Schools like St Edmund’s Wahroonga, a high school for children with disabilities, are being told they do not need to exist. 

The Disability Royal Commission recently released their Final Report in September 2023, and within commissioners were torn on the need for specialised education schools for children with cognitive and physical disabilities.

The report includes recommendations on how to improve laws, policies, practices, and structures in order to foster an inclusive and supportive society. While commissioners agree that mainstream schools require major reform to accommodate a wider array of children, the need for “segregated” schools was a point of contention.

‘We know devaluation and ‘othering’ of people with disability lies behind a long history of segregation of people with disability in Australia,’ reads the report. ‘This continues to cast any people with disability to the edges of society, to lead lives characterised by limited opportunities and participation, poor outcomes, and isolation from the community.’

Since the report, those intimately involved in the lives, care, and support of students with disability are advocating for the necessity of special education schools. Michael Farrell, principal at St Edmund’s College in Wahroonga, believes that the Disability Royal Commission is not seeing the diversity between each special education school, thus putting the schools and students unfairly into one bucket.

      There are students with a disability that would be suited with being educated at St Edmund’s, but equally there would be students with a disability that wouldn’t be suited to our setting,’ says Principal Farrell. ‘Special education settings differ because of their ability to adapt to different children and their needs.

The value of specialised schools for students with disabilities is paramount in Principal Farrell’s eyes and does not lend itself to concerns of restriction and isolation from some Disability Royal commissioners. The ability to decide whether a mainstream setting or a specialised setting is in the best interest of each individual student is conducive to autonomy and creates limitless opportunities for families.

‘Parents want a choice,’ says Principal Farrell. ‘What’s different about a special school setting is how genuine a community it is, and how collaborative… The teachers have a unique relationship with the child’s parents, and they are able to stimulate growth. [The teachers] are uniquely equipped professionally to be able to gain the best outcomes.’

The Disability Royal Commission has recommended that mainstream schools reform their systems to foster inclusivity. St Lucy’s in Wahroonga, a special education primary school, offers ‘satellite’ classes, while the Diocese of Broken Bay offer ‘Eileen O’Connor Support Classes’ – both programs allowing specialised classes to run within mainstream campuses.

It would seem that providing multiple education options, whether that be on mainstream or specialised campuses, allows for the agency and freedom of choice the Disability Royal Commission are calling for.

Each child is unique and individual, making the diversity of educational settings vital to the flourishing of all children, living both with and without disabilities.