By Olivia Condous
Disability advocates in the Melton and Moorabool area were thrilled to discover that the state government planned to fund a new specialist school in Aintree in the latest budget.
The new school is one of thirteen announced for locations across the state to receive a share of $527.2 million in funding.
Thomas Woof is a member of the Melton Disability Advisory Committee and was a student at Melton Specialist School.
He said a new specialist school for the Melton area would be a great help for the disabled community.
“It will help them so much, I’m glad they’re building a new special school because the [Melton] one is small and they can’t fit anyone else in,” Mr Woof said.
“Another specialist school will help the City of Melton to accommodate this fast growing area.”
Mr Woof said he really enjoyed learning life skills during his time as a student at Melton Specialist School, such as gardening, cooking and bike riding.
“I had fun with my friends, back in those days,” he said.
Mr Woof advocated for more services to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities in the Melton area.
“There needs to be more services, like help with public transport,
“If you need to get a train during peak time there might be no room for a wheelchair because it’s crammed with people.”
Thomas’ mother, Anne Woof, said the new specialist school in Aintree would be a great benefit for the students who really need it.
“I know the Melton specialist school has been overpopulated for quite a few years now, it has to accommodate Bacchus Marsh also,”
“There’s a lot of kids from mainstream schools that end up in a special school as they’re struggling in mainstream schools.”
