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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-09-13 Daily Xml
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SUPER SCHOOLS

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (15:11): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Industrial Relations, representing the Minister for Education, a question about PPP management of the super schools.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: As members are aware, six super schools have now been built across the metropolitan area as part of the new schools project. That involved 20 schools and preschools combining to form six new super schools. They are built under a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement and this was established ostensibly to finance, design, construct and operate non-curriculum (most importantly there) and maintain the six new schools. This has probably been great for design, build and maintenance but it is proving to be not such a smart approach for day-to-day teaching and also for community engagement.

My office has been informed that, in some of the new super schools, the PPP arrangements are restricting our public schoolteachers' ability to be interactive and, indeed, cleaning requirements seem to be coming before curriculum demands. In one case, students are required to remove their shoes and wear only socks on carpeted areas. In another, teachers are not able to put students' work or posters or teaching materials on walls, ceilings or any other part of the room not designated as the official noticeboard. Another concern raised was that, without express permission from the PPP business manager or appropriate person, teachers and students may not, in fact, rearrange furniture. So gone are the days of sitting outside to read or hold a lesson enjoying a fine spring day perhaps or being able to move to another class to work in conjunction with it without going through bureaucracy.

Those who read Indaily will also be aware that a local Scout group who used the Enfield High School gym for some six years for badminton have been locked out due to 'security reasons'. Even though at that school (the Roma Mitchell Secondary College) the school principal was very keen to give access to that group, she was powerless because it was not agreed to by the school business manager. My questions are:

1. What work has the minister or his department undertaken to ensure that the commercial management of a public learning space does not restrict teachers and/or students from maximising that space for education?

2. What measures will the government take to ensure that community groups, especially those that serve local youth, are able to continue to use the super schools or use the super schools in future?

3. Where a school principal and an assigned business manager are in dispute, how will that dispute be resolved?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:14): I thank the member for that very important question, and I will take it on notice and refer it to my colleague in the lower house.

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