Question Time

Springbank Secondary College

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:02): My question is to the Minister for Education. What does the minister say to Springbank Secondary College families who have woken up this morning uncertain where their children will go to school in the future?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (14:02): I thank the member for the question, and it is an important question. It is really important to reiterate, as I have over the last year and a half actually, that the government has confidence and the education department has confidence in the teaching and learning that goes on at Springbank Secondary College. I think that—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: —the members opposite who have been talking down Springbank Secondary College over the last year should have a good, hard look at themselves.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir: implying that the opposition has said anything about Springbank secondary school is debate.

The SPEAKER: I have the point of order. I allowed a little bit of commentary into the question. I would expect the answer to be allowed also to be somewhat broad, but I caution the minister. With respect, when we start accusing—although it was as a collective, not an individual—if we start going down that path, I think we might bring down the standard of the debate. I will listen to the minister's answer. The Minister for Education has the call.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I thank the member for the question, as I say. We have obviously a metropolitan zoned high school here, where 7 per cent of the families who have students in public high schools in the area are choosing to take the opportunity to send their children to the zoned high school that the public education system has on offer. I have spoken to a range of parents, both within that school and within that zone more broadly. I have certainly received representations from many over the two years that I have been the minister.

I imagine that the shadow minister received similar representations over the period when she was in office. Indeed, a range of measures has been put in place at Springbank (formerly Pasadena) to support that school in its efforts to build its numbers, to enhance its reputation and to ensure that the quality of the teaching and learning that we know goes on in those classrooms, and the support that is there for the students in those classrooms, is reflected in a confidence that the broader community might have.

What is unfortunately apparent is that that confidence in the community has not been to the fore. When we have 400 students out of those 850 choosing Unley High School rather than Springbank, when we have significant numbers of students and their families choosing other schools, it demonstrates that there is not the confidence in their local zone school that is offered to them by the public education system that we would hope for.

Ms Stinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Badcoe!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The fact of why that is, why that—

Ms Stinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Badcoe is warned.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: —reputational challenge exists, there would be no one answer to that. There would be a range of answers that have played out over a number of years. This isn't just an issue that has happened this year: there has been a decline in those numbers for a long period of time. There was indeed a bigger decline several years ago—

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Playford!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: —and since then significant efforts have been put in to build morale, to improve culture and to ensure that the supports available at the school meet the needs of the student cohort, yet we are in a situation where again this year, despite having had a zone that is larger than it was last year for new year 8 entries—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Lee!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I am unclear as to the point that is being made there. Despite the fact—

Ms Stinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Badcoe, you have been warned.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: —that the zone is larger than it was 12 months ago, and indeed what was previously—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for West Torrens!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: —the Pasadena zone has been restored to the size that it was before the 2019 school year, we actually have fewer year 8 enrolments than we had the previous year when all the other schools effectively in the metropolitan area are experiencing significant capacity pressure. These are the challenges that we are grappling with, and the needs of the students at that school and in that community are our absolute priority in any decision that I may take.

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Playford is warned.