Toowoomba indigenous boy with disability Alfie Bell now enrolled in Wilsonton State School after asked to leave Catholic Diocese

Weeks after he was left with no school to attend due to his complex disabilities, a Toowoomba indigenous boy is restarting prep thanks to a lifeline.

After spending weeks waiting at home after he was told to leave his previous school, Toowoomba’s Alfie Bell can finally start prep again and continue his education.

The five-year-old indigenous boy with complex disabilities started at Wilsonton State School on Monday, more than three weeks after he found himself without a place at his previous school due to serious cracks in Queensland’s schooling system.

Alfie has an undiagnosed set of global developmental delays, which affect his speech, development and movement due to hyper-flexible joints.

His parents Molly and Nathan Bell breathed a sigh of relief late last week when they secured a place at Wilsonton for Alfie.

Toowoomba boy Alfie Bell has finally found a new school, starting prep again at Wilsonton State School on April 24. His previous school asked him to leave, citing its inability to accommodate his complex disabilities.

“He was over the moon (when we got the news) — we had the school uniform fitted last week and he wouldn’t take it off until bathtime,” Mr Bell said.

It comes nearly two months after his previous campus run by the Toowoomba Catholic Diocese told the family Alfie could not continue there, citing the loss of the school’s “inclusion officer” and the difficulties of finding a new one.

Mr Bell said the experience showcased how children like Alfie could fall through enrolment cracks within Queensland’s education system, which he likened to “canyons”.

“It was a stressful week last week, I contacted quite a few schools (before we found Wilsonton),” he said.

“We had a few sleepless nights, I didn’t know what stress was until last week.

“Since that first discussion, I’ve realised (the cracks are) canyons — it’s happening quite regularly, I’ve had parents reach out to tell their stories.

“It’s deeply sad to hear it’s an ongoing problem for kids with disabilities.”

Toowoomba five-year-old Alfie Bell, pictured with his dad Nathan and mum Molly, has currently been left without a school to attend due to his complex disabilities, which have been deemed too difficult for the Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools but are not severe enough for the special schools system.

Mr Bell said the staff and facilities at Wilsonton State School, which is not the family’s catchment school, had been impressive.

“I tried Wilsonton because (Alfie’s service providers at) Montrose said they worked with students from there,” he said.

“We had a meeting and I was rapt with the support available to him — he’ll get assessed, and it’s just a relief that he’s there.

“They’ve embraced him with opportunities and options (and) as the conversation with the principal went on, nothing was a challenge.

“What warmed our hearts is they asked about our concerns around Alfie.”

One of the teachers even personalised a piece of school equipment, just for Alfie.

“They’ve got a little hi-vis vest on so teachers can be aware of where he is (in the playground),” Mr Bell said.

“One of the support teachers in the classroom took it home and embroidered Lightning McQueen badges on it (his favourite character) — that brought tears to our eyes.”

The couple said it was determined to continue fighting for better disability inclusion within Queensland’s schools.

Toowoomba advocate Alyce Nelligan told News Corp the state’s education system was getting worse at ensuring the needs of children with disabilities were met.

“In the past two decades since I’ve been an advocate, I’ve witnessed children either changing schools or being pushed out of the system and parents having to educate at home,” she said last month.

“This is not getting better, I’d argue in the past five years it’s getting worse.”

Originally published as Toowoomba indigenous boy with disability Alfie Bell now enrolled in Wilsonton State School after asked to leave Catholic Diocese