Prime Minister Julia Gillard today opened a new campus at the Western Autistic School in Laverton to help autistic students build social networks and help them transition to mainstream schools and programs.
She was joined by Member for Maribyrnong, Bill Shorten, whose electorate houses the Niddrie campus of the Western Autistic School.
The new facilities were built as part of the Gillard Government's Building the Education Revolution, with over $2 million provided for the work.
The purpose built campus includes a swimming pool that will be used to help teach children swimming skills and water safety as well as giving them an opportunity to participate in structured physical activity.
Speaking at the school, the Prime Minister said the project was a fantastic example of how the Government's Building the Education program could deliver real benefits, not only to students but also to their families and wider community.
Across Australia through BER we have invested $16.2 billion to upgrade more than 9,000 schools and support jobs in local communities.
In the Western Melbourne electorates of Lalor, Maribyrnong, Gorton and Gellibrand we have invested almost $423 million in new and upgraded facilities for local schools.
Through our More Support for Students with Disabilities initiative, announced in this year's budget, the Gillard Government is also providing $200 million to provide greater support for teachers and schools working with students with disabilities or learning difficulties.
In Victoria this amounts to $48 million over the 2012 and 2013 school years.
This funding will help teachers invest in new tools and technologies including:
* new services such as speech and occupational therapy
* special equipment in classrooms such as audio and visual technology so that students can more easily
* more hours of in-class support from staff
* more training for teachers so they can learn the latest skills and strategies to improve the education of students with disabilities.