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Students left despairing for their future after the sudden closure of Anglicare’s Educational Services Unit last year have been thrown a lifeline by the state government.
Local MPs Jacinta Allan and Maree Edwards will today officially open a replacement school for the ESU’s roughly 40 students and others in the region otherwise at risk of missing out on an education.
The Bendigo Flexible Learning Option centre will initially fill the gap left by the Anglicare-run school in 2017, and is then expected to expand to cater for up to 100 students per year who are unsuited to the mainstream education system.
Leanne Cullen, whose son Riley Hunter, attended the ESU last year after receiving inadequate support in mainstream schooling, welcomed the announcement as “great” news.
“I always had a feeling that something would come out of it and that we wouldn’t be losing the school,” she said.
Education Minister James Merlino said the FLO program would be a “vital pathway for local students with complex needs at risk of dropping out of school”.
“It will help build the confidence, attitudes and skills they need to transition to a mainstream school, training, work or further study,” he said.
Students from Weeroona College, Bendigo South East College, Crusoe College, Eaglehawk Secondary College, Bendigo Senior Secondary College and Kalianna Special School previously referred to the ESU will be eligible to attend the school.
While pleased Riley would not be forced to return to mainstream schooling, Ms Cullen said it was unfortunate the students would not be able to continue under the guidance of the ESU’s teachers, who were long-time Anglicare employees.
“It’s great that the school’s continuing but it is a bit disappointing that we’re losing all the teachers that were connected to the previous ESU," she said.
“They were sort of the glue that stuck the kids together I guess, so I’m hoping we get good teachers again.”
Ms Cullen said the success of the new school, to be located on High Street Kangaroo Flat, would rest with the quality of the teaching and curriculum.
“I’m personally yet to hear the programs and what they involve for each of the kids so we don’t actually know what the programs are looking like at this stage,” she said.
“It’s a bit disappointing it’s located out at Kangaroo Flat but I guess it’s better than nothing.”
Ms Allan and Ms Edwards thanked staff for their work in ensuring a smooth transition to the new school and welcomed the opportunities it would provide for its students.
“I want to thank staff from the department’s regional office and St Luke’s Anglicare for their hard work in recent months in establishing the Bendigo FLO and supporting students transitioning into it,” Ms Allan said.
“The FLO’s strong links with existing government and community programs will lead to better life opportunities for disengaged young people from the Bendigo region,” Ms Edwards said.
Despite initial criticism of communication between Anglicare, the Education Department and parents, Ms Cullen said ESU students had been notified they would be moving to the new school prior to the end of last term.
When students were first told of the ESU’s closure in July last year, Anglicare’s then regional director Carolyn Wallace said the organisation had made the decision to close the school as it did not meet state government registration criteria.
“Primarily we provide youth and family services which is different to being a registered school,” she said at the time.
The organisation’s chief executive officer Paul McDonald then wrote to Mr Merlino requesting a meeting to discuss the future of the school, who then declared “all options are on the table” during a visit to Bendigo in August.