❓ Opposition questions the Minister for Education regarding a critical Auditor General's report on school attendance, highlighting a lack of improvement and high numbers of at-risk students. The Minister defends the government's approach, citing complex issues and new initiatives.
AnsweredQoN 838Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
EDUCATION —
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
838. Hon SUE ELLERY to the
Minister for Education:
I refer to the Auditor General's report into school
attendance today, which found that there had been no substantial improvement in
the number of children at educational risk because of non-attendance at school
since the last audit in 2009; that nearly 30 per cent, or 80 000, Western
Australian students are at risk because of non-attendance; and that, despite
recommendations from the Auditor General in 2009 to put in place comprehensive
oversight of data and measures to address attendance, the department has still
not done so. Does the minister agree that it is a damning report, and what
undertakings will he give to seriously address the Auditor General's
concerns?
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
838. Hon SUE ELLERY to the
Minister for Education:
I refer to the Auditor General's report into school
attendance today, which found that there had been no substantial improvement in
the number of children at educational risk because of non-attendance at school
since the last audit in 2009; that nearly 30 per cent, or 80 000, Western
Australian students are at risk because of non-attendance; and that, despite
recommendations from the Auditor General in 2009 to put in place comprehensive
oversight of data and measures to address attendance, the department has still
not done so. Does the minister agree that it is a damning report, and what
undertakings will he give to seriously address the Auditor General's
concerns?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. I certainly do not agree
that it is a damning report—anything but. The Auditor General stated
that there has been no improvement in school attendance for a number of
students, particularly those who are at risk. That is a direct result of a raft
of different issues, most of which are beyond the control of the Department of
Education. I am not for a moment suggesting that the Department of Education
cannot improve in some areas. I refer to issues of overall analysis of the
results between particular schools. I have already spoken to the director
general about this issue, and she acknowledges that, and will work towards a
more comprehensive overview.
Having said that, the Auditor General was also complimentary
about the fact that schools are being given a lot more flexibility now. School
attendance is not one size fits all; it simply does not work that way. A
particular strategy that might work in Meekatharra is certainly not going to
work at, perhaps, a school like Wembley Primary School. That is because each
cohort of students is unique. That is why the flexibility that schools now have
provides that opportunity.
This brings me to the notion of responsibility for school
attendance. Without a shadow of a doubt, we as an education system must do all
that we can to provide a relevant education system for every single child, and
it is not one size fits all. Those children who do not want to go to university
are just as significant as those who want to go to university. Those students
who are disengaged—which is an increasing cohort—are just as
significant as those who do not have a problem with mainstream schooling. Those
disengaged students may have a raft of different social issues to deal with on
a day-to-day basis. They may have complex issues with their home environment. A
significant proportion of those students are Aboriginal. The original
Australians have a real issue with attendance at school, for eminently sensible
reasons.
As a result of the complex issues
that we deal with in the education system on a day-to-day basis, the government
has been very proactive, particularly in the past two years, in identifying
programs to deal with that cohort of students. For example, next year we will
roll out 37 Aboriginal kindergartens, in the KindiLink program, which provides
early intervention for three-year-old Aboriginal students. It will also provide
support for guardians, including parents, of those Aboriginal students, and
literacy and numeracy strategies. In addition to that, we will have 21 child
and parent centres.
Hon Sue Ellery : Why should we believe that they'll
work if what you've done over the past five years has made no
difference?
Hon PETER COLLIER : The honourable member has asked a
question, and I am giving her a very comprehensive response. I am trying to
give a response to a question that has been asked. The member might not like
the response, but these are the facts of the matter.
We are doing something for the cohort of students that has been ignored
for decades. The child and parent centres now provide comprehensive wraparound
services and early intervention in literacy and numeracy for a cohort of
students that has been ignored by successive governments. These are the
students captured by that Auditor General's report—the students
who would ultimately become disengaged. We are providing those early
intervention strategies, which will provide the foundations for sound literacy
and numeracy skills so that they will stay in school.
In addition to that, those disengaged students will be assisted through
the new engagement centres that we will be opening next year. They deal
specifically with attendance. Behaviour centres did not deal with attendance;
the engagement centres will, and they will be provided with tailored programs
to ensure that they feel just as significant to any child who wants to go to
university or to a vocational education and training program.
I will leave the house with this. We
can have the most comprehensive curriculum program in the world but, quite
frankly, we only deal with half the issue. The other half belongs to parents.
It is a shared responsibility and, unfortunately, a number of parents have
become more and more complacent in their awareness of the significance of a
child's education—not once or twice a week, but five days a
week for that child's entire education career. We can provide the
strategies, but we need the support of the parents. That is why the child and
parent centres are working, and the KindiLink program will embrace parents and
provide more relevant programs for those disengaged students as of next year.
that it is a damning report—anything but. The Auditor General stated
that there has been no improvement in school attendance for a number of
students, particularly those who are at risk. That is a direct result of a raft
of different issues, most of which are beyond the control of the Department of
Education. I am not for a moment suggesting that the Department of Education
cannot improve in some areas. I refer to issues of overall analysis of the
results between particular schools. I have already spoken to the director
general about this issue, and she acknowledges that, and will work towards a
more comprehensive overview.
Having said that, the Auditor General was also complimentary
about the fact that schools are being given a lot more flexibility now. School
attendance is not one size fits all; it simply does not work that way. A
particular strategy that might work in Meekatharra is certainly not going to
work at, perhaps, a school like Wembley Primary School. That is because each
cohort of students is unique. That is why the flexibility that schools now have
provides that opportunity.
This brings me to the notion of responsibility for school
attendance. Without a shadow of a doubt, we as an education system must do all
that we can to provide a relevant education system for every single child, and
it is not one size fits all. Those children who do not want to go to university
are just as significant as those who want to go to university. Those students
who are disengaged—which is an increasing cohort—are just as
significant as those who do not have a problem with mainstream schooling. Those
disengaged students may have a raft of different social issues to deal with on
a day-to-day basis. They may have complex issues with their home environment. A
significant proportion of those students are Aboriginal. The original
Australians have a real issue with attendance at school, for eminently sensible
reasons.
As a result of the complex issues
that we deal with in the education system on a day-to-day basis, the government
has been very proactive, particularly in the past two years, in identifying
programs to deal with that cohort of students. For example, next year we will
roll out 37 Aboriginal kindergartens, in the KindiLink program, which provides
early intervention for three-year-old Aboriginal students. It will also provide
support for guardians, including parents, of those Aboriginal students, and
literacy and numeracy strategies. In addition to that, we will have 21 child
and parent centres.
Hon Sue Ellery : Why should we believe that they'll
work if what you've done over the past five years has made no
difference?
Hon PETER COLLIER : The honourable member has asked a
question, and I am giving her a very comprehensive response. I am trying to
give a response to a question that has been asked. The member might not like
the response, but these are the facts of the matter.
We are doing something for the cohort of students that has been ignored
for decades. The child and parent centres now provide comprehensive wraparound
services and early intervention in literacy and numeracy for a cohort of
students that has been ignored by successive governments. These are the
students captured by that Auditor General's report—the students
who would ultimately become disengaged. We are providing those early
intervention strategies, which will provide the foundations for sound literacy
and numeracy skills so that they will stay in school.
In addition to that, those disengaged students will be assisted through
the new engagement centres that we will be opening next year. They deal
specifically with attendance. Behaviour centres did not deal with attendance;
the engagement centres will, and they will be provided with tailored programs
to ensure that they feel just as significant to any child who wants to go to
university or to a vocational education and training program.
I will leave the house with this. We
can have the most comprehensive curriculum program in the world but, quite
frankly, we only deal with half the issue. The other half belongs to parents.
It is a shared responsibility and, unfortunately, a number of parents have
become more and more complacent in their awareness of the significance of a
child's education—not once or twice a week, but five days a
week for that child's entire education career. We can provide the
strategies, but we need the support of the parents. That is why the child and
parent centres are working, and the KindiLink program will embrace parents and
provide more relevant programs for those disengaged students as of next year.
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