Cairns to secure a youth justice school under an LNP government
New specialist schools to provide a tailored curriculum for children entangled in the youth justice system will be built in south-east Queensland and Cairns, if the LNP wins government in October.
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A new specialist school to provide a tailored curriculum for children entangled in the youth justice system will be built in Cairns if the LNP wins government in October.
Two youth justice schools at a cost of $40m have been proposed.
The schools will deliver innovative curriculum and wellbeing models alongside integrated case management to turn around poor school attendance of high-risk offenders in Cairns.
Ohana for Youth will manage the schools but chief executive Aaron Devine said there would be no security forcing a cohort of 50 students at each school to stay on campus for a proposed 12-hour school day.
“It’s about finding the thing that young people are really passionate about, working alongside those people in their passion, and then applying literacy, numeracy, science, maths, and those sorts of programs to make sure that they do learn and stay engaged and learning,” he said.
The schools to be built at an undisclosed Cairns location and in the south east corner will be special assistance schools that will seek to gain recognition through the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board.
Currently 53 per cent of all kids on youth correctional orders don’t go to school.
Asked how eligible kids, who will not be court ordered to attend, could be made to front up and how students will be stopped from leaving school grounds, Mr Devine said the key was providing a “fun, enjoyable, safe environment” for young people to learn.
Opposition spokeswoman for youth justice Laura Gerber said Ohana for Youth would rely on “philanthropic support” to get the facilities built and federal government funding available to Special Assistance Schools.
“They (will) deliver the national curriculum, and then they will get that 80 per cent funding from the federal government and 20 per cent from the state,” she said.
“And then the capital, the $40m to build the schools, is essentially just capital.”
Following backlash from people living near a proposed youth drug rehab in Edmonton, voters reluctant to have the youth justice school in their neighbourhood promoted Ms Gerber to state the campus would be built following the identification of the “most appropriate area”.
LNP leader David Crisafulli said the proposed schools were part of a “comprehensive plan” to address the state’s youth crime crisis.
“It also involves things like when a child is released from detention to make sure that they’re given the support to turn their life around, it’s stronger laws,” he said.
“At the moment, these kids are either going to normal schools infrequently or sitting at home.
“Under our plan: Adult crime, adult time, kids who deserve to be in jail will be in jail.
“This provides discipline and structure to help them turn their life around.”
Mr Crisafulli said the schools would also help the more than 2000 kids in residential care navigate a pathway away from a life of crime.
Premier Steven Miles responded to the education announcement by stating there were already 50 flexible learning schools operating in Queensland and there were plans to build another 25.
“So by the LNP announcing that they’ll only build two, you’ve got to assume that means they intend to cut 23 of the 25 that we’ve already announced,” he said.
“We have plans on the books to have more than 100 of these schools up and running. Because when it comes to early intervention, you can’t intervene early enough.”
Each year there are 4587 community-based orders handed down and the number of serious repeat offenders has increased from 442 to 736 kids since 2015, according to the LNP.
The initiative will target children aged 10-15 and is set to open by 2026.
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