Campaign for special school

By Kelly Yates
A NARRE Warren North mother is starting a campaign to get a school in the Casey-Cardinia corridor for children with mild intellectual disabilities.
Cathy-Lea Smith said there was a lack of specialist schools to cater for the needs of children like her 10-year-old son Mitchell who has severe dyspraxia. The disease means he understands everything but has trouble interpreting and responding to information.
Ms Smith said she believed any study would show that with the boom in population in the area there would also be corresponding growth in the number of children with intellectual and learning disabilities. “There’s a large gap in educational services in this area,” she said.
Ms Smith has been teaching in various settings for the past 20 years and also holds a Master’s Degree in Education.
“There are many statistics supporting both systems but the reality is that many children need a special setting and that parents should have a choice about where they can educate their child. The status quo is that in this area, we have no choice,” she said.
Ms Smith said parents in the municipality had to send their children with mild intellectual disabilities to Emerson School in Dandenong.
“We need a school in Narre Warren, Berwick, Officer or even out further,” she said.
“Emerson School cannot cater for all of our children.”
Ms Smith’s son started his education in a mainstream school at Thomas Mitchell Primary School in Endeavour Hills. “But the reality was that they could not cater for his educational needs,” she said.
“In his current special setting at Emerson School he is happy, has friends, is progressing academically, and the teacher, who is trained in special education, is able to design and deliver curricula that match his needs and abilities,” Ms Smith said.
Ms Smith said the State Government was addressing the needs of high achievers in the area by having a select entry high school in Berwick yet forgetting about the other end of the learning spectrum.
Ms Smith has raised the issue with Narre Warren North MP Luke Donnellan.
In a letter to Mr Donnellan from Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development Maxine Morand in relation to Ms Smith’s concerns, she states that the department of Education and Early Childhood Development was committed to improving the learning outcomes of all students.
She stated that a key element of the commitment was an emphasis on improving the learning outcomes for students with disabilities and additional learning needs.
This year the government is investing $417 million in the program for students with disabilities, supporting the education of students with disabilities in Victorian Government schools by providing the schools with additional resources.
“The department’s Southern Metropolitan Region regularly monitors educational provision for the purpose of any new school planning,” Ms Morand states in the letter.
“New schools will be considered on the basis of demographic studies completed by regional offices.”