Two years ago, the Aspect Hunter School for children with autism was forced to leave its base at Shortland.
Now it finally has a permanent home, officially opening its new school in Thornton today.
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Two years ago, the Aspect Hunter School for children with autism was forced to leave its base at Shortland.
Now it finally has a permanent home, officially opening its new school in Thornton today.
The world needs more people like Hilton Grugeon. This amazing school and its fantastic staff are going to have a huge impact on the lives of local children with autism.
its great that there is finally a school for chilren with Autism but like alot of famillies in the hunter its not going to be accesable at just over $1000 a term witch is disgusting they are profitting of these childrens disabilities alot of children are going to miss out on the much needed help there children need , both of my eldest children that have autism will miss out . And I don’t mean to be sarcastic but who wants to travel to thornton and back every day its not easilly accesable to children that live in the upper hunter , How rediculouse .
Aspect is not for profit, most of the Funding is provided by the state and federal government, the additional fees are the difference between goverment funding and what it cost’s to provide a ratio of 1 teacher and an Aid to every 6 children , providing a quality service is not cheap, Aspect certainly do not “profit” from the fees. the finacial records of all schools are redily available on the my schools website . Thornton is central to the area the school services which is Lake Macquarie , the lower hunter , greater newcastle and the Coal feilds as well as the lower hunter. Aspect has satelite Classes in all of these areas , which the majority of students attend , Thornton is the base school , Aspect is a non goverment organization , if Lesley is disatisfied with the available services in the upper hunter , the Frustrations should perhaps be directed at the relevant government organizations .
What a great story. I’ve been following the dramas of this school over the last two years and it’s awesome to know there is now a permanent base for this center in the Hunter region. A school that caters specifically for children with autism is desperately needed in this area. Sure there are fees but it is cheap considering the support this school provides to its students and their families. Congratulations Aspect.
@lesley….Aspect is not subsidised by the government (we wish it was), therefore unfortunately parents have to fork out fees from out of pocket. FaCHSIA funding can’t even be used for school fees. Most of us autism parents aren’t happy about this either, but if the chance arises to give your ASD child a head start in education and social protocol, then why not take it. Yes there are heaps of families who have to travel to get to the school everyday and some live with that sacrifice for the benefit of their child/children. There are a number of satellite classes around the region for those who are unable to get to the base at Thornton. I am grateful that Aspect has seen the increasing need in this region for a school of this type and answered the call.
This school is magic! Our son attends the school, and sorry Lesley but this school is positioned in the Heart of the Hunter Valley. We used to have our son travel 1 1/2 hrs a day to attend and now it is only 20mins. This school is equipped with everything the kids require and is well worth the money. The teachers are wonderful and care for the kids accordingly. Without their help and this school that Hilton and others have helped to produce our child wouldn’t be as advanced as he is. Thanks again to everyone who helped produce this wonderful school for our kids!
Lesley, Aspect does not “profit” from our school fees in any way! In fact, it is a not-for-profit organisation! Aspect’s schools have outstanding teaching staff and a very high ratio of teaching staff to children, which makes it more expensive to run then than your average school. In terms of the location, you are never going to be able to place a school like this in every suburb. My son attends an Aspect satellite class which is no where near our home but I am grateful that he has that opportunity. I am a single parent & I do whatever it takes to save the fees so that my child can go to school in an environment where his needs are met. The permanent base school at Thornton has only been made possible by some amazing people who were generous with both their time &/or their money, who saw that a permanent base like this was drastically needed & instead of standing around complaining about it they decided to actually do something about it. We should all be very grateful, if only because it assists to take the burden of special needs away from an already overloaded “mainstream” teacher’s workload. If you are frustrated by having to pay fees to the school, perhaps you could start by lobbying your local member for additional government funding.
Sending my child to Aspect is the single best decision our family has made. After just 12mths our son has achieve so much. And we are all looking forward to the move to Thornton Base school next year. As our family lives in Newcastle, we will be using transport to get our son to the son. Yes it is an inconvenience travelling to Thornton but the service they provide is worth it. As is the school fees. I don’t care what I have to pay, what they have and will give my son is worth every cent. And as a teacher in the public system, you cannot compare the two. Congratulation to all the businesses, families and community members that helped to achieve thei amazing school.
Wonderful news! I have attended workshops at the school and I think it is amazing! I can’t wait for my daughter to hopefully attend when she is 3yrs 10 months! The fees do not worry me in the slightest when I see the teacher to child ratio and personal attention/care provided.