Schools set for $10m disability boost

Ten public high schools are set to receive new specialised education facilities for students with disability, in time for when Year 7 moves to high school in 2022.

The new facilities will be established as part of a $10 million package that will deliver 180 places in specialised education options as part of the Year 7 move.

Construction will support a much needed jobs boost for the state’s economy, as the Marshall Government continues to deliver its strong plan to deal with the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

The schools are: Craigmore High School, Grant High School, John Pirie Secondary School, Kadina Memorial School, Le Fevre High School, Mount Barker High School, Nuriootpa High School, Parafield Gardens High School, Seaford Secondary College and Wirreanda Secondary School.

The ten schools will now work on detailed designs for their new facilities, which will be completed in line with the statewide move of Year 7 into high school in Term 1, 2022.

“These new specialised education classes will provide an option for eligible students with a disability to maximise their learning outcomes at the highest possible standards,” said Education Minister John Gardner.

“Our aim is to ensure that every student receives the targeted support that they need, when they need it, so that they can engage successfully in their high school setting.

“The construction of these extra places for students with disability across the system forms part of the Marshall Government’s record $1.3 billion education capital works program, which will support thousands of construction jobs and employ thousands of tradespeople across South Australia.”

Schools were shortlisted following a geographical analysis of the 2018 Year 3 cohort of students accessing a specialised education option, to establish projected areas of greatest need.

A range of other factors were considered in the shortlisting process, such as schools with existing specialised education options, school culture, capacity requirements and student pathways.

A further scoping process will continue to identify other potential schools for additional specialised education facilities to support the Year 7 move.

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