THOUGHTFUL SCHOOLS
PROJECT
1386. Hon ALISON XAMON to the Minister for Education and
Training:
I refer to the Thoughtful Schools
project and to the minister's request that the department review the
terms of the project agreement.
(1) Why has the minister made this
request?
(2) Are reports
that the minister does not believe that the project aligns with the
antiviolence in schools plan correct?
(3) If yes to (2), in what way does
the minister believe the project may not align?
(4) Does the
minister's request indicate that she does not believe the department
should support school-based programs to address the underlying causes of
challenging behaviour in children?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) In June 2019,
the Department of Education entered into a sponsored research agreement with
the University of Western Australia for the Thoughtful Schools project. I was
not aware of the project prior to the university's public announcement.
I have asked the department to review the terms of agreement to ensure that the
project will complement existing education strategies, including the action
plan to combat violence in schools.
(2) I remain to
be convinced that the project aligns with our antiviolence in schools action
plan, ''Let's take a stand together''.
(3) I expect the
review will provide clarity around how the project will complement existing
strategies and the alignment to the antiviolence in schools action plan.
(4) No.