William Campbell College, located at Nowra Hill, will be a specialist school for children impacted by trauma, living in out-of-home care, or struggling in the mainstream system.

With small class sizes and tailored programs for every child, the college intends to support kids who need extra help, and ensure they're not left behind.

For Bill Campbell, breaking ground on the school has been a long held dream.

Having grown up in children's homes and institutions during the post-war years, facing abuse and trauma himself, Mr Campbell knows all too well the challenges which can follow into adulthood.

His William Campbell Foundation has been providing foster care and family support services since 1998, and building a special assistance school was the goal from day one.

"Children that will come into the school have lived in difficult circumstances, and some will have only attended a minimal amount of school," Mr Campbell said.

"I've realised over many years from my own experiences as a child, that the lack of education set you aside from the community and other people.

"As I grew up and became an adult, I could never find myself comfortable in the presence of people who were well educated - I always felt out of it.

"I never felt included and realised it was simply because I didn't understand most of the time what they were talking about."

William Campbell College is set to open for term one, 2023; construction is scheduled to finish by November this year.

Up to 20 students will be part of the inaugural class, followed by additional classes of 20 students in each proceeding year.

It will cater for students from kindergarten to year six, through a curriculum based on the NSW Educational Standards Authority syllabus outcomes.

WCC's policy and curriculum developer Amanda Cox said the goal is to tailor teaching programs for each student, which will help them get up to speed with their peers.

"We will still be implementing the same curriculum that you see in schools, it'll just be delivered in a different way - a more tailored and focused approach to the individual child, rather than the class as a whole," she said.

"We can really focus in on those skills and academics that the students are missing, then catch them up to their cohort in mainstream schooling."

Just over a decade ago, the William Campbell Foundation set up a temporary school on the same Nowra Hill property where the new campus will be constructed.

Between 2011 and 2014 the first iteration of William Campbell College had 10 students enrolled.

Ultimately it was forced to close due to a lack of government funding, in the wake of the landmark Gonski report into school funding inequity.

With the school now backed by the foundation and community, Mr Campbell said many learnings from the temporary school have gone into establishing the permanent campus - from individual learning plans, to agricultural lessons on the farm, and activities to build children's confidence.

"It is the foundation for what we're doing now, on how we treat each individual child to bring out the very best talent," he said.

"They all have a latent talent there - it's just about finding it."

Recruitment for teachers at the new school will begin in earnest, and Ms Cox said the small classes and one-on-one time with students would pique the interest of potential applicants.

"I think that's really appealing to a teacher, because we can actually come and do what we want to do: focus that energy which we can't do in a mainstream class," she said.

"So I'm expecting that a lot of teachers will be wanting to come and join us here."

William Campbell College will hold its first annual fundraising dinner in October, ahead of the official opening next year.