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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-07-23 Daily Xml
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ELIZABETH VALE PRIMARY SCHOOL

The Hon. L. STEVENS (Little Para) (16:15): Last week the Select Committee on the Selection Process for the Principal at the Elizabeth Vale Primary School published its completed report, and I understand that report has now been tabled in another place. As the local member for the area in which Elizabeth Vale Primary School is situated, I want to make a brief response to the committee's report. The committee investigated six terms of reference. The motion to appoint a select committee into this matter was moved in the other place by the Hon. Nick Xenophon and supported by the majority of that house. It was interesting to note that the first five terms of reference all focused on the selection process for the principal of the school and the conduct of various officers and people involved in that.

The fifth term of reference related to establishing appropriate selection guidelines and processes for future appointments. I note that the select committee found no wrongdoing, no cause for concern, with any of those points. It made a few suggestions with respect to the fifth term of reference in terms of providing an honest appraisal of performances prior to selection processes, but, essentially, those first five terms of reference passed through the processes of the select committee without any problem at all, and this is not a surprise. In fact, it reflects the way in which those terms of reference were drawn up by the Hon. Nick Xenophon—someone who jumped on an issue raised on talk-back radio without really much knowledge of that school. However, I would like to draw to the attention of members Term of Reference (f), which is 'any other relevant matter'. This is the work of the committee that has been the most important, and I think this is the nub of the issue. In part, the committee's report states:

The committee considers that the Department for Education and Children's Services should have been aware of the alleged shortcomings of the school, its governance and its principal much earlier.

Earlier, the committee said that there were a number of compelling reasons why the previous principal had not been reappointed. I absolutely agree with those comments made by the select committee. I think that what happened at Elizabeth Vale Primary School over recent years was a significant detriment to its students and its community, and it did show glaring problems in terms of supervision and line management responsibility of the principal by officers of the department, and that is what the select committee has found.

The principal of a school is absolutely critical and pivotal to the success of a school and to positive outcomes for students. In this particular case, the issues that occurred at that school should have been picked up earlier, should have been dealt with and should have been corrected. I would like to say that I am very pleased with what is happening now at the school. I want to pay a tribute to Ms Kathy Cotter who was placed in a very difficult position as acting principal in 2006. She is a very experienced principal. I knew her well in another school in the Elizabeth area where she did an outstanding job. She did an outstanding job in a very difficult situation.

The new principal, Grant Small, has been at the school since 2006, and the school has made tremendous improvements in a range of areas: many more students coming to the school; a new-arrivals program has been started; a robust curriculum; student behaviour management under control; and the school is going forward. It is a pity that the media picked up on the select committee's comments about the past and made it sound as if it was still happening. It is not. Elizabeth Vale Primary School has turned around. It is moving forward, and the minister, the government and I will be standing side by side with that community and that school to see that these improvements continue.

Time expired.

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