Page 506 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 20 February 2019
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A parent has recently written to us saying:
Here are a few examples of the physical violence that I am aware of at XX Primary school.
• A child strangled by a peer in front of a teacher
• A child thrown to the ground, kicked and jumped on by a group of peers
• Children grabbed by the neck and pulled to the ground
• Children knowingly put in the same class as the child bullying them, and when the Principal is questioned by the parent, the response is that the child needs to learn to be more resilient.
• Children in year 2 engaging in oral sex in the classroom
• Children speaking openly about sex and rape in the playground
This school has had the positive behaviours for learning, or PBL, program since 2016 but this parent, who is familiar with the PBL framework, says that violence and challenging behaviours are still occurring at this school and that PBL is not being implemented correctly or consistently. As she said:
I want things to improve at the school. Nine-year-old kids should not be seeing psychologists because they fear all hope is lost.
Another parent said her six-year-old son told her, “The principal does not think I matter.” Why do we have such inconsistency? Why is there such a lack of confidence in schools among so many parents, and why do so many students in primary schools think they do not matter?
Let me highlight the results of a school satisfaction survey for a school in question. Students at this school were asked, “Do you feel like being at your school?” In 2013, 84 per cent said they did. In 2014 it had gone up slightly to 86 per cent and in 2015 it went up to 88 per cent. Something happened at that school after that, and this is why we need an inquiry to find out. In 2016 the result dropped to 68 per cent and it stayed there in 2017.
Does the directorate ever look at such results and ponder what has changed? One thing is for certain: the minister’s ignorance on what is happening in some schools remains constant. Perhaps it is a coincidence that the year that satisfaction dropped significantly was the year this minister took over responsibility for the education portfolio. Or is there something more sinister at play?
The Labor-Greens approach to anything is to suggest that money is being invested, policies are being published and work is being done to improve things. But let me point out that it is now three years and three months since the Shaddock report into schools for all was published. The events that triggered the inquiry were nearly four years ago. Ten million dollars, which is a substantial amount of money, and time creating spreadsheets and Gantt charts and progress reports from an implementation committee, and today we still have schools with teachers who feel unsupported and angry parents asking why their children cannot be safe at school. Do they have to be like a parent at the Tuggeranong school who removed her child from the school and has relocated them interstate where they are thriving and feeling safe and valued?
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