Navigating School Support for Students with Learning Difficulties: A Parent’s Roadmap

If your child is struggling with reading, writing, or keeping up in class, you may find yourself searching for answers – and facing a system that’s difficult to navigate.

School meetings are often filled with acronyms like IEP, SSG, and DIP. Plans are made, but progress isn’t always clear. As a parent, it can be hard to know what’s reasonable to expect, how to ask for help, and whether the supports in place are working.

You’re not alone.

In my role at the Royal Children’s Hospital, I work closely with schools, paediatricians, and psychologists to identify and support students with learning difficulties. I see the system from the inside. And I also see how powerful it is when families are equipped with the knowledge and confidence to advocate for their child.

This roadmap will help you understand your child’s rights, what good support looks like, and how to work well with your child’s school to build a plan that makes a difference.

Ask early, ask clearly

If you’re concerned about your child’s learning, start by reaching out to their teacher or a member of the school’s support team. You don’t need to have a diagnosis or funding approval to raise concerns. Sometimes we have found that students receiving consistent ‘C grades’ across classes actually have an undiagnosed learning disability. We have also heard of parents being told to ‘wait and see’ (I’ve been guilty of this myself as a teacher in the past). Most of the time, this is not great advice – it can sometimes come from a teacher who is not so sure of what should happen but is hopeful things will click sometime soon.

If you are concerned about your child’s progress, it is worthwhile asking the school for specifics on how they are measuring and tracking your child’s progress. In Victorian schools – across Government, Catholic, and Independent sectors – many are increasingly adopting systematic, data-informed tools to track reading progress such as DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills). Note that not all tools are equal. Some schools are still using benchmarking and levelled readers to measure progress. If this is the case, it’s okay to ask respectful, informed questions about your child’s skill level. If you have concerns, I recommend seeking the advice of a Learning Difficulties Consultant (see Learning Difficulties Australia’s tutor finder or Literacy Moves). 

What happens before formal plans?

In many cases, schools begin with informal supports such as targeted teaching, extra check-ins, or classroom adjustments. These strategies often happen before a formal plan or meeting is offered.
That said, if your child has ongoing learning needs, or if adjustments are being made consistently, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is often appropriate. You don’t need to wait for a diagnosis. Your input as a parent is valuable and can prompt formal planning to begin.

How to have input into your child’s individual education plan

At a Student Support Group (SSG) meeting, parents can expect a structured opportunity to collaborate with school staff (and sometimes allied health professionals) to plan and review support for their child. These meetings are most often held for students who have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or require ongoing adjustments due to learning, behavioural, or medical needs.

Before a meeting, it can help to jot down:

• What’s been difficult for your child
• What’s worked well in the past
• What you’re hoping for going forward

Ask open but purposeful questions. What strategies are in place? What’s being tracked? Are there more adjustments that could help your child access the curriculum more confidently?
A collaborative tone can make a big difference. School staff are often doing their best with limited time and information. Your role is to help complete the picture.

Your child has a right to access education

The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005 require schools to make reasonable adjustments that give students with disability access to learning on the same basis as their peers (Australian Government, 1992).

This is about access – not about enrichment or personalising learning beyond what’s needed to participate. If your child is unable to engage in classroom learning due to a disability or difficulty, the school is legally obligated to put support in place. 

These rights apply even if your child doesn’t have a formal diagnosis or isn’t receiving additional funding.

How do schools decide what support to provide?

Most schools use a tiered approach in line with the levels of adjustment they need to report against to the government each year. Here are some descriptions:

• Support provided within quality, differentiated teaching practice: Quality teaching that supports all learners
• Supplementary: Extra help for students who need some additional support beyond classroom teaching at specific times
• Substantial: Additional support or individualised instruction in a highly structured manner at most times.
• Extensive: Very high support needs with extensive measures.

Schools gather information from classroom observations, assessments, and parent input. All schools use the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on school students with disability (NCCD) to reflect on the adjustments being provided.  Students included at the Supplementary, Substantial, or Extensive level typically benefit from an IEP and regular review (twice a year is quite common).

Do you need a diagnosis?

No. Schools are required to act on observed need – not just a formal label. While a diagnosis can help guide support, it’s not a prerequisite for adjustments to be made (NCCD, 2024).

That said, it’s often valuable to pursue assessment if your child is experiencing ongoing difficulties. One key reason is to help determine whether their struggles stem from a lack of evidence-informed teaching or intervention, or whether they reflect a brain-based learning difference, such as a dyslexia (SLD-R) or ADHD. Understanding the cause allows for more targeted support and better outcomes.

I also often recommend that families check for hearing, vision, sleep, fine motor, or attention concerns. These underlying issues can significantly impact classroom learning but are not always immediately recognised. Address your concerns with a GP who will refer you to the right specialists (e.g. OT, speech therapist, psychologist, paediatrician). 

If you’re concerned about your child’s learning, it can be incredibly helpful to see a learning difficulties consultant early – even before receiving a formal diagnosis. These specialists can screen for potential areas of learning difficulty, recommend or provide targeted, evidence-based interventions and help you to navigate school support systems. Families can search for qualified learning intervention specialists through the Learning Difficulties Australia’s tutor finder or connect with services like Literacy Moves for tailored support.

This early action is especially valuable given the current wait times to access formal assessments. In Victoria, waitlists to see a paediatrician or educational/developmental psychologist can range from 6 months to over 18 months, depending on the region and service availability.

In my work across both clinical and school settings, I’ve seen how powerful the right diagnosis or clarification can be. The aim is not to label a child, but to inform the most effective path forward.

What should an IEP include?

A strong IEP is not just a list of supports—it’s a roadmap for learning.

The most effective IEPs include:

• Clear information about your child’s strengths and interests
• Specific areas of need, described in plain language
• SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound
• Targeted strategies or adjustments
• A review schedule and a plan for tracking progress

Of these, the measurable part is often the weakest. Many goals are too vague to track. A better approach is to base goals on real data. Some schools are now using screening tools to track things like reading progress. This is a positive step, and the next is even more powerful: using that data to choose evidence-based interventions and monitor whether they’re working.

If you’re unsure whether your child’s IEP is working, don’t be afraid to ask:

• How are we measuring this goal?
• What intervention is supporting it?
• When will we review progress?

IEPs should be more than paperwork. They should give your child direction and momentum.

Twice-exceptional students (2e)

Some students are both gifted and have a learning difficulty – they are sometimes called ‘twice-exceptional’. These children may show uneven performance. Their strengths can sometimes mask their struggles, and vice versa.

Support for 2e learners should be balanced and nuanced. Strengths should be nurtured and built into the plan, but not used to justify a lack of support in areas of difficulty. Every aspect of their learning profile deserves attention. 

In my experience, supporting 2e students often requires extra advocacy from families. Teachers are sometimes surprised when a student who speaks articulately about a novel or topic struggles to structure their ideas in writing. These kinds of learning differences aren’t always immediately visible, which is why clear communication and thoughtful planning are so essential.

You don’t have to do this alone

Supporting a child with learning difficulties can be overwhelming, but you’re not alone, and you don’t have to figure it all out yourself.

With the right knowledge, you can approach school meetings with more confidence. You can ask better questions. You can help shape a plan that truly supports your child.

And with the right support beside you, that process becomes less daunting and more empowering.

Want expert help navigating school support or IEPs?

I offer personalised consultations to help families understand learning profiles, prepare for school meetings, and ensure that support plans are evidence-based and measurable.
Book a 1:1 consultation

Or join my next webinar:
Navigating School Support: A Parents Roadmap. June 18, 7:30pm
👉 Register here