Specialist Teaching and Research - STaR Ltd

Specialist Teaching and Research - STaR Ltd STaR works across early years, school-aged and post-school settings to ensure progressive, meaningful and inclusive learning for people with disabilities.

We do this through special education. STaR stands for Specialist Teaching and Research. Founded in December 2001 by a group of parents and professionals, we provide Special Education support for young children with disabilities and additional needs. And for the people who support them. We work with parents and childcare professionals to ensure that every child and their carers has the chance to:

• access high quality local childcare services
• be fully informed and supported
• be included
• have their differences honoured and accepted. Drawing on the latest research, we help affiliated childcare centres to include children with disabilities, families to enrol their child in an accepting environment, and children with disabilities to reach their full potential.

National Child Protection Week (NCPW) runs from 6 to 12 September 2026, with the theme Every Conversation Matters: Shift...
03/09/2026

National Child Protection Week (NCPW) runs from 6 to 12 September 2026, with the theme Every Conversation Matters: Shifting Conversation to Action.

NCPW is Australia's national campaign to prevent child abuse and neglect before it happens. Led by Napcan for over 30 years, it brings together individuals, families, communities, organisations and governments to build safe, supportive environments where children and young people can thrive.

This year, NAPCAN are offering a series of free webinars as part of NCPW, bringing together leading researchers, practitioners and young changemakers to explore the issues shaping child safety today.

Register now and be part of shifting conversation to action: https://www.napcan.org.au/official-webinars-2026/

2026 is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS)

Nominations for the NSW Council of Social Service - NCOSS Awards are open! These awards recognise and honour the excelle...
02/09/2026

Nominations for the NSW Council of Social Service - NCOSS Awards are open! These awards recognise and honour the excellence, positive impact, dedication and advocacy of individuals and organisations in the NSW social service sector.

🏆 Across the seven categories, the NCOSS Awards recognise the often-unseen contributions that transform lives. Every nomination you make shines a light on the work that we all do for our communities.

Know a person or an organisation making a real difference? Nominate them today: https://ncoss.org.au/ncoss-awards/

Today we're saying thank you the sweet way - with chocolates and a certificate of appreciation for educators at every ST...
02/09/2026

Today we're saying thank you the sweet way - with chocolates and a certificate of appreciation for educators at every STaR-affiliated service. 🍫 🎉

Educators are the key to inclusion - creating spaces where every child can grow, learn and belong. That work deserves to be celebrated.

Happy Early Childhood Educators Day. We appreciate you.

Explore & Develop Baulkham Hills, Noah’s Ark Preschool, Midson Rd Child Care Centre, Kids' Early Learning Blacktown City

02/09/2026

Educators are the heart of everything we do at STaR 💛

They are the key to inclusion - making sure every child, regardless of ability, belongs, learns and thrives alongside their peers.

Their work lays the foundation for a child's confidence, curiosity and connection to the world around them.

This Early Childhood Educators Day, we're celebrating the educators across our STaR-affiliated services who make inclusion real, every single day.

Explore & Develop Baulkham Hills Noah’s Ark Preschool Midson Rd Child Care Centre Kids' Early Learning Blacktown City

We did it! 🍔 🎉 Thanks to our incredible community, the STaR jar has taken out the win for August on Grill'd Baulham Hill...
01/09/2026

We did it! 🍔 🎉

Thanks to our incredible community, the STaR jar has taken out the win for August on Grill'd Baulham Hills Local Matters jars!

Every token dropped in our jar during August helped support local families with a child with disability or developmental delay. We are so grateful to everyone who chose STaR. 🌟

Grill'd

31/08/2026

The University of Sydney is conducting research to better understand the experiences of dads. They’re looking for dads who took parental leave during their baby’s first 12 months, and managers who have handled parental leave requests from fathers, to participate in a survey.

The research will explore the workplace, policy, community, and family factors that enable – or make it harder – for fathers to take on caring responsibilities. The findings will help identify practical changes that make it easier for fathers to spend time caring for their children, strengthen early bonds and support families to share care in ways that work for them.

If this is you, the details to participate are below. If it’s not, please forward this to someone it is. It takes 20 minutes to complete, and the more experiences researchers can capture, the stronger the evidence for change.

Complete the survey:
https://survey-au.yoursurveynow.com/survey/selfserve/53b/260772?list=0&samp=2 #?

Be sure to mark your calendar for Wednesday, 2nd September - Australia’s national celebration of Early Childhood Educato...
30/08/2026

Be sure to mark your calendar for Wednesday, 2nd September - Australia’s national celebration of Early Childhood Educators Day!

It’s a day to show our appreciation for the incredible work they do every day in shaping the lives of young children and supporting their families - laying the essential groundwork for children’s future learning, development and well-being.

Let’s come together to recognise and thank our amazing early childhood educators!

To find out more visit www.EarlyChildhoodEducatorsDay.org.au

ACA NSW

Last Friday, STaR and St Edmund's College Wahroonga, convened the inaugural Post-School Transition Planning – Community ...
26/08/2026

Last Friday, STaR and St Edmund's College Wahroonga, convened the inaugural Post-School Transition Planning – Community of Practice workshop meeting.

It was fantastic to have representation from people with lived experience, NSW Department of Education, Clarke Road School Hornsby, NDIS National Disability Insurance Scheme, UNSW, University of Sydney, Physical Disability Council of NSW, Resourcing Inclusive Communities, Uniting and Council for Intellectual Disability.

Young adults with disability, families and carers, teachers, school principals, local area coordinators, researchers, transition teachers, specialist educators, inclusion project managers, all coming together to address the complex challenge of transition.

What is our shared intent for the CoP?
That we will bring people with lived experience, professionals, and practitioners together, across systems, to build better post-school transition practice today, and to contribute to a National Best Practice Framework for Post-School Transition Planning for young adults with disability, spanning every life-domain that shapes their future.

A big thank you to Lisa Duffy (St Edmund's), Dr Sallie-Anne Moad, Dr Sarah Carlon, and Megan Cooper for convening our first workshop meeting, and to everyone who attended and joined the conversation.

We look forward to sharing more news on the CoP in the future. If anyone would like to contribute to the CoP, please email your details to [email protected] to receive further information.

Ready to take your Key Word Sign (KWS) skills to the next level? 🌟If you have completed your Basic KWS training and want...
25/08/2026

Ready to take your Key Word Sign (KWS) skills to the next level? 🌟

If you have completed your Basic KWS training and want to build your confidence using signs in real-life settings, join us for 'Using Key Word Sign in Daily Life: Intermediate Workshop'

🗓 Tuesday 6th October, 2026
🕤 9:30 am - 5:00 pm

This full-day workshop explores how to use KWS naturally and effectively throughout the day - at home, in early childhood settings, schools and in the community.

Register now: https://star-education.thinkific.com/courses/kws-intermediate-october-2026

18/08/2026

Team meeting, Grill'd style. We swapped our usual agenda for burgers this month, picking up our order from Grill'd Baulkham Hills (we're on the jars for Local Matters this month, so this felt fitting) and sitting down together to watch part one of a NSW Department of Communities and Justice FACSIAR Lunch and Learn webinar featuring Sharon Goldfeld, Director of the Centre for Community Child Health at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne.

Professor Goldfeld's talk, Equitable developmental outcomes for children: from rhetoric to reality, looked at the challenges and opportunities for early childhood development in Australia. Her presentation explored where and how interventions can be most effective - from developmental promotion and early detection, through prevention and early intervention - focusing on how good service design can help prevent inequities.

Part two next, with Emeritus Professor Christine Bigby AO on quality in disability supports for adults. Stay tuned.

Link to webinar recording below for anyone who wants to watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IYut2m1unI

Address

8/22 Hudson Avenue
Castle Hill, NSW
2154

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 5pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5pm
Friday 9:30am - 5pm

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