Sam Brain leads Deloitte Access Economics’ work in inclusive education and is a national expert in inclusive education policy. His work has focused predominantly on inclusion in a schooling context, while extending at times to cover early learning and the training sector.
He specialises in supporting governments to set goals to progressively realise inclusive education and develop structures to achieve them. Sam’s work has led to improvements in system design, service delivery and financing at the federal level and in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT.
With over a decade’s experience in public policy design and evaluation, he applies a range of economic and public policy frameworks to education issues. He draws on an extensive professional network of experts in disability, inclusive education and teaching practice.
As part of his participation in the Inclusion and Disability conference, Sam is hoping to share his insights into the adequacy of the current national framework for students with disability and learn from school leaders the challenges they face and opportunities they see to adopt inclusive education for all students.
Resourcing an education system for all: challenges and opportunities in inclusive education funding reform
In recent years, Australia has seen a wave of funding reform in inclusive education, aimed at improving equity and access for all students. While these reforms offer immense opportunities for change, they also present significant challenges in implementation. In this presentation, I explore the lessons learned from funding reform in Australia, drawing on my experience of working with government departments, school leaders, and researchers. I discuss the opportunities afforded by funding reform, including increased resources and locally-driven decisions in schools. I also highlight the challenges, including resistance to change and the need for collaboration between school and system players. This analysis of the Australian experience provides valuable insights for system leaders seeking to implement large-scale system change and for school leaders that are tasked with implementing change. Ultimately, I argue that the successful implementation of funding reform requires a shared vision, strong leadership, and a commitment to collaboration and ongoing evaluation.