disability on December 3. The partnership brings together the Foundation's disability expertise and lived-experience storytelling with ClickView's educational video platform, curriculum knowledge and extensive network of educators. The platform reaches around 230,000 teachers and three million students across Australia.

The shared goal is to improve disability representation in educational content, strengthen teachers' confidence in addressing disability and provide practical resources that can be integrated into classroom learning throughout the year. Edward Filetti, CEO of ClickView, said the partnership would help schools create meaningful opportunities for students to learn about disability through authentic experiences. "It's a real privilege to support the Dylan Alcott Foundation in bringing Disability Week to Australian schools. The lived-experience videos give teachers a powerful starting point for conversations about disability, during the week and all year round," he said. At the heart of the initiative is a dedicated Disability Week collection on ClickView, featuring separate resources for primary and secondary students. It includes videos from the Dylan Alcott Foundation alongside thousands of curriculum-aligned educational videos.

Teachers can access the collection by searching for "Disability Week" on the ClickView platform. The initiative also provides a practical checklist, Creating classrooms where everyone belongs, designed to help educators examine everyday practices that influence students' experiences. It addresses respectful language, assumptions about disability, non-visible disabilities, student privacy, classroom participation and belonging.

A separate Disability Inclusion Resource Guide brings together additional information and support materials for teachers, students, parents, carers and school leaders, including resources from state education departments and the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). With approximately 75% of Australian teachers already accessing ClickView through education departments, school groups or individual school subscriptions, the resources are expected to fit easily into existing teaching arrangements.

ClickView is also extending free full-platform access to every Australian primary, secondary and K-12 school in the weeks leading up to and throughout Disability Week. Schools without an existing subscription will therefore be able to participate and use the complete collection of videos and teaching materials.

Preparing teachers for meaningful conversations

To help educators prepare, the Dylan Alcott Foundation and ClickView will host a free one-hour Zoom webinar titled Talking about disability: Creating more inclusive classrooms on Tuesday, November 10, at 4pm AEDT. Open to teachers, school leaders and school support staff, the session will combine personal experiences with practical classroom guidance.

Discussions will cover visible and non-visible disabilities, respectful language, responding to students' questions, protecting privacy and obtaining consent when discussing a student's disability. Participants will also explore practical approaches to strengthening classroom inclusion and engaging the wider school community. Alcott will be joined by Kaia Krause, a recent school leaver and Dylan Alcott Foundation grant recipient, who will share her experience of living with a non-visible disability.

The panel will also include Rebecca Langham, a ClickView Curriculum Specialist and former teacher who was diagnosed with autism later in life and brings more than 20 years of experience in teaching and school leadership. ClickView's Tara Walsh will moderate the discussion. The webinar will include live captions and Auslan interpretation to support accessibility. Teachers and school leaders can register for the webinar and access the Disability Week collection of videos and resources through the ClickView Disability Week portal.