Parliamentary Committees

Public Works Committee: Ardtornish Primary School Redevelopment

Debate resumed.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (11:43): I am very pleased to rise briefly and reflect on the Public Works Committee report into the enhancements to Ardtornish Primary School that are currently underway. There is not a lot to add to what the member for Newland and the member for Kavel have already identified. I will just reflect briefly that when I visited the Ardtornish Primary School most recently with the member for Newland in late October last year, the temporary accommodation that the school community was going to be using while their main area was being demolished and before the new areas were constructed was in the middle of being installed.

Looking at some of that temporary accommodation that the students are in at the moment, it was definitely the case that there were reflections from staff members on how much better that temporary accommodation was than the facilities that have been at Ardtornish, highlighting the need for this project, which has probably been building and building for a significant number of years. The government is very pleased to be investing $5½ million in the enhancements to Ardtornish Primary School, servicing more than 500 students in the local area around the school.

Das Studio and Fusco Constructions and the modular builders outlined by the member for Newland are doing terrific work, and Mark Hansen and the team at Ardtornish are creating the learning environments for their students that will see them thrive, succeed and prosper in the years ahead. The member for Newland identified some of the engagement that the school has had with the broader department and schools around South Australia in being able to replicate their steps forward in phonics teaching and early years literacy. That has seen in Ardtornish Primary School significant steps forward in recent years.

One of the other areas in which Ardtornish Primary School is a leader in the state is in their use of the internet, engaging with students in the delivery of their learning throughout their years. There are a number of explicit and project-based tasks for which the school is able to use the internet. When we upgraded the speed of the internet at Ardtornish Primary School in April 2019, as part of the Marshall Liberal government's swift internet upgrade program, which took our internet speeds in schools from the slowest on the mainland to the fastest in Australia, the IT guys at Ardtornish told me that they reckoned that it was not the 100 times faster that the department had put in their notes for me when I was visiting, but that the reliable speed was actually 1,000 times faster than it used to be at that site.

The difference is in what is able to be done at that school. The teachers described being hesitant and cautious about undertaking any lesson planning that involved the use of computers and the internet, when a teacher would be thinking, 'If we start with everybody working on the internet at the beginning of the lesson, if the classroom next door also starts using the internet, half our students are going drop out or experience dramatic drops in speeds.'

That was what was facing teachers prior to the upgrade in 2019. Now the classes across the school can all be switched on at once and the speed of the internet availability is there and reliable. It is that reliability that is even more profound in terms of the impact for teachers planning their lessons than speed alone, although the improvements in speed are significant.

To go alongside that enhancement of the school's internet infrastructure, we now have the enhancements to the school's built infrastructure, and I cannot wait to see the steps forward the school will continue to take in the years ahead.

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (11:47): I will make a few brief remarks about Ardtornish Primary School, which is a really remarkable school. I have had the benefit of being able to watch it grow since the early 1990s, when some people may remember the old Holden Hill North Primary School, which existed on the site of what is now a retirement village. In those days, when we lost that school, Ardtornish was a little school (St Agnes was a much larger school further down the road), but Ardtornish was the school that grew and grew, under a remarkable line of school leaders and a school community that never knew the word 'can't'—it always made sure it did.

I have been able to sponsor a music prize there for well over 20 years now, and it has been amazing to see the children and the growth in their learning. Credit must be given to the current government for what is truly an extraordinary capital grants program. Some of the transportables at Ardtornish could even be as old as me, I think.

An honourable member interjecting:

Ms BEDFORD: Older? I do not know, but they would certainly be sagging at one side if they were. Some of the transportables in our area, which still exist as learning spaces in our schools in the north-east, are well past their use-by date, so I commend the government and the minister and also acknowledge his passion for making sure the internet speed is as fast as it is.

As has been said, the phonics champion is their principal, Mark Hansen, another person who does not know the word 'no'. Their graduation ceremonies every year are always an amazing event, well supported by the whole school community. I must also mention that Katherine Nairn, who is retiring as the governing council leader, and her family have made a remarkable contribution to the school.

I know every school is grateful for any capital grants works that are done, and I know every school is really anxious to stretch any dollars they are able to use to the utmost. Not necessarily at this school, but at other schools, I know they are often very disappointed when the grants and the works they think are going to be done meet with unexpected expenses and they then have to lose out or rejig the building program they have.

It is a real credit to them that they have managed to squeeze so much out and now give their students this 21^st century learning space. As I said, I know there are a lot of schools in the north-east area, particularly Ingle Farm East Primary School, which had a special school area needing some refurbishment. I am very grateful to the government for all it has done, and I certainly pay credit to all the people involved in the wider school community who work so hard to make sure their students have every opportunity in their learning journeys.

Mr CREGAN (Kavel) (11:50): I acknowledge the members for Newland and Florey for their passion and commitment to their respective communities and also to the Ardtornish Primary School community. I should emphasise the member for Newland is a very frequent inquirer in relation to Public Works business and an absolutely passionate champion for his community and for important public works and infrastructure programs that are necessary to support his community, and the member for Florey likewise in relation to projects within her community. I think it is right for me to acknowledge Katherine Nairn and her work as retiring governing council chair to see this project through to conclusion.

Although members have earlier heard me in relation to this topic, it bears repeating that the minister has indeed seen through a very substantial capital works program in the 35 months—just 35 months—of this government, compared to 16 years of the previous government. It is an extraordinary program and one that will be valued for many years to come by communities, including the member for Florey's and the member for Newland's separate communities, as well as communities right across the state.

For those who believe very passionately in public education, as I do and as the minister does, as do those members present and all those in this house, the value of these assets and improvements simply cannot be overstated.

Motion carried.