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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-09-13 Daily Xml
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Dernancourt Kindergarten

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:37): My question is to the Minister for Education. Can the minister provide an update regarding Dernancourt Kindergarten's request for a restoration of their student cap? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The kindergarten's capacity is for 60 and it is in high demand, but the government is restricting them to 44 enrolments from next year, with the kindy zone being applied strictly to control numbers. This will see a loss of staff and a loss of choice for families in Highbury, Dernancourt, Hope Valley and beyond.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER (Wright—Minister for Education, Training and Skills) (14:37): I thank the member for Morialta for his question. I greatly enjoyed a visit to Dernancourt Kindergarten recently with the member for Morialta, where we had the opportunity to meet with the Preschool Director, Natalie Stormonth, who is indeed a very impressive Preschool Director at, as the member for Morialta said, a centre which is in very high demand in that area.

The facts inserted into the question by the member for Morialta about the cap on the centre are correct, about it being 44, and I have absolutely no doubt from the information that Natalie gave me, the member for Morialta gave me and the department has since given me, that there is demand that exceeds the cap in that area. As the Minister for Education, in a government that is seeking, of course, to expand preschool in South Australia considerably, I very much want to give families the opportunity to go to the centres in their local area that they desire to attend.

This Saturday is in fact the 50th anniversary of the centre, if I am correct, and I intend to go along, and I am sure I will see the member for Morialta there, to celebrate the 50 fantastic years of quality early childhood education that have been offered by Natalie and all the preschool directors who have gone before her.

I have followed up on the request from the member, made on the day we visited the centre, around what can be done to accommodate other enrolments at the site. Of course, members in this place will know that, with any boundaries or catchment zones, if you were to move one a little bit in one direction it can sometimes create other unintended consequences for centres in other catchment zones. I am told that I should receive what I am told will be a positive outcome in terms of this centre very soon, and I thank the member for Morialta for his advocacy on this issue.

The SPEAKER: The member for Flinders and then we will turn to the government side at only, I imagine at that point, 20 minutes remaining.

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