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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-10-27 Daily Xml
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SUPPORTED IMPROVED LITERACY ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (15:22): Will the Minister for Education inform the house about the Supported Improved Literacy Achievement Program, particularly as it relates to Flaxmill Junior Primary School and Flaxmill Primary School in my electorate?

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) (15:22): I thank the member for Reynell and comment on her advocacy for education in her electorate, in particular her detailed knowledge of the programs and teaching methods used in her schools and their comparative efficacy. She is very effective as a local member and particularly interested in this area.

She would know that quality education is fundamental to the success of South Australia and a foundation for the future not only of our state but also for every individual within her electorate and all our schools. Of course, the government is committed to the principle of educational opportunity for all, but it recognises that, in order to have equity in educational outcomes, sometimes it can only be obtained by putting different levels of resourcing into the education and support that children receive.

We know that in order to reach their potential children sometimes need unequal levels of support by our schools. They come to our schools with differing levels of not only capacity but also proficiency and readiness for schooling. Students with relative disadvantage often require additional support, not only from teachers but also the community, school leaders and, often, the government.

One of the elements that we have been using to intervene in the lives of these young people is funded through the commonwealth government. The Supported Improved Literacy Achievement (SILA) pilot project is the program of which the honourable member speaks. These SILA programs are part of the National Action Plan for Literacy and Numeracy, which is funded with $3.39 million from the federal government and which builds on more than $10 million a year that the state government invests in improved literacy programs within our schools.

These SILA programs generally go to schools in suburbs with levels of disadvantage, and implicit in making the program work is that the school community should never be satisfied with a child attaining a low level of achievement in their school. Those decisions are very important, and the best impacts are acquired when the whole school community will never allow a child to underachieve.

That is particularly true of an inspiring example of this form of governance and reform in education as seen in the school she describes—the Flaxmill Junior Primary and Primary School. That community, in the reviews of the SILA program, has been found over the last two years to have the advantage of really inspirational school leaders and teachers who have worked incredibly hard with the whole school community and parent and family groups to make sure there is a supportive environment that is committed to learning.

The two principals have in collaboration undertaken very significant levels of work to bring together the junior primary and primary schools into a birth-to-year-7 approach for education, which is particularly focused on literacy in their school where many of the students have special needs. There have been significant improvements in behaviour management, and all staff have been involved in training related to managing abuse-related trauma as well.

The efforts of the school are making a huge difference, with this year's National Action Plan results showing a marked improvement particularly in the year 5 cohort of students. Those school communities should certainly be commended for the efforts they have put in to making sure no child is left behind because, as I have said many times before, the worst brain drain is not a child moving interstate but a young person not reaching their potential.

The state government initiatives in this area have guaranteed that extra funds and resources are directed towards those communities in most need, and I commend my colleague the Minister for Early Childhood Development for recognising that the development of children's centres together with the work over the AEDI (Australian Educational Development Index) allows us to target more clearly those communities in need. That, together with the additional investment through our teacher salaries for the early years schooling, has helped to ensure that those who require additional support receive it within our schools.

I commend the Flaxmill Junior Primary and Primary School for being a beacon in terms of its efforts with this pilot program, which is just one of the many ways that the state government is working with the federal government in order to guarantee that we have good achievement throughout our educational system. It is a novelty for our government to be able to work with a federal government, and the programs that are part of the national partnerships and the National Action Plan are very specific and targeted. This investment in money is part of the education revolution and is crucial to making sure that all young people in South Australia can reach their potential.

Much has been said about the way these programs work. I know they require extra effort on the part of our school communities and teachers, and some of those opposite have criticised very significantly the amount of extra effort required, the paperwork and the documentation, but one of the views this government has is that you should not spend taxpayers' money without making sure you review and make every action accountable, and we are committed to making sure we review these programs and put the funding into the best way it can be spent, because we would not want to spend this money except in good programs, and the evidence we have to date is that SILA is a great program and being worked on very well in Flaxmill.

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