Education review to consider options for SA non-mainstream schooling

The review will consider ways of boosting engagement among the 10,000 students who participate in non-mainstream education programs each year in SA.

Transcript

00:00Traditional learning didn't work for Nash Clark.

00:05He lives with autism and has been homeschooled for the past five years.

00:08His mum Paula says he's part of a cohort the school system doesn't accommodate.

00:13We're getting the calls to come and collect the kids constantly.

00:16They start the school refusal, they don't want to go to school.

00:19The education minister says there's a growing trend of students refusing to go to school

00:23due to a variety of complex reasons like disability or mental health challenges.

00:28The review into alternative education aims to look at the causes and investigate workable options.

00:34It's the right time for us to have a look at what options we have outside of mainstream schools

00:39to make sure that there is capacity for that growth, to make sure they are the right fit for students and for families.

00:45The review will also look at Open Access College which offers online teaching for primary and secondary students.

00:50Most of our students come because they have mental, physical, health issues.

00:57That means that they're not able to attend a local school.

01:00The college welcomes the review and hopes it will identify strengths and offer improvements to their model.

01:06Hopefully the review will be quite supportive of students and can make the learning for our students a better experience.

01:15Ms Clark also welcomes the review but wants more to be done for students she says are left behind.

01:21I'm grateful for anything the government are putting forward.

01:24But again, the children that it's already too late for, where do they fit in?

01:28The review will be completed by the end of the year.

01:31Thank you very much

01:36Thank you