Green light for our new school campus in Cairns
5 Nov 2018
Enrolments are now officially open for the Cairns campus of the Autism Queensland school with classes, Prep to Year 2 commencing at the start of the 2019 school year.
Autism Queensland will begin offering the specialist schooling at its Education and Therapy Centre at Edmonton following approval in early November from the Non-State School Accreditation Board (NSSAB) to expand services.
The Cairns School is expected to commence with two classes of six children of Prep-Year 2 age. Both groups will attend the school two days a week in a dual placement system with their local school.
The model is based on the part-time option offered successfully at the two Autism Queensland School campuses in Brisbane.
Autism Queensland School Principal Cae Ashton said there was strong interest from families in accessing autism specific education for their school-aged children.
“We conducted an extensive client survey in the Cairns area as well as public information sessions in September to gauge local needs before lodging the application with NSSAB,” said Ms Ashton.
“This research indicated a growing need for autism-specific education to support school-aged children living in Cairns, Atherton, Innisfail and surrounding areas.
“We are very excited about delivering classes from the start of 2019. It also means that the waiting is over – families can now submit an application to enrol in the knowledge that Cairns School will proceed,” she said.
Autism Queensland has delivered services from its Edmonton centre since 2009 and remains the region’s only autism-specific education and therapy service provider.
Autism Queensland has run an autism-specific school in Brisbane for over 50 years since opening its first school in Spring Hill in 1967. Read more.
