Safe and Strong Schools

Dr HARVEY (Newland) (14:40): My question is to the Minister for Education. Can the minister update the house on how the Marshall Liberal government has been keeping South Australian schools safe and strong?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (14:40): I thank the member for the question. It is a tremendously important question because at the heart of what we do in the education department is every student, every child and young person, in every school and preschool in South Australia getting every opportunity to learn the enabler of a successful and happy life is of course so dependent on a good education.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic around the world, what we have seen is that, for students, whether vulnerable or not, their education has been disrupted. It's been particularly damaging to the futures of many vulnerable children and young people around the world, children whose academic growth has been dramatically disenfranchised through being kept home from school, through lockdowns of extended periods of time.

Of course, the extraordinarily powerful activity that is learning and education has been disrupted for months, potentially for years. We know in our schools, even in South Australia, we have students who don't get the support that they ideally need at home, where it is not necessarily the safest place for them to be, where many students, who we need to be at school as much as possible, can not only get their learning but also their wellbeing supported.

In other states, and indeed in other countries, where they have had extended and protracted lockdowns and no opportunity for them to be at school, that has had a dramatic and deleterious effect on those vulnerable students. Indeed, many university studies over the last six months have already demonstrated the impact of the loss of learning that has happened for all students where this lockdown has happened. There are some students who have really taken to learning at home.

But I tell you what: it is so hard for teachers to effectively teach literacy skills, reading and writing skills, to a five or a six or a seven-year-old child over a computer screen. It's really hard for a 17 or 18 year old, doing year 11 or 12, trying to get their science practicals in a proper place to get their assessments done in time for their year 12 marks, to be able to be assessed from a home environment without access to specialist facilities and labs.

The South Australian education department has worked extraordinarily hard alongside, in close collaboration, with the Catholic education system and the Independent schools sector in South Australia to ensure that we are working with SA Police and Professor Nicola Spurrier. We are operating on the health advice provided by SA Health. We have been able to keep schools open as much as anyone.

In fact, South Australian students through 2020 had the least disruption to their schooling pretty much of any students in Australia, and that puts them pretty much in line with any students in the world. We had the loss of a week at the end of term 1 for some professional learning opportunities for teachers and we had some days in November, obviously. We also had some schools where there was a significant impact because of a localised infection issue, and those staff responded so well.

Across the education department and in government and non-government schools, our teachers and our education staff responded quickly, nimbly, deftly and with the interests of the children and young people in our schools and preschools at the heart of everything that they did, and we are all, I know, so grateful to them. But what they have achieved is a continuity of learning throughout the school year, last year, and that continues this year.

There will continue to be challenges. We are very pleased that most of the restrictions that were in place during 2020 have now been able to be lifted in our schools and preschools. There are some site-specific concerns in some areas that remain and there are some activities that remain. We have introduced QR codes in all of our schools and preschools, and indeed all of our schools and non-government schools now have those for staff and adult visitors.

SA Health, I'm very pleased to say, is very pleased with the attendance data that means that for our students it's not necessary. We are continuing to have increased cleaning. We are continuing to have increased provision of hygiene products. Our education staff and our education department and the Marshall Liberal government are working every day to keep our schools safe and strong to deliver world-class education for children and young people here in South Australia.

The SPEAKER: The time allowed for answering the question has expired. I note that there are multiple time clocks in operation. To the extent that there is a problem with one, I will monitor the other.