HAMPSTEAD PRESCHOOL

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (15:48): Last week, I had the great pleasure to be present at Hampstead Primary School when the Minister for Early Childhood Development (Hon. Jay Weatherill) announced that the trial preschool had been so successful that the preschool would continue on the site. This is a great outcome for our local community where, prior to the establishment of this preschool, nearly half of the four year olds in the area did not attend preschool. They had no preschool experience at all.

It is well-known that preschool plays a vital role in preparing children for school, which is very important. Without this, very young students can find it difficult to adjust to school life. It actually creates problems with regular school attendance. It also reduces the opportunity to access these young students for early intervention programs and it often leads to socialisation and self-confidence issues on the young child's transition to school.

The previous high number of students at Hampstead Primary who had not attended preschool created the need for teachers there to introduce a curriculum more along the lines of a preschool in order to assist these young children to develop the skills required for the beginning of literacy and numeracy learning. Of course, this delayed the students' skills development.

In the past few years, prior to the establishment of the preschool, the school had been active in seeking to redress this issue within its community. At the time, with no external funding, in 2005 the school began a playgroup, which had an average of 10 children in attendance each week. A target group has been Aboriginal families living within the area, with three families attending regularly.

About two years ago, the school council approached me to enlist my support for a preschool at Hampstead Primary. It clearly identified a great need for a centre within the Hampstead Gardens and Greenacres community because of the lack of preschool services in our immediate area. About a quarter of the families who have children attending the school do not have a car, and this makes accessing early childhood services outside the immediate Greenacres and Hampstead Gardens district very difficult for many families.

The fact is that, over the previous three years, 50 per cent of reception students at Hampstead Primary had not attended a preschool. Hampstead Primary has a broad demographic and provides services to many families from Aboriginal, migrant and refugee backgrounds, and these numbers are growing within the school community, so the preschool will greatly contribute to the school's ability to service the local community.

The establishment of the preschool is a tribute to the persistence and dedication of the school community, the school's staff and, in particular, the school's principal, Angela Falkenburg, who must be praised for her vision and tenacity. Angela is a truly enthusiastic and dedicated educationalist.

Hampstead Primary School is a welcome addition to South Australia's proud history of providing quality early childhood services. I thank the minister for his understanding of the problems we faced at the school and, of course, the government's ongoing commitment to preschool education, particularly in my electorate.

Finally, I congratulate the parents, staff and students of Hampstead Primary because it is through their persistent lobbying that this truly marvellous outcome has been achieved. Having recently visited the school with the minister, and having had the opportunity to talk to the children, some of whom have almost no English at this stage, it is really quite rewarding to know that we now have this service permanently on our site.