Hansard - Special Schools

PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA – LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
9 August 2007
pages 57 & 58

Special schools: eastern suburbs

Mr WAKELING – I wish to raise a matter of grave concern with the Minister for Education, and the action I seek is for the Brumby government to provide appropriate educational facilities for children with additional needs in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. Currently, the Heatherwood School, which is located in Donvale, serves as the only major educational facility for children with additional needs who reside in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The current school facility has been in operation for many years. I am advised that this facility is at capacity, given that no further space exists for an extension to be constructed on the site. Furthermore, children from the Knox community who attend this school are currently travelling to Heatherwood by school bus. Many parents have raised concerns with me that their children are forced to travel in excess of 11/2 hours on this bus just to get to school.

Against this backdrop, parents have called for an examination of the need to construct a similar facility in closer proximity to the Knox community. Earlier this year there was much debate throughout the Heatherwood School community regarding a proposed relocation of the facility to the former Ferntree Gully Secondary College site located on Dorset Road in Ferntree Gully. Whilst the school community did not endorse the relocation of the Heatherwood facility, this debate has highlighted the need for new facilities for children with additional needs to be more appropriately located closer to the Knox community. This Labor government pats itself on the back for its supposed commitment to the education of our children, yet it has done little to address this important issue.

On behalf of concerned parents, I raised this issue with the former Minister for Education, who provided the residents in my electorate no comfort, as he would not confirm the construction of a new facility.

The Ferntree Gully community has seen the closing of both the Ferntree Gully primary and secondary schools under the watch of this state Labor government. The primary school site closed at the end of the 2005 school year, whilst the secondary school site closed at the end of the 2006 school year. It is several months later, and no public decision has been made regarding the future of both of these former school sites. Understandably, Knox-based parents at Heatherwood have rightly asked why the former secondary school site has not been identified as a future site for a facility to cater for children with additional needs.

It is clear that residents in the Knox community expect the government to act on this important issue. I seek the Minister for Education to take action and establish appropriate educational facilities to meet the requirements of children with additional needs who reside in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, and more specifically, in the Knox area.

Source: http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/downloadhansard/assembly.htm