Media Release 16 May 2025
Catholic Schools Broken Bay expands Eileen O’Connor disability support classes.
Catholic Schools Broken Bay (CSBB) will expand their Inclusive Education program for students with disability through their Eileen O’Connor Catholic School support classes next year.
The new classes will begin in the first term of 2026 at St Agatha’s Catholic Primary School, Pennant Hills. This follows the success of similar support classes at five campuses across the Diocese.
Launched in 2024, CSBB has 70 students currently enrolled at five Eileen O’Connor campuses in the Northern Beaches, North Shore and Central Coast.
Plans are also underway to establish a stand-alone specialist Eileen O’Connor Catholic School for students with disability at Tuggerah on the Central Coast.
“Eileen O’Connor Catholic School is a key part of Bishop Anthony Randazzo’s bold and inclusive vision for Catholic education in the Diocese,” Senior Executive and Principal, Fiona Dignan said.
“It offers a connected and supportive learning pathway for students with disability from Kindergarten to Year 12, featuring specialist facilities and a vibrant school precinct that connects students to mainstream Catholic Schools.
“This is all about giving every child the chance to shine.”
By offering diocesan-wide Eileen O’Connor Catholic School support classes in established schools plus a specialist school, this is meeting the growing needs of families looking for small class sizes, skilled staff, and a place where they feel their children belong and can thrive, Fiona said.
Enrolments for the students at St Agatha’s have already opened for 2026 for Kindergarten to Year 6.
“News of these new classes was really well received by the school and leadership team as well as the parish community,” Fiona said.
“We are very much looking forward to welcoming new families, and inspiring the hearts and minds of our young learners.”
The new Tuggerah campus, a $65 million project, will be funded in partnership with CSBB, government grants, community and corporate supporters.
The school is named after Eileen O’Connor, who in 1913 co-founded Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor, or Brown Nurses, a religious order.
A courageous young woman of deep faith who suffered from a spinal disability, she dedicated her life to serving the poor and marginalised. A Servant of God she is now on the path to canonisation.
For more information on Eileen O-Connor Catholic School https://csbb.catholic.edu.au/our-strategy/eileenoconnor/
ENDS
For information regarding this release contact:
Katrina Lee 0403 950 652
Email: Katrina.Lee@bbcatholic.org.au
General Information
At Catholic Schools Broken Bay, our vision is to provide ‘authentic, professional Catholic education, delivered with care and compassion’. The vision is underpinned by our exciting and robust Towards 2025 Strategy which places students at the centre of everything we do, and which brings schools and Parishes together to work as one. The Towards 2025 Strategy commits our system of schools to being at least as good as the very best, to maximise the learning growth of every student, and to inspire hearts and minds to know Christ and love learning. Covering an expansive geographical area which includes the Central Coast and Sydney’s Northern Beaches and North Shore, Catholic Schools Broken Bay is a system serving 45 Catholic Schools with over 18,000 students from Kindergarten to Year 12.
Further information on Towards 2025 is available at the CSBB website