MOORA RESIDENTIAL COLLEGE — MINISTER FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
465. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the Minister
for Education and Training:
I refer to the
minister's letter of 18 January 2018 to the Standing Committee on
Environment and Public Affairs in relation to petition 29—''Funding
for Moora Residential College''—and specifically the minister's
reference in that letter, which states, according to my notes —
It is my intention
to work with the Hon Alannah MacTiernan MLC, Minister for Regional Development,
and the families of the students who board at Moora Residential College to
identify alternative options to enable the students to continue their education
at Central Midlands Senior High School.
(1)
What communication has the minister had with the Minister for Regional Development
with respect to this issue?
(2) Which
alternative options have been identified?
(3)
How have these alternative options for students to remain studying at Central
Midlands SHS following the closure of Moora Residential College at the end of
this calendar year been communicated to parents and students affected by this
decision?
Hon SUE ELLERY replied:
I thank the
honourable member for some notice of the question.
(1)–(3)
I met with the Minister for Regional Development on 23 January 2018 to discuss
regional and agricultural education, including Moora Residential College. Our
offices have continued to be in regular contact over the past six months.
I asked the
Department of Education to provide face-to-face case management for children
and families affected, to find solutions and prepare for the college's
closure, including transport issues. Subsequently, the Department of Education
presented me an implementation plan that outlined the actions to be taken by
the case management team. The team is working with every family that has a child
living at Moora Residential College. Each child and his or her family is
receiving individual consultation with the department through this team. The
team's personalised support is ongoing. Of prime importance in this
plan is the focus on what the students themselves need and deserve in order to
ensure that they are guided into appropriate vocational or academic programs
that align with their current program and future plans. The support being
offered includes information on options available at regional secondary
schools, including agricultural colleges; mapping of individual student
educational pathways to courses and programs available at alternative senior
high schools with residential colleges; development of a profile of each
student's educational needs; meetings with individual families and
students to discuss alternative education locations suitable to their pathway;
identification of required transition support; and reimbursement of any out-of-pocket
expenses, including costs associated with uniforms, books and travel.
The department has
been working with the Public Transport Authority about extending existing bus
routes, to allow students from outlying areas such as Ballidu to continue to
attend Central Midlands Senior High School. The department is also working
closely with the PTA to ensure that bus services will be in place for 2019,
particularly for those students on the coastal strip between Lancelin and
Yanchep.