A state government plan to merge two disability support schools into one has failed to accommodate the needs of people living with physical and intellectual disabilities, an education lobbyist believes.
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The Tasmanian Disability Education Reform Lobby along with parents have taken issue with the building plans for the Northern Support School, which would see the Newstead Heights campus merged with Ravenswood in 2018.
Prospect mother Vanessa Austen said a number of parents were concerned the halls of the Ravenswood project did not account for disability workers helping children pass through, posing a safety hazard.
She said the toilets were positioned opposite the hallway, which created issues of privacy by failing to take into account carers helping people with disabilities enter the bathroom.
Ms Austen, said her daughter Amber, 15, was living with dyskinetic cerebral palsy quadriplegia, and required a high level of assistance.
“I’ve been going over plans and they are to scale, but the measurements have the hallways at the minimum recommended, the halls aren't going to be wide enough for people with two wheelchairs,” Ms Austen said.
“There has been consultation through a steering committee, but so many parents have a vision for what they deal with day to day, children are so diverse in their needs.”
She said the therapy pool design did not enable full access, and had been reduced in size.
Tasmanian Disability Education Reform Lobby founder Kristen Desmond said there needed to be an urgent review of the building plan in consultation with parents, as the facility was already under construction.
“It’s an understanding that you have lots of volunteers, or teachers aides, these children are unlikely to be unaccompanied,” Ms Desmond said.
A government spokesperson said the project had been through a consultative process, and parents would continue to be consulted throughout the building.
“Parents have been welcome to familiarise themselves with the scope of the works and tour the site and discuss any concerns they may have regarding transition,” they said.
They said the $9.9 million project was currently under construction, having begun in October, and was being built under a building code for disability works that must be strictly adhered to.
