Pine Rivers Special School is a co-educational, state school catering for students between the ages of 6 and 18 years. It also hosts the Pine Rivers Early Childhood Developmental Program (ECDP), which caters for young children from 0 – 5 years.
The school is situated approximately 20 kilometres north of the Brisbane CBD in the suburb of Lawnton, and caters for children with a verified diagnosis of a disability or, in the case of the ECDP, of a suspected disability.
Most students have been verified through Education Qld processes as having an Intellectual Disability (ID) and have been Approved for Entry to a Special School. They may also have a verified diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a Physical Impairment (PI), a Vision Impairment (VI) or a Hearing Impairment (HI). While the majority of students are ambulatory, the school is a purpose built Special School and all areas are wheelchair accessible. Approximately 10% of our students are in wheelchairs.
In 2013, it is anticipated that the school will have an enrolment of approximately 120 full-time students, and the Early Childhood Development Plan will provide a range of full and part-time programs for approximately 75 students, the majority of whom will transition to regular school settings other than a Special School.
It is expected that most students will come from the surrounding suburbs of Lawnton, Strathpine, Bray Park, Petrie and Kallangur, but may also travel from suburbs such as Dayboro, Narangba, North Lakes and Deception Bay, dependent upon proximity to the nearest appropriately-coded program.
The school currently employs approximately 25 full and part-time teachers and a similar number of full and part-time teacher aides. It is supported by departmentally employed physiotherapists, occupational therapists, a speech language pathologist, guidance officer and school nurse, some of whom are based at the special school.