House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-10-13 Daily Xml

Contents

LEARNING CENTRES

492 Mr HANNA (Mitchell) (21 July 2009). How many students are currently on the waiting lists to attend Learning Centres at Beafield, Christies Beach and Cowandilla, respectively, and where do these students come from?

1. How many students are currently on the waiting list to attend Bowden Brompton Community School?

2. How much funding is allocated to each of these centres?

3. Does the Department of Education plan to establish more Learning Centres?

4. What plans does the Department have for the vacant Dover Gardens Primary School site?

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): The Department of Education and Children's Services (DECS) has provided the following information:

As at 14 September 2009 there was one student from the Northern Adelaide region waiting to enter the junior program at Beafield. This student will begin the program on 12 October 2009. Until that time, the student's current school continues to provide an educational program. There are no other students waiting to enter any other learning centres.

Bowden Brompton Community School takes enrolments and does not have a waiting list. The school is staffed on the basis of 150 fulltime students.

The DECS Learning Centres, which are Beafield, Christies Beach and Cowandilla, are funded through a corporate budget. The total Learning Centre budget for 2008-09 was $3,411,000 plus $171,800 for transport, totalling $3,582,800.

There are no current plans to establish additional Learning Centres.

The Dover Gardens Primary School continues to be occupied by DECS and the disposal of the property is not being negotiated at this time.

However, when a site is declared surplus to the department's requirements, it is disposed of in accordance with the Department of the Premier and Cabinet Circular 114—Government Real Property Management.