‘It Gives Us Back Our Lives’: Local Developmental School Parents Welcome Election Pitch

 

 

Bendigo Special Developmental School parents say the $207 million election pledge from Labor’s campaign launch is going to provide much-needed relief.

 

Yesterday, sitting local MPs Jacinta Allan and Maree Edwards met with local parents to outline the party’s pledge. 

 

The funding will expand out-of-hours care programs from 2024 and offer 1000 scholarships to tertiary students looking to get into speciality school roles.

 

These roles include speech pathologists, occupational therapists, disability support workers. 

 

Alongside fellow Bendigo Special Developmental School parents, local John Culnane, told reporters that it’s the small changes that will make a big difference. 

 

He said the investment “gets people into work, it gets people to have money, it gives us back our lives,”. 

 

“We’re not banging our own drum and screaming and yelling about it. We haven’t got time,” he said. 

 

Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan said there will also be more extra curricular activities, such as “therapy dogs” and “aquatherapy pools”.  

 

“A number of these thing are found everyday in our mainstream schools and parents have told us that they want to see these extracurricular activities a feature of special development schools,” she said.