Education—Violence in schools
16. Mr Liam Staltari to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the rising epidemic of violence in WA schools, with recent reports of organised fight clubs at a high school in Perth's south and the shocking assault and hospitalisation of an eight-year-old child at a primary school in the eastern suburbs.
(1) When will the minister take action to stop the surge in school violence that is taking place on the government's watch?
(2) How can the minister expect students to achieve good educational outcomes while this government fails to address out-of-control violence in those same schools?
Ms Sabine Winton replied:
(1)–(2) I thank the member for Carine for his question. Can I begin by congratulating him on his election to this place and, more importantly, also congratulate him on the birth of their first, I think, child. Whilst we all think that this is significant work that we do in this place, the member will, as a new parent, discover that the most important role he will ever play is being a parent, and I congratulate you both.
Given that it is the first time I rise as the Minister for Education, I quickly also want to acknowledge the previous Minister for Education Minister Buti—he has moved spots. In particular, I want to highlight under his watch the landmark agreement, the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement that was struck with the federal government, which is set to transform what we are able to do in this state in regards to education, and I acknowledge him for that. For the first time ever our schools will be fully and fairly funded at 100% of the school resource standard. That is $1.6 billion worth of funding, thanks also, of course, to a federal Labor government that understands the value of education.
I can assure members that as Minister for Education I am very keen to address the violence in our schools head on, but let us be clear: schools are a reflection of what happens in our community. I want to reassure not only members but the entire community out there that our schools are a great place, and the majority of schools have incredible environments where children can learn. So let us not diminish it by grabbing a headline and trashing our school system.
We have a zero tolerance when it comes to violence in schools. We also need to acknowledge that our government has delivered the strongest measures when it comes to school violence, of course, starting with our first Minister for Education as part of the Labor government. I also want to acknowledge Hon Sue Ellery, of course, who served as education minister for six years and had her valedictory speech last night. I thank her for her contribution to education in the state, and I still value her counsel greatly.
We know there is a lot of work to do, but violence in schools is symptomatic of what is happening in our community; we cannot forget that. When we talk about what our government has done already, Hon Sue Ellery developed, with our sector partners, schools parents and our unions Let's Take a Stand Together, a 10-point action plan, which, over time, Minister Buti, when he was Minister for Education, strengthened even further.
Critically important to that, our government gave the capacity to principals to take strong action against violence, strengthening their ability to act swiftly to expel students and to suspend students. We are very proud of the fact that we have enabled teachers to do that. As well, of course, we are also very conscious that we need to support those students who are displaying those disruptive behaviours. It is one thing to expel or suspend students, but we also need to deal with the root causes that cause students to behave in this way. Of course, one of those ways is the alternative learning settings that we have set up—some 12—right around the state. I note that in the recent elections, the Nationals WA actually supported that and made a commitment around expanding our alternative learning settings models.
The department has rolled out significant and extensive resources and supports by way of the Connect and Respect resources. In 2021, we made the election commitment to deliver an additional 100 school sites, which are now in our schools. We have also, of course, importantly, as part of the recent enterprise bargaining agreement finalised between the State School Teachers' Union and our government, committed to expanding on the complex behaviour coordinators, which will see some 64 positions created in 192 schools. They will support schools and support teachers in the important work of dealing with disruptive behaviours in our schools.
Members, this is not a simplistic issue. I am a little bit disappointed at the first question from the shadow Minister for Education. He has grabbed a headline that was in the news this week and has run with that. I acknowledge that violence in schools is a real issue for parents. In fact, only this morning I had the opportunity to speak with Erin and Aaron, the parents of the eight-year-old the member referred to, and I am very comforted by the fact that they are absolutely satisfied with the school's response and with the supports that they are getting. Interestingly, they seem more interested in finding solutions to what is happening in our schools and providing constructive ways in which we can support our schools—not only for little Mason, but those parents are also interested in the kids that are perpetrating the violence. It is such a refreshing approach to have people meet with me and come up with solutions. I note that the opposite side of the house do not have any. I look forward to a contest of ideas at some point.
17. Mr Liam Staltari to the Minister for Education:
I have a supplementary question. I thank the minister for her answer, although I note, and I am sure she would agree, that a child in hospital is not a cheap headline; it is a tragedy.
Given that we also see record levels of violence in schools, not isolated incidents, does the minister concede that this does not simply affect the safety of students and staff, but also, ultimately, the quality of education they receive?
Ms Sabine Winton replied:
I was a schoolteacher for 27 years before coming into this place, so I do not need anyone on the opposite side to tell me what the influences are of successful education in a classroom. I do not need you to do that. Given your inexperience, I am happy to tutor you a little bit about what is important in schools. What I do know, as a previous teacher, is that the best educational outcomes I ever achieved—there are some other chalkies in the room—with any student was when I had a strong relationship between student, parents and teacher. That is absolutely critically important. Likewise, that relationship extends to schools. Schools that are thriving schools are ones where they build those relationships with their parent communities and their student populations. Likewise, as the Minister for Education overseeing the Department of Education, those same principles will apply to all I do; that is, giving comfort to parents that we have a world-class education system and backing teachers to make sure that they have the best possible environment to do what they do best, and backing our leadership.
In closing, I come back to the Better and Fairer Schools agreement, because it is actually critically important and I want to highlight it at this point. There is $1.6 billion in funding committed to between the Albanese and state governments. It is critically important, because that funding is specifically tied to the very things we need to further invest in in our schools to drive down disruptive behaviour—the very things that Erin, Mason's mum, told me about that schools need more support with. Schools need support to make sure that the wellbeing of students and teachers is supported and this is directly linked to the Better and Fairer Schools funding agreement. They need targeted, intensive support for small groups as part of the Better and Fairer Schools funding agreement, and also greater support for learning and engagement, including counsellors, psychs and health nurses.
I ask the shadow Minister for Education: it is really important that you take action, given that there is a federal election around the corner. I urge you as shadow education minister to leave this chamber at three o'clock, after question time, and quickly write a letter to the Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, to gain his reassurance that under a coalition federal government, that money will be safe so that we can do this important work.
