Bills

Statutes Amendment (Children in Care) Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. S.L. GAME (16:05): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 and the Education and Children's Services Act 2019. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. S.L. GAME (16:06): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This bill tackles unfair educational inequity for children in state care. I am alarmed by the absence of reporting on the educational outcomes of children and young people in state care. This bill will cause tangible change to the current system.

The Statutes Amendment (Children in Care) Bill 2023 will cause the collection, reporting and tabling of statistical data pertaining to educational outcomes of children in state care, encompassing all levels of completed educational attainment from kindergarten through to SACE, all participation and attendance in any recognised educational program and the acknowledgement of any failure to attend or complete approved learning programs. It will also cause the Minister for Child Protection and the Minister for Education to meet at least every 12 months to discuss in exclusivity the educational outcomes of children in state care.

My understanding is that all this information can easily be sourced, de-identified and tabled. In fact, we have proof this can be recorded as we have NAPLAN results direct from schools as a minimum. Those NAPLAN results show that only 27.4 per cent of children attending year 9 studies while in state care met the standard of educational achievement for numeracy in 2021. The Department for Education itself notes in its NAPLAN reporting that:

Performance of children and young people in care is consistently well below the performance…against all three measures [literacy, numeracy and writing] and across all year levels.

I believe the educational achievements and aspirations of children and young people in care should be the responsibility of both departments. Members of this place will recall that I have previously called for a select committee to investigate causes of and solutions to chronic student absenteeism and school refusal. The education system is failing children from families already at a socio-economic disadvantage, and children in state care are disproportionately from these same low socio-economic households.

Students from low socio-economic households make up over 50 per cent of students temporarily suspended from school and 60 per cent of students excluded from school, despite being less than 30 per cent of the general school population. Category 1 disadvantaged schools have an absenteeism rate of almost 25 per cent compared with the category 7 school average of only 6.4 per cent absenteeism. We do not know what percentage of students suspended or excluded from school are in the state care system, and we do not know the academic achievements and failures of children and young people in state care. We do not know what percentage of year 12 students in state care complete SACE each year because none of this information is recorded in a way that can produce trends.

'Not the Department for Education.' 'Not the Department for Child Protection.' Education say it is not their responsibility and Child Protection say it is not their responsibility. The educational achievements and aspirations of children and young people in care should be the responsibility of both these departments. This Statutes Amendment (Children in Care) Bill is about mandating better communication and clear reporting and outcomes. It is about transparency and targeted change. I believe it should be recorded, and One Nation believes in tangible outcomes.

Part 2 of this bill simply ensures that the educational outcomes of children living in state care are collected, de-identified, tabled and presented to the Minister for Education and to the Minister for Child Protection. Part 3 of this bill instructs both ministers to meet regularly, by legislation, to discuss the educational attendance and outcomes of children in state care. I would have thought this was already part of their basic remit and I find it disappointing that it must be legislated for it to occur. Surely, looking after our most vulnerable children should be one of our highest priorities.

The philosopher Confucius wrote: 'Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope.' If there are two things that children living in residential care need, they are confidence and hope: confidence in themselves and the systems around them, and hope for a brighter future whether that is as an independent young adult or reunited with their family.

I hope my colleagues in this place see reason to support this simple amendment as a tangible step to building better outcomes for children and young people who find themselves in the state care system. I commend this bill to the chamber.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.