Ministerial Statement

Springbank Education Review

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (14:05): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The recently concluded Springbank Education Review looked at how the public education system can best serve the interests of current and future students living in the local area currently zoned to Springbank Secondary College. While the Education and Children's Services Act 2019 only requires that such a review be tabled in the parliament, along with reasons for the minister's decisions in the event that a decision is made to close a school, I formed a view that the level of public interest in the Springbank Education Review meant it would be appropriate to share the document in any case, notwithstanding that the decision has been made to keep the school open.

The review committee worked hard to assess the needs of local students. Nearly 300 individuals and groups made submissions, some on behalf of larger groups. The member for Elder, Carolyn Power, for example, collected nearly 800 responses to her survey, which she incorporated into her submission.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Leave was granted.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Most submissions reflected one of two key themes. Some argued for the area to be rezoned to Unley High School to guarantee their child the chance to attend this large mainstream public high school with its broad range of subject choices. Others spoke about their strong desire to maintain the slightly different educational approach offered at Springbank Secondary College as an option within the public system. As Minister for Education, I read each of the 295 submissions to the review and I sought further advice from the Department for Education about the viability of some of the suggestions that came forward.

Some submissions argued for a shared zone, but this would not have guaranteed local students a position at Unley High School. It should be noted that in other schools that share a zone families can suggest their preference between the relevant schools in the shared zone when enrolling their child, but it does not give any guarantee that the family will get their preferred placement in the event that one school is more popular than the other. Therefore, this suggestion would not have provided a satisfactory solution to meet the needs of the overwhelming majority of members of the local community.

Very few submissions argued for the status quo with no changes. Indeed, some of the strongest advocates for the retention of Springbank Secondary College argued that it was important that it continue to serve a particular purpose in the public education system by providing an option as a smaller school, with its capacity of up to 450 students, which would be lost if all students in the zone were attending. If Springbank Secondary College were to become the school of choice for even a majority of the public school students who are living in the zone, it would require an expanded capacity and would arguably no longer be providing the same sort of environment that the current families value so much.

Ms Power's submission argued for consideration of a compromise, one that explored whether Springbank Secondary College—

Mr PICTON: Point of order, Mr Speaker: standing order 123 is that members should not be referred to by their name, and this has happened twice in this ministerial statement.

The SPEAKER: I will listen carefully. The minister also has leave. I suppose leave could also be withdrawn if this sort of behaviour continues, but I will caution the minister. He should know better, and I will listen carefully.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Thank you, sir. The member for Elder's submission argued for consideration of a compromise, one that explored whether Springbank Secondary College could indeed benefit from continuing as an unzoned school and reassigning the area to the Unley High School zone. She argued:

…if the school were to become unzoned, it would be in a position to pitch itself as a truly specialist school of choice that might appeal to certain cohorts of students more broadly, whose families are not currently giving consideration to coming to Springbank Secondary College.

Having assessed the submissions, and on further examination of enrolment trends, I have been convinced that this compromise is the best way forward. It is a win-win outcome for the community and the public education system, for advocates for rezoning—

Ms Stinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Badcoe!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: —and for advocates for the retention of the school. The review was beneficial in helping us to resolve the best way forward for Springbank Secondary College, Unley High School and the broader community. The number of submissions talking about the merits of the school has given us confidence that Springbank can continue to grow and get closer to its capacity of 450 students in the coming years.

The decisions I have made as a result of the review are therefore as follows. From 2021, all homes within the current Springbank Secondary College zone will become part of the Unley High School zone. The state government has invested in significant infrastructure works at Unley High School currently underway, which should expand its capacity to at least 1,700 students by the 2022 school year.

Springbank Secondary College will now serve the community in the years ahead as an unzoned school, accepting enrolments from students living anywhere in South Australia who are interested in its specialist programs. It will benefit from a $10 million investment in its built infrastructure, which will support the school's pursuit of excellence—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: —in its focus areas. I am confident that we have now arrived at a solution that best meets the needs both of students who are at Springbank Secondary College and of all the other families in the local area as well. I am grateful to everybody in the community who has taken the time to share their views, and I look forward to seeing the building works take place at both schools.

Families who wish to enrol their child at either school for the 2021 school year, or indeed later other years, are encouraged to contact either school directly through their websites: Unley High School at uhs.sa.edu.au; or Springbank Secondary College at springbanksc.sa.edu.au.