Special Assistance Program (Australian education)

In spite of this, there existed large numbers of children in Victorian primary and secondary schools urgently in need of special assistance in the essential skills of literacy and numeracy.

This situation was reflected in the Australian Parliament's House of Representatives Select Committee on Specific Learning Difficulties in 1976.

[2] In late May 1979, within a month of being reelected, the Hamer Liberal Government announced Victoria's first major review of its educational policies for more than 50 years.

[2] In it he announced the most significant development in remedial education in Victoria with a strategic plan for addressing falling literacy and numeracy standards.

[9] AREA shared a concern that teachers undertaking SART duties were not qualified in special education, but their proposals to the course committee were rejected.

To implement this recommendation, Norman Lacy established a Working Party within the Victorian Education Department to examine and report on the means to achieve this objective.

[12] As a result, a reorganised multi-disciplinary service was created on a "one stop" referral basis through 50 statewide Special Assistance Resource Centres allocated one to each Primary Education Inspectoral District throughout Victoria.

[14] AREA reported that "the SART concept would eventually give way to new policies under the Department of Education integration program.