Page 5105 - Week 13 - Thursday, 29 November 2018

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Education—enrolment policy

MRS KIKKERT: My question is to the Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development. Minister, a Macgregor parent has a son in year 6 who wishes to study at either Lyneham high in the LEAP stream or Canberra High School. However he was denied both because, among other reasons, he is out of the priority enrolment area for both schools. The directorate website policy states clearly that if a school has a capacity it may offer enrolment to a student from outside the PEA. Freedom of information documents reveal that both schools have the capacity. Why was this child denied enrolment?

MS BERRY: The directorate has been corresponding with that family and I understand that that family’s address was not in the priority enrolment area of the school that they wanted the child to attend, and that was the reason why the child was denied enrolment at that school.

Ms Lee: On a point of order, Madam Speaker, Mrs Kikkert’s specific question was that the directorate’s website policy states that if it has capacity a student is allowed from outside the PEA. The question specifically was: if this was the case why was this child denied enrolment as he was living outside the PEA?

MADAM SPEAKER: Minister, you have another minute to answer.

MS BERRY: I will have to get some advice on that because I am not aware of the reasons why.

MRS KIKKERT: Minister, are there other children being told that schools do not have capacity when in fact they do?

MS BERRY: I will take that question on notice.

MS LEE: Minister, why is this student being forced to attend a school that does not deliver the languages and music he wishes to study?

MS BERRY: I will have to take that question on notice.

Schools—injuries

MS LEE: My question is to the Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development. Minister, in question on notice 1930 I asked six questions: how many students had reported an injury received at school, how many schools did those reports come from, what was the nature of the injury, what grades were the students in, whether the students were in a learning support unit, and how many resulted in time off school? Your answer told us how many injuries and how many schools but, for each of the other four questions, there was a stock standard cut and paste answer: “This type of information is captured at the school level.” Minister, if information such as grade, nature of injury and class status are not known at the directorate level,


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