New education support centres to open at start of school year

21/8/93

Seven new education support centres, for students with moderate levels of intellectual disability, will open for the start of the next school year.

Education Minister Norman Moore said today the centres, which would share regular school sites, represented a total capital works expenditure of about $3.5 million.

Mr Moore today addressed a conference of the Australian Association of Special Education in South Perth and re-affirmed his commitment to working towards a more equitable education system for Western Australian students with special needs.

The new education support centres in the Perth metropolitan area would be at:

·         Belridge High School;

·         Canning Vale Primary School;

·         East Warnbro Primary School;

·         Leeming Senior High School; and -

·         South Ballajura Primary School.

The new country centres would be at:

·         Newton Moore Senior High School in Bunbury; and -

·         Spencer Park Primary School in Albany.

In 1992, a total of 3,416 students with special needs attended education support schools, centres and units and 1,134 students were supported in regular school settings.

The Education Ministry currently had a total budget, excluding capital works, of about $28.8 million for the education of students with disabilities in special facilities and in regular schools.

Mr Moore said significant extra resources were required to help students with disabilities, but the State's current financial situation severely restricted the Government's ability to remedy the situation quickly.

Research now completed by a review committee headed by Dr Ruth Shean would assist the Government in targeting areas of greatest need.

The Minister said the Shean Review would be released in about two weeks and he would move promptly to respond.

The Education Ministry had also compiled a new policy and guidelines for the education of students with disabilities.

"Every area of education is under the same pressure and we must re-think the way we use our current resources and move towards the concept of differential resourcing for individual schools," the Minister said.

"Any inequities are best addressed at the local school level and the current regimented central system can possibly lead to ineffective and inefficient uses of resources."

Media contact: Ross Storey 321 1444 / 222 9595