Teachers call for specialist centre

Primary and secondary school teachers are leading the push for the foundation of a specialist behavioural centre in Albany which will lead to the removal of disruptive students from classrooms.

After meeting with the region’s school principals while on a visit to Albany last week, State School Teachers Union of WA president Anne Gisborne said there was a need for a behavioural centre in the region.

With regional centres already in place in Bunbury, Geraldton, Port Hedland and Kalgoorlie, Ms Gisborne said Albany would benefit from a similar establishment.

“There is a view that there is a need for one to be set up here and it’s been on the table for a number of years,” she said.

“We think there is an opportunity here and the State Government should pay attention to the call by teachers in the Albany area to look at setting up a behaviour centre.”

“So it’s the teachers that are seeking it. We will be having some further discussions with school communities.”

Ms Gisborne said she expected to send a survey to local teaches and administrators this week so the exact needs of the region’s schools could be mapped.

“These students are the ones where every program has been tried, effort has been made and nothing is working for the child and its certainly not working for the school community or the class itself.

“You wouldn’t expect any more than two students in each school that would fit in that category.”

Southwest Education Region executive director Neil Milligan said it would be tougher to find staff with the high level of expertise required rather than find the funding required to build a centre.

“It would be great to have that expertise in every major town,” he said.

“It’s clearly a possibility.”

Meanwhile, Ms Gisborne said there was still a lack of school psychologists in the South West.

She said the ratio recommended by Australian Psychological Society of one psychologist to 500 students was in some cases more like one in every 1000 in the region.

“We recognise the State Government has put additional funding into school psychologists, but we would argue that there is need for further funding,” she said.

“They need to expand the number of school psychologists.”

tim.edmunds@albanyadvertiser.com