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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-05-14 Daily Xml
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DOVER GARDENS PRIMARY SCHOOL

Mr HANNA (Mitchell) (15:02): Will the Minister for Education give an assurance that teachers and SSOs at Dover Gardens Primary School will, if they wish, be reallocated to schools in the area which have received students from Dover Gardens Primary this year, and can the government provide rebates for new public school uniforms purchased by parents and students who had enrolled in Dover Gardens this year? Dover Gardens Primary School is in the process of closing this term. Students who enrolled at the school this year have therefore been forced to enrol elsewhere.

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH (Adelaide—Minister for Education, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (15:03): I thank the member for Mitchell for his question. He is quite right: Dover Gardens Primary School is expected to close by the end of this term. It is unusual for a school to close in the middle of an academic year, and it obviously puts particular stress on the families and the children.

I have authorised the department to help those students and families who are moving to new schools. I think it is entirely appropriate that we should help them with the cost of their uniforms. Obviously, it is an unexpected change in their circumstances, and I think it would be unfair for them to bear the cost themselves. In addition, of course, they might well have paid school fees at the beginning of the year. They will not be liable to a new set of school fees at the subsequent school they attend.

I understand that most of the children are going to Darlington. I do not have the exact breakdown. I think there are three or four permanent teachers within the school, and for the rest of the year they will be following the students to the schools that they have been allocated to. Subsequently, there will be an opportunity for them to apply for permanent jobs as close as possible to their current employment.

There are some other individuals involved—groundsmen and some other staff—and we will be working with them to help them relocate. I thank the member for his question. We will do what we can to ease the transition into the new schools.

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