Answers to Questions

SCHOOLS, TRUANCY

In reply to the Hon. A. BRESSINGTON (5 March 2008).

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy): The Minister for Education has provided the following information:

During the last five years there have been seven occasions when parents have been considered for prosecution.

Once the preliminary decision to prosecute is made by the Department of Education and Children's Services, the matter is then considered by the Crown Solicitor's Office. Of the seven matters referred to the Crown in the last five years, one has proceeded to a court appearance. During those proceedings, the parents agreed to co-operate with an alternative process and the matter was withdrawn from the court.

The prosecution of parents is a final option and only in circumstances where the school's, DECS and other agencies' attempts to work with students and their parents/carers have failed.

Some of the avenues which are widely used by schools to re-engage students include:

Attendance officers across the state who work with chronic non-attenders and their families.

A new electronic data system, Indigenous Student Support System, which provides staff in each of the state's 18 district offices with a daily picture of attendance patterns. District staff, including Aboriginal education workers and attendance officers, are alerted when students repeatedly miss school, allowing immediate follow-up action to take place.

The school and district are the most effective means to re-engage with truants and their families to ensure attendance. Consequently, very few interventions subsequently require reporting to the department for consideration for prosecution as provided for by the Education Act 1972.