New era for learning as school build begins| Video, audio

On Monday the first sod was turned on a specialist school to be located at the former Dubbo West Infants School site. The school will include four classrooms with a practical activities area, withdrawal spaces and store rooms.

Dubbo MP Troy Grant said a specialist centre would also be constructed. The centre, which would be the first of its kind, would cater for a range of professions, such as speech therapists.

The school would not be a replacement for other special needs classes like within Buninyong Primary School, Mr Grant said, but would offer more choice.

“I think it makes all the difference in the world for families and young people who by their circumstances and disabilities people may think they shouldn’t have a normal access to education. I’ve seen education open up lives. If you don’t have education in your life you’ve got a very short narrow pathway you can follow,” Mr Grant said.

“If you get educated you’re more likely to get employment and if you’ve got employment you actually have this thing called worth and you feel like you’re worth something.”

Education should be available and accessible to everyone, Mr Grant said.

The concept for the specific purpose school was developed in 2013 when Dubbo resident Jane Diffey started pushing for it.

“Jane annoyed the daylights out of me for weeks and months on end. I eventually ended up employing her, I thought that was easier than copping it,” Mr Grant said.

“She was so passionate about it and when her daughter passed her passion grew even more. Even though she didn’t need the school on a personal level she had seen the impact it had had on people’s lives and other kids.

“With a passion she drove this project and ultimately drove me, and I drove the two [Education] Ministers and their staff bonkers as well. We weren’t going to let go of this project, it was really important and the 2019 school year will be just an absolute cracker.”

It was very special for Dubbo to be coming back on par with the other regional centres that all have specialist schools, the Dubbo MP said.

Mr Grant said the site was chosen for the specialist school as not only was there a great deal of land, it was also close to Orana Early Intervention.

The NSW government is also looking to construct a hydrotherapy pool on the site. Dubbo has been without a hydrotherapy pool for the past 20 years, Mr Grant said, and it had been highly sought after in the city.