St Edwards Primary School Tamworth teacher Amanda Sheridan wins National Excellence in Teaching Award

Among her first batch of students was a child with moebius syndrome, which affects muscles in the face, who has since contacted Ms Sheridan to thank her for her positive impact.

The St Edwards Primary School teacher and leader of inclusion Amanda Sheridan won a National Excellence in Teaching Award, including a $5,000 professional development grant.

"It feels like an honour that somebody thought of me, particularly a parent, in our community, that thought that the work that we were doing here at St Ed's was worthy of a nomination," she said.

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Students with a disability make up 20 per cent of the school's population, she said.

Ms Sheridan spends her days doing assessments to ensure the steps taken are in the children's best interest. Steps include trying something different at school, or asking parents to see a paediatrician or allied health professional.

"We don't treat the children the same here at St Ed's. To treat them fairly, we give them what they need," she said.

"Whatever they need, we will work with allied health professionals to set goals to support them to be better tomorrow than they are today.

"We are really fortunate at St. Ed's that we have very supportive and very knowledgeable teachers willing to put the extra time in to put the adjustments in place for students."

The prize money allows her to access online courses and go to professional learning to increase knowledge and skills in her specialty area.

Ms Sheridan wants students with a disability to have the same access to curriculum and opportunities at school as everyone else.

"It was through a passion and an interest that I became the leader of inclusion here at St Eds," she said.

"I think that everybody should know that children with a disability are as precious as any other child and can achieve their best, just as any other child can do.

"It's our jobs as the trained professionals and as the adults in the room to ensure that the supports are in place to allow those children to thrive."

She has spent almost 15 years teaching in her hometown of Tamworth, following a ten year stint in Sydney.

Speech therapy, occupational therapy and paediatricians can be a challenge to find compared to the city.

"But in terms of what the children need, and how the teachers support them, I would say that's the same wherever you go," she said.

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