It has been 24 years since children have run through the halls and grounds of the old primary school at Golden Point.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The excited laughter, shouts and chatter have returned to the former school as about 100 children and teens with a disability take part in school holiday programs with the site’s new owners Pinarc Disability Support.
Cooking, craft, dancing, sport, water fights, treasure hunts, camping games and pirate fun are on the agenda for the service’s young clients during the summer holidays.
Pinarc took ownership of the school, which closed in 1993, last November and immediately began to make changes to tailor the spaces to their programs.
Chief executive Marianne Hubbard said the new venue was making a big difference to children and staff.
“The staff are reporting there’s so much space: there’s enough space outside and inside for lots of activities and group programs, and if a particular child is having a tough time and needs a little bit of time out there’s enough space for them to go with a worker and find some quiet space,” she said.
Plenty of eager children, and their parents, have checked out Pinarc’s new home since the school holiday programs began on January 4.
“In the past we have had to rent space out of either other schools or from other organisations and that’s really difficult because so often there might be security issues because there’s not enough fencing, and we support a number of young people with autism who need a secure environment,” Ms Hubbard said.
RELATED STORIES
“And often if we went back to book a location it might not be available again and we end up moving around. The new premises at Golden Point provides us a secure long-term solution so participants can feel a sense of permanency and all our equipment can stay there.”
The new space provides opportunity for more equipment and more activities including a ball pit, games table and pool table.
Renovations continue with new walls and more cupboards being built, internal fencing being installed in the coming weeks, offices to be constructed and a commercial kitchen to eventually be installed which will allow Pinarc to offer hospitality training to older clients.