Learning Support Team NSW: What It Is and How to Request a Meeting

You've asked the classroom teacher for help. They've said they'll "look into it." Weeks pass and nothing changes. The reason is often structural: classroom teachers don't have the authority to allocate funding, initiate formal assessments, or modify the school's resource deployment. That authority sits with the Learning Support Team. If your child isn't getting the support they need, the Learning Support Team — not the individual teacher — is the body you need to engage.

What the Learning Support Team Actually Does

The Learning Support Team (LaST, sometimes written LST) is the central coordinating body for inclusive education within every NSW public school. It is not a committee that meets once a term to approve paperwork. It is the team responsible for designing, funding, and evaluating the adjustments your child receives.

A full LaST typically includes the school principal or deputy, the Learning and Support Teacher (LaST coordinator), school counsellors, classroom teachers, and — critically — parents and carers. The team is responsible for:

• Designing and reviewing your child's Individual Learning Plan (ILP) or Personalised Learning and Support Plan (PLSP)
• Determining how the school's flexible "Learning and Support" funding is deployed
• Initiating Access Requests for Integration Funding Support (IFS) or support class placement when mainstream adjustments are insufficient
• Referring students for psychological or educational assessments by the school counsellor
• Monitoring whether adjustments are being implemented in the classroom

This is the team that decides whether your child gets dedicated SLSO time, specialist intervention, or a formal referral into the Access Request system. Getting on the LaST's radar — in writing — is one of the most effective moves you can make.

Who Is Actually on the Team

The exact composition varies by school size, but the key players are:

The Learning and Support Teacher (LaST coordinator): This is your primary contact. They coordinate the team, manage ILP documentation, and liaise with external specialists. In a smaller school, one teacher may hold this role part-time. In a larger school, it may be a full-time position. This person knows the school's funding allocations and can translate bureaucratic requirements into actionable plans.

The school counsellor or school psychologist: School counsellors conduct the psychometric and behavioural assessments that underpin IFS applications and special education placements. Because counsellors are often spread across multiple schools, getting your child prioritised for assessment requires clinical urgency — a rapidly declining mental health situation, school refusal, or significant safety risk. If assessment wait times are long, ask the LaST coordinator to document your request and the projected timeline in writing.

The classroom teacher: Present at ILP meetings to report on daily implementation and to receive the team's recommendations about classroom adjustments.

The principal: Has final authority over resource deployment, including SLSO allocation. The principal doesn't typically attend every LaST meeting, but their sign-off is required for significant funding decisions.

Your Rights in the Process

NSW Department of Education policy explicitly includes parents and carers as members of the Learning Support Team. You are not an observer; you are a participant. You have the right to:

• Attend all meetings about your child's learning support
• Bring a support person or disability advocate to any meeting
• Request that specific adjustments be documented in the ILP
• Receive a copy of the ILP and any supporting documentation

If a school is making decisions about your child's educational program without involving you, that is a breach of the Department's own Inclusive Education for Students with Disability policy and potentially of the Disability Standards for Education 2005 Part 7 (Student Support Services).

How to Request a LaST Meeting

The most common mistake parents make is raising support concerns verbally — at school pickup, in a phone call, or in a casual corridor conversation. Verbal requests disappear. They create no record, no accountability, and no obligation on the school to respond by any particular date.

The correct method is a short, specific written request sent by email. The email does not need to be combative or legalistic. It needs to:

1. State your child's name and year
2. Describe the specific learning or support concern — with concrete examples, not vague descriptions
3. Formally request a Learning Support Team meeting to discuss an ILP (or ILP review)
4. Ask for confirmation of the meeting date within a reasonable timeframe (10 school days is appropriate)

A brief example structure:

Dear [Principal / LaST Coordinator],

I am writing to formally request a Learning Support Team meeting for [Child's Name], Year [X]. Over the past [timeframe], I have observed [specific concerns — for example: difficulty completing written tasks without assistance, increasing distress during unstructured time, significant gaps between class work and home observations]. [Child's Name] currently has a diagnosis of [condition] issued by [specialist].

I would like to schedule a meeting to review [his/her/their] ILP and discuss what adjustments can be put in place under the school's current Learning and Support resources. Please confirm a meeting date within the next 10 school days.

I am happy to provide any supporting documentation in advance.

Sending this email creates a timestamped record of your request. If the school does not respond within a reasonable period, that non-response itself becomes part of your documentation trail for any subsequent escalation.

What to Bring to the Meeting

Arrive prepared. The school team will be familiar with the bureaucratic framework; you should be too. Bring:

• Any independent diagnostic or clinical reports (paediatrician, psychologist, occupational therapist, speech pathologist)
• A written list of specific adjustments you are requesting, linked to your child's functional needs
• Notes on any adjustments that have been tried and why they were insufficient
• A copy of any existing ILP, annotated with what is and isn't being implemented

If the meeting feels unproductive or you are being pressured to sign an ILP that doesn't reflect your child's actual needs, you are not obligated to sign it on the day. Ask for time to review the document and return it within a set timeframe.

After every meeting, send a follow-up email within 24 hours summarising the specific adjustments agreed upon, the staff member responsible for each, and the timeline. This email becomes a binding contemporaneous record. If the school doesn't dispute it, the agreed adjustments are documented.

If you want ready-to-use templates for your LaST meeting request, ILP follow-up email, and formal escalation letters — including scripts for when the team isn't following through — the NSW Disability Advocacy Playbook covers all of it with pre-formatted templates designed for the NSW system.

When the LaST Process Breaks Down

The Learning Support Team is the entry point to the formal support system, but it is not the endpoint if the school isn't providing adequate adjustments.

If LaST meetings are happening but agreed adjustments aren't being implemented in the classroom, the next step is a Letter of Concern to the school principal citing the specific ILP commitments that are being ignored.

If the LaST assessment has concluded that your child's needs exceed what can be addressed through the school's existing resources, the team should initiate an Access Request for Integration Funding Support or support class placement. If that referral isn't happening despite clear need, you can request it in writing — citing the DSE 2005 obligation to provide reasonable adjustments that enable equivalent access to education. See how the Access Request and support class process works for next steps.

The Learning Support Team is most effective when parents are active, documented participants. Requesting meetings in writing, following up with summary emails, and bringing independent clinical evidence transforms the dynamic from an informal chat into an accountable process.

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