An artist impression of what the rebuilt Charles Leopold Bell School would look like.
~Will help students with behavioural issues~
COLE BAY--The Charles Leopold Bell School will become an Educational Care Centre (ECC) to help students experiencing significant behavioural challenges receive specialised support and successfully return to their regular school environments, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (ECYS) Minister Melissa Gumbs has clarified.
Speaking during Tuesday’s MECYS Matters livestream, Gumbs stressed that the ECC will not be a special needs school, but a specialised intervention programme where children can temporarily receive more intensive, individualised support with parental consent.
The programme is intended to address students’ behavioural challenges and help them develop the tools needed to succeed when they return to their regular classrooms. Students will remain connected to their home schools throughout the process.
The ECC will work with parents, teachers and student care coordinators at the various schools to support each child’s progress and prepare for reintegration into the regular classroom.
“We are for too long confused by behavioural challenges with special needs,” Gumbs said, explaining that while some children with exceptionalities may also experience behavioural issues, the two are not the same and do not always occur together.
She said the programme would also explore the reasons behind students’ behaviour, noting that there is often a wider context behind the challenges children experience.
The ECC is planned for the reconstructed Charles Leopold Bell School in Cole Bay. Construction is expected to be completed in December 2027, with the centre scheduled to become operational in January 2028.
The programme is in its early stages and is expected to have 23 positions. Recruitment preparations have started, with the hiring of a director, psychologist and social workers targeted for the first quarter of 2027. Recruitment for the remaining positions is targeted for July 2027.
Gumbs said Inclusive Development Partners (IDP) is supporting the development of the programme, including specialised training in behavioural interventions, positive behavioural support and trauma-informed practices. A train-the-trainer approach is also being developed to build local capacity and ensure trained personnel can pass on their knowledge to future staff.
Work is continuing on the programme’s operational framework, including referral procedures, staffing and training. Gumbs said it was important to establish clear criteria for determining when a student should be referred to the centre. The programme is not intended for every student who displays rude or difficult behaviour. Instead, it will focus on children experiencing significant behavioural challenges who need additional support outside their regular school environment before returning.
The minister said she expected the ECC to attract questions during the public meetings on the 2027 budget and welcomed the opportunity to provide further clarification.
