• Home
• Students
• Parents and carers
• International students
• Schools and educators
• School holidays
• Directories
• Jobs
• About us

• Introduction
• Choosing a school
  • Key contacts
  • Managing Information
  • Types of schooling
    • State education
    • Non-state education
    • Home education
• Adjustments and education
  • Legal rights
  • Accessing the curriculum
  • The Education Adjustment Program
  • Resourcing
• Special education programs and services
  • Special education programs
  • Special education services
    • Advisory visiting teachers
    • Guidance officers
    • Registered nurses
    • Therapy services
    • Physiotherapists and occupational therapists
    • Speech-language pathologists
    • Therapy from outside Education Queensland
• Other support
  • Getting to and from school
  • Specialised equipment
  • Behaviour support
  • Bullying
  • Concerns and complaints
• Phases of learning
  • Importance of early childhood education
  • Prep
  • Starting primary school
  • Starting secondary school
  • Finishing school
  • Post school funding - Department of Communities - Disability Services
• Key contacts outside Education Queensland
• Glossary

State Education

State education is the main focus of this guide. State education is provided by Education Queensland (EQ), as a publicly funded service available to all children in Queensland.

There are a range of facilities:

• early childhood development programs (ECDP)
• primary schools, secondary schools, and P-10/12 schools
• special schools
• hospital schools
• schools of distance education
• centres for continuing secondary education
• outdoor and environmental education centres
• Queensland Academies.

Early childhood development programs (ECDP)

In the years prior to compulsory school age, children with disability or who have significant educational support needs may be eligible to attend an ECDP.

Primary, secondary and P-10/12 schools

Students with disability are entitled to enrol at any state school in Queensland under the same conditions as students without disabilities. The majority of students with disability attend the same education facilities as their peers.

Education Queensland provides a range of support options to ensure that all students, including students with disability, have opportunities to access, participate, and gain positive outcomes from state schooling. All students are able to be supported through the full array of student support services allocated to schools including guidance support, speech language therapy, behaviour support and learning support. Many schools offer special education programs and services for students with disability.

To find out further information on enrolling in a state school see the Enrolment in State Primary, Secondary and Special Schools policy.

For more information about state education, see the brochure Shaping the Smart State: A Guide to State Schools.

Special Schools

Special schools are schools that provide education to only students with disability. Students with intellectual impairment or with multiple impairments may be eligible to attend special schools.

There are detailed procedures for eligibility for enrolment in a special school. Before a child can enrol at a special school:

1. The student must be diagnosed with a disability or have a suspected disability which requires significant educational support. The diagnosis must include intellectual impairment.
2. The disability must be verified, or be likely to be verified, as meeting the EQ criteria for intellectual impairment.
3. The special school must agree that the adjustments made at the school can meet the educational needs of the student.

The enrolment process and the eligibility requirements are more complex than the summary written here. If you are considering that a special school might be the best educational option for your child, talk first to the principal, or your regional Principal Education Officer, Student Services (PEO,SS).

Special school principals are unable to enrol students directly without the approval of the Principal Advisor, Education Services (PA, ES). This follows a detailed exploration of your child's needs to determine that these can best be met by attending a special school. This exploration will usually be conducted in collaboration with the Principal Education Officer, Student Services (PEO, SS), Guidance Officer (GO), Senior Guidance Officer (SGO) or their delegate.

Hospital schools

Hospital schools are departmental facilities providing education for day students and hospitalised children at the Royal Children's Hospital, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Royal Women's Hospital, Prince Charles Hospital, ACT for Kids at Wooloowin, Mater Children's Hospital, Mater Adult Hospitals and the Princess Alexandra Hospital. There are also classes in hospitals throughout the State.

Schools of distance education

Schools of distance education provide educational programs for students from Prep to Year 12 who are unable to attend a traditional school setting due to geographic isolation, illness, other special circumstances or by choice. All schools of distance education provide support using a range of information and communication technologies. Schools of distance education provide case management support to enrolled students with disability.

For more information:

• talk to staff at your school or your regional PEO, SS or
• read the policy Enrolment in State Primary, Secondary and Special Schools

^ Top of page

This page was last reviewed on 17 Jul 2012

Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy | Access keys | Other languages

© The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and Employment) 2005-2012.

Queensland Government