Page 522 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 23 February 2010
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make for such a long time to support the student? What is the potential for that student to fall out of the system and not reintegrate back into school?
We made it clear when this issue was debated in October last year that the needs of the student suspended, as well as the students, teachers and school staff remaining at the school, should be adequately addressed. I have recently received a briefing on the proposed suspension support team pilot. This pilot seems to be a very good step in the right direction in addressing issues that surround student suspensions, including reintegration back into the school.
The Greens support the approach taken by the ACT government to introduce the suspension support team pilot. Suspension is a major issue and necessary at times to ensure a safe learning and teaching environment. What we do not support is the “cart before the horse” approach through this amendment. We really want this pilot to go ahead first before there is a change to the number of days that students can be suspended by a principal.
This amendment also needs to be looked at in the context of the introduction in November last year of the earn or learn legislation. There is concern from a number of quarters that earn or learn will have a major impact on school attendance, as schools try to cope with extra students who may be resistant to engaging in school. Mr Barr has acknowledged this when, on presenting this amendment in the Assembly, he said that the suspension support team pilot will also assist in our implementation of the earn or learn legislation.
Mr Barr appears to be most anxious to push the increased suspension through because it is an ALP election commitment. He said this in the opening remarks of his presentation speech. He also stated in his speech that it is because parents want it and so do principals. Why is it, Mr Barr, that parents have approached us? Some have written to the local newspaper saying this is not what they want. The Principals Association advised my office that this was “not a big ticket item for them”.
The ACT parents and citizens council has urged the government and the Liberal opposition to rethink their pursuit of giving principals extra powers to suspend students, saying that the simplistic approach to a complex situation totally misses the point on student behaviour and school harmony. Like the ACT Greens, the P&C welcomed the new student suspension team pilot, but the P&C want to see if it works rather than changing the legislation now.
Elizabeth Singer, the president of the P&C, went on to say in her press release that parents—bear in mind these are the ones that Mr Barr is saying want longer suspensions—“have expressed their desire in having a second person in the Department of Education and Training to review a student’s suspension before suspensions of greater than five days are imposed”.
This is not about the ACT Greens not wanting to give greater power to the school principals to suspend students or questioning the ability of principals to make the correct decisions in relation to suspensions. Our concern is the proposed extended length of time the student is out of the school system, what happens to the student in that extended length of time, how the school, the suspended student and fellow
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