Walcha Central School learning support teacher Kate Mackaway said the school agreed to host the expo, so parents and carers didn’t have to travel to Tamworth for information.

“The objective was to educate the community on what disability and general community services are available to them and give them access from Walcha,” she said.

“I was very happy with the response to the event. We had more people come than I expected and it has definitely been worthwhile.”

Danielle Northey from the Department of Education office in Tamworth is managing the event roadshow which will stop at another ten schools across the region.

“The school expo roadshow has taken place for the last couple of years, but this was the first time it has come to Walcha,” she said.

“We used to hold them at public venues, but we found we had more success in getting people here by bringing them into the schools, as the school has the family relationship.”

Ms Northey said many of the services are funded through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), but not all of them.

“The whole idea was to get to the smaller towns who don’t have the services on their doorstep,” she said.

“There are a lot of service providers that can provide support to these smaller towns so it was an opportunity for families to learn what support exists and what they can access from their home or in nearby regional centres.”

The expo provided information on: accessing the NDIS; early intervention services; carer support; advocacy; accommodation; training and education; employment and post-school options.