❓ A member of parliament questions the Minister for Education regarding school attendance officers in the Pilbara region, particularly in Port Hedland, and strategies to improve attendance rates. The Minister responds with details of current staffing and initiatives.
AnsweredQoN 1524Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Auditor General’s report on the levels of school attendance and in particular his reference to high non-attendance levels at schools in the Pilbara region:
(a) is it true that there is only one school attendance officer employed to service the entire Pilbara region;
(b) will the Minister confirm that there is no attendance officer in Port Hedland to service the East Pilbara region, and that that position has remained vacant for the entire time she has been Minister for Education;
(c) will the Minister tell the House what she is doing to ensure that the Pilbara region has attendance officers in place who can assist in reducing the level of truancy in that area, as highlighted in the Auditor General’s report;
(d) when will the Minister secure the employment of a new attendance officer based in Port Hedland to service the East Pilbara region; and
(e) what additional strategies is the Minister deploying in the Pilbara to secure increased levels of school attendance?
(a) is it true that there is only one school attendance officer employed to service the entire Pilbara region;
(b) will the Minister confirm that there is no attendance officer in Port Hedland to service the East Pilbara region, and that that position has remained vacant for the entire time she has been Minister for Education;
(c) will the Minister tell the House what she is doing to ensure that the Pilbara region has attendance officers in place who can assist in reducing the level of truancy in that area, as highlighted in the Auditor General’s report;
(d) when will the Minister secure the employment of a new attendance officer based in Port Hedland to service the East Pilbara region; and
(e) what additional strategies is the Minister deploying in the Pilbara to secure increased levels of school attendance?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
15 October 2009
Responded by
Minister for Education
Response time
29 days
(a) No. The Department employs five officers in the Pilbara to deal with attendance issues.
(b) There are two attendance officers and an Aboriginal Islander Education Officer based in Port Hedland.
(c) The district office employs a full-time Senior District Attendance Coordinator (SDAC) and a school based attendance officer in Karratha. Two full-time attendance officers based in Hedland have been recently appointed, one working with the high school and one working with the primary schools. Two full-time attendance officers based in Hedland have been recently appointed.
(d) The positions for attendance officers in the Pilbara Education District have been advertised on numerous occasions. Due to attraction and retention issues they have been difficult to fill.
(e) Extensive consultation has occurred with the shopping centre managers and the District Office is confident the strategies are now showing an improvement in attendance rates.
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(b) There are two attendance officers and an Aboriginal Islander Education Officer based in Port Hedland.
(c) The district office employs a full-time Senior District Attendance Coordinator (SDAC) and a school based attendance officer in Karratha. Two full-time attendance officers based in Hedland have been recently appointed, one working with the high school and one working with the primary schools. Two full-time attendance officers based in Hedland have been recently appointed.
(d) The positions for attendance officers in the Pilbara Education District have been advertised on numerous occasions. Due to attraction and retention issues they have been difficult to fill.
(e) Extensive consultation has occurred with the shopping centre managers and the District Office is confident the strategies are now showing an improvement in attendance rates.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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