Diverse Learners Symposium

Andrew Fuller, Clinical Psychologist & Author

Converting Neurodiversity Into Neuro-advantage

Students with neurodiversity include students who are gifted, those who are oppositional or have dyslexia, or experience attention issues such as ADHD, or have experienced trauma as well as those who are on the spectrums. Each of these groups have strengths as well as vulnerabilities that can be catered for. Teachers are equipped with strategies as well as the most recent tech that overcomes learning disadvantages for neurodiverse students.

Kritz and Bianca Sciessere, Co-Founders, The Big Sister Experience

Anxiety: What Your Students Need You to Know

Research shows us that 1 in 3 females and 1 in 5 males will experience an anxiety condition in their lifetime with the median onset age now being 15 years young. Statistics around anxiety are increasing at a rapid rate amongst our young people. In this one-hour presentation, The Big Sister Experience will cover the science behind anxiety and how to explain this to your students. They will share their top tips for supporting your students with anxiety, and how to empower them with strategies to manage their anxieties on their own, both in and outside of the classroom.

Jade Wong, Author, The Learning Support Hub

Cultivating Belonging: Trauma-Informed Pathways to Connection and Growth

Belonging is not a soft ideal, it’s a biological and emotional necessity for learning. In this session, author and educator Jade Wong shares how trauma impacts a child’s sense of belonging and what educators can do to rebuild trust, safety, and identity within school communities. Blending storytelling, lived experience, and classroom strategies, Jade invites educators to see beyond behaviour and nurture the deep human need to belong that underpins all resilience and growth and is particularly necessary for students in Out of Home Care.

Rebecca Ball, Disability Inclusion Specialist / OT, Banyule Primary School

Leaning into Difference - Neuroaffirming practice in the classroom

Creativity and imagination are unleashed when we know ourselves and we know how to appreciate and celebrate different perspectives. Developing a classroom culture that actively celebrates difference and promotes student capacity to advocate for their needs and those of others is critical. This presentation will explore how educators can build neuro-affirming classrooms through our social emotional learning frameworks and the impacts this has on student agency and creativity.

Scott B Harris, Founder, CRASHING INTO POTENTIAL

Neuroinclusivity in Action: What It Feels Like to Learn with a Different Brain

Every classroom includes students whose brains process, learn, and behave differently, yet many teachers still feel unsure how to recognise and respond to neurodiverse needs. In this powerful and practical session, Scott B Harris draws on 17 years of lived experience with a traumatic brain injury to give teachers a firsthand understanding of what neurodiversity feels like, and how to create classrooms where every learner can thrive.

Combining evidence-based research (developed in collaboration with Professor John Hattie) and practical classroom strategies, this session takes participants through interactive simulations that mirror real neurodiverse experiences such as cognitive dysfunction, disorganisation, and sensory overwhelm. Teachers will walk away with a deeper understanding of executive functioning, simple adjustments that de-escalate behaviour, and classroom tools that make learning more inclusive, not just for neurodivergent students, but for all.

Teresa Deshon, Education Improvement Leader Diverse Learners, Department of Education

Using ES for impact in schools

This session explores how schools can strengthen whole-school inclusion by aligning leadership, policy, and classroom practice. Drawing on Using Educational Support Staff for Impact in Schools (2025), participants will examine how Educational Support staff can be strategically deployed within co-teaching models, planning cycles, and multi-tiered systems of support. Practical case studies from K–12 settings will demonstrate how schools are embedding inclusive practices, supported by frameworks such as UDL and VTLM 2.0. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to build capability, foster collaboration, and ensure consistent adjustments for diverse learners, enhancing outcomes for all students.

Cameron Peverett, President, Principals’ Association of Specialist Schools

How to Build Structures, Routines and Supports to Optimise Learning for ALL Students

Find out what has made the difference for the most vulnerable students in our school system from a high disadvantage, disability diagnosis criteria, and rural location with limited external resources. Lake Colac School has been on the journey of fidelity of evidence-based instructional practices over the past 5 years. One of the challenges of providing impressive successful learning outcomes, with tangible results, is school growth. Over this time, the word got out! Through and beyond the COVID years, both the staff and student population increased by almost 60%. As a (now not so) small, regional specialist school, where 92% of families fall in the bottom-two quartiles of socio-economic advantage, maintaining consistent, low-variance instruction and expectations has been an unexpected challenge. Join Cameron in discussing what this implementation journey has looked like over these years and why, during a staffing crisis, this ‘hard-to-staff’ school punches above its weight. Hear about the systems and structures in place, the impact that this had on both students in the English and Maths results, along with its impressive post-school transitions of students into the workforce.

Travis Burroughs, Director, Yarra Ranges Tech School

The YRTS Koorie Aspirations Program: Student Agency through a Cultural Lens

Join the team from the Yarra Ranges Tech School as they share the inspiring story of the Koorie Aspirations Program, a powerful initiative run in conjunction with the Lilydale Education Plan. This presentation explores a unique model where student agency and cultural identity are woven together to unlock incredible leadership potential.

Discover how this approach culminated in a student-led Koorie Cultural Day, an event conceived, funded, and executed entirely by a committee of students who wanted to share their rich culture with their peers through cooking, dance, jewelry, and clapstick making.

This session dives into the practical strategies used to empower these students, build their confidence, and foster the leadership skills that made it all possible.

Kirsten Ellis, Associate Professor, Monash University

Hands-on Inclusive eMaking activities for children with disabilities

This hands-on workshop introduces inclusion through demonstrating how the redesign of activities can facilitate participation by children with a range of disabilities. The activities use curiosity to engage students with disabilities in active STEM focused lessons. Teachers will undertake activities that they can take back to the classroom including accessible circuit making.

Millie Carr, Learning Specialist, Doherty’s Creek P-9 College

Spotting Hidden Struggles and Creating Classrooms Where Students Don’t Have to Pretend

Masking (when students hide their needs, distress, or differences in order to “fit in” at school) is one of the most overlooked challenges in education. These students often appear quiet, compliant, or high achieving, yet crash at home or in safe spaces.

In this interactive session, we will unpack the hidden cost of masking and how educators can learn to spot the subtle red flags. Participants will leave with a clear understanding of how masking affects learning, how to respond compassionately when unmasking looks “messy,” and how to build classrooms where every student feels safe enough to be themselves.