An application for a new alternative school for teenage school refusers on the Central Coast has been withdrawn following what the proponents say were unrealistic expectations by the NSW Education and Standards Authority (NESA).
Gab McIntosh, one of the lead teachers who worked on the application, said thousands of dollars had been spent on putting together a quality application with a team of six qualified and experienced teachers working on it for more than five months.
The new alternative school had been planned to open next year.
“It beggars belief that after closing a school for school refusers on the Coast, Eagle Arts and Vocational College, and throwing our struggling teenagers onto the streets, the NSW Education and Standards Authority simply can stop its replacement with no regard to the views of the Central Coast Community,” McIntosh said.
“The Authority found numerous problems with the new application despite strong support for the alternative school from the PCYC and lots of support from staff at Central Coast Council.”
McIntosh said highly experienced teachers, some of whom were from interstate, had worked hard on the application.
“I still receive phone calls from desperate parents who hope to place their son or daughter in an alternative school, which concentrates on getting the basics up to speed, with plenty of time for sport or the arts,” she said.
“Common sense suggests our local politicians should have a say in this, but they are excluded by NESA.”
McIntosh said the NESA’s understanding of education is very limited.
“This became clear when NESA told our group’s representative that our very user-friendly curriculum must be dumped in favour of the same curriculum all teenagers must use in Years 9 and 10,” she said.
“How does that work when a good number of our rejected teenagers struggle to just read?
“We wanted to concentrate on getting their reading and writing up to scratch, but NESA thought that a silly idea.”
A NESA spokesperson stressed that the application for Aquilina Alternate School at Bateau Bay was voluntarily withdrawn by the applicant and not rejected by NESA.
“All new non-government schools seeking registration must demonstrate a capacity to comply with the registration requirements of the Education Act,” the spokesperson said.
“The aim of the requirements is to ensure all NSW students are safe and receive an education based on the NSW curriculum.
“NESA received an application for a proposed new school Aquilina Alternate School, Bateau Bay, and provided feedback on areas needing to be addressed by the applicant.
“The applicant withdrew the application voluntarily in writing on May 16.”
The spokesperson said an applicant must provide: written evidence that the proposed premises and buildings comply with all legislation relevant at the time of occupation; written evidence that the proposed premises have approval to be used for their intended purpose; policies to assess and monitor the standard and state of repair of proposed premises and buildings, making reference to current building requirements; details of a fire safety statement of the proposed premises which demonstrates compliance with Part 9 Division 5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 and policies and procedures to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 in terms of the school’s buildings and premises.
Terry Collins