Seven years, three prime ministers and one dream later a new site for a Dunedin school for children with special needs has been opened.
Sara Cohen School cut the ribbon on its Riselaw Rd site in Dunedin this morning with the Minister for Education Erica Stanford in attendance.
The school featured a purpose-built playground with a non-climbable fence, wheelchair swing, a hydrotherapy pool and sensory room.
Principal Matt Tofia said it had been a long process since 2019 to build the new school and it felt ‘‘unbelievable’’ it was finally there.
‘‘I couldn’t have imagined something as good as what we have got.
‘‘I’m very proud and excited for our students.’’
Sara Cohen was about giving its students the opportunity to participate in the world, he said.
The purpose-built facility helped the students achieve and better emotionally regulate themselves because of its infrastructure.
He had noticed their ability to emotionally regulate had gotten better by about 50%.
The school presently had about 70 students enrolled and there had been more expressions of interest as of late.
The Ministry of Education had announced that Sara Cohen would receive three extra teaching spaces that were next door to the new facility in Riselaw Rd.
They were completely refurbished so they were ‘‘pretty much plug and play,’’ Mr Tofia said.
The extra teaching spaces would allow for about 100 students.
Education Minister Erica Stanford said specialist schools were being included in the network planning budgets by the government for the first time.
In last year’s budget $70 million was ring-fenced for additional classrooms and school rebuilds.
Another $30 million was put aside this year to build more satellite classrooms — which was used to refurbish Sara Cohen’s three additional classrooms.
‘‘We hope next year to do this again because we’ve got a huge backlog because essentially the sector has been ignored for many decades,’’ Ms Stanford said.
The playground at the Riselaw Rd campus was also available to the wider community and families in Calton Hill and Dunedin with children with special needs.
Each family would receive an access key to let them into the playground.
Board of trustees chairwoman Sharon Oliver said it felt unreal to stand on the playground and see the children playing on it around her.
Her son, who had autism, had learnt a lot during his time at Sara Cohen.
He was now living in a residential facility and the simple skills he had learnt at the school like folding towels were benefitting him hugely.
She was looking forward to bringing him to the Riselaw Rd facility’s playground.
‘‘All of this playground is really fit for children with autism.’’
When the school had the sod turning ceremony for the facility in 2023 she told the Otago Daily Times it had been a dream for her and families who wished to go for safe outings with their special needs children.
Sara Cohen music therapist Dennis Kahui said the school gave the children a lot more opportunities.
He and his colleagues could do a lot more to develop the children’s finer motor skills that had great educational outcomes.
‘‘By the time they exit, they have enough to function in society.’’
They could use the facility without worrying about injury because it was strategically built.
It also made it easier to for the teachers to work with the students.