HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Subject Index
House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-06-26 Daily Xml
Contents
Xml

Public Works Committee: Hackham West Children's Centre New Facility

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (11:25): I move:

That the 142nd report of the committee, entitled Hackham West Children's Centre New Facility, be noted.

The Hackham West Children's Centre is presently situated near, but separate, to a hub of other services, including the Hackham West primary school and a community centre. The Department for Education uses a socio-economic guide, known as the Index of Educational Disadvantage, to allocate resources to schools in need of support. The index considers Hackham West Children's Centre, as well as the Hackham West primary school, to be category 1 institutions which serve the most socio-economically disadvantaged communities.

The children's centre community programs, currently located at the primary school site, provide a range of services to support children and families, including care, education, health, community development and family services. By relocating the children's centre also to the site, the project will deliver an integrated hub in an area of developmental vulnerability, which is a key component of the state's aims to improve outcomes for children and families.

The children's centre will offer a preschool program of up to 30 hours per week for three and four year olds to improve their learning and development, alongside tailored health, wellbeing programs and other offerings so that families can access multiple support services in one place. The project will provide a modern early childhood education and care facility that meets legislative compliance requirements and delivers the department's benchmark accommodation for children between birth and four years of age.

Key aims of the co-location of the educational services are to provide seamless transition between preschool and primary school, as well as the provision of flexible spaces suited for the delivery of early childhood education and care. As of June 2023, the children's centre had 40 long day care and 18 preschool enrolments, with a current licensed enrolment capacity of 30 preschool and 30 long daycare children. The new children's centre will deliver a total enrolment capacity of 77 places, comprised of 44 preschool and 33 long daycare enrolments.

The new facility will include a new preschool, indoor learning and play spaces, long daycare facilities, community and cultural spaces, health and wellbeing spaces, staff spaces, a kitchen, a sleep room, administrative and amenities, car parking, outdoor learning and play areas and associated landscaping. The department considered an alternative option to refurbish the existing children's centre but discounted the plan due to the significant expansion necessary and the site constraints and leasing arrangement with the City of Onkaparinga.

The new building will be comprised of health, teaching and learning spaces, community areas, staff areas and indoor and outdoor play areas. Transitional spaces are designed to be inclusive, maintaining clear boundaries and ensuring privacy and teachers' preparation spaces, while also creating designated breakaway spaces for children within play areas.

The building structure will take a skillion form that enhances natural light via high-level windows. The use of light brickwork will complement the existing school, and associated exterior works will include soft landscaping, revegetation, hardscaping, play elements and furniture. The space has been divided into under three-year-old and over three-year-old spaces, which both include storage sheds, a large turf area, garden beds, a sandpit, a paved bike path loop, space for loose play and fixed play elements, as well as nature play features.

The project will preserve significant and non-significant trees, which the design intends the new areas to weave around, creating natural and heavily shaded areas. Project design has also ensured provisions are made for persons with disabilities, in line with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act. The project is expected to cost $8 million, drawing on funds provided from the department's 2023-24 capital works program. Any changes in the recurrent cost of the school's operation will be funded from within the department's existing budget.

The site is registered under the name of the Minister for Education and no outstanding land purchase transactions or agreements are required. Works are anticipated to commence this August, with the expectation to be complete in October next year. The project will be managed and delivered by DIT, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport, in accordance with the requirements of the project implementation process. DIT has appointed lead professional service and cost management contractors, and construction contractors will be appointed utilising an amended general conditions contract. Tenders will be sought from contractors that are registered in the applicable DIT Prequalification System category.

Project delivery will follow the best practice principles for project procurement and management as advocated by the state government and construction industry authorities. The project management process is responsible for identifying potential risks as well as implementing related minimisation and mitigation strategies. The department states that the project has a medium level of risk, noting the moderate scope of the project as well as the extensive expertise and experience of DIT and the project team. The primary school will continue to operate throughout construction, and the project team is establishing a strategy to ensure the school is able to operate safely during construction works.

Design and development has incorporated sustainability principles to reduce energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions over the life of the project. Initiatives include: maximising energy efficiency through passive design features; preparing for the potential installation of a solar panel system and future integration of electrical vehicle infrastructure; installation of water tanks to minimise the use of non-potable water; landscaping that emphasises the selection of native and drought-tolerant species to reduce irrigation requirements; prioritising locally sourced products where possible; the selection of durable, renewable and recyclable materials; and tree planting to support local tree canopy.

The management team is in ongoing consultation with stakeholders and the community, and the school's leadership and staff have been closely involved throughout project development and endorse the redevelopment. The project has also been reviewed by relevant government personnel, departments and agencies, which have provided input in the production of documentation for this project. A search of the central archive has identified no record of Aboriginal heritage at the school's location, and the department states that native title has been extinguished at the site. The department also confirms that there are no state or local heritage places or items at the site.

The committee examined written and oral evidence in relation to the Hackham West Children's Centre new facility. Witnesses who appeared before the committee were Helen Doyle, Director, Capital Projects and Technical Services, Department for Education; Aislinn Morris, Portfolio Manager, Education, Department for Infrastructure and Transport; and Yvonne Klein, Associate, Hosking Willis Architecture. I thank the witnesses for their time. I would also like to thank the member for Hurtle Vale for her written statement in support of this project in her electorate.

Based upon the evidence considered and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public work.

Motion carried.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT