David Fawcett (Wakefield, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to draw the attention of the House to two schools in the electorate of Wakefield who have been recognised under the Australian Government National Awards For Quality Schooling. These awards are a way that we can recognise the imagination, innovativeness and resourcefulness of teachers who seek to make schools a better and more meaningful place for the students and the community that they are working in. This award system recognises not only leadership by individual teachers but also partnerships between schools and communities. Increasingly, I think that is an important thing to recognise. Significantly, it is not just a pat on the back and a piece of paper; the government has committed over $1 million in prizes to recognise in a very tangible way teachers who have been excellent in their workplace.

There are two schools and two teachers I wish to mention specifically. The Para West Adult Campus in Davoren Park does work with adults from all around Adelaide, but it also works with many people in the local area who at a younger age were disconnected from education and training, and we do have some families in that area where there is intergenerational unemployment and levels of disadvantage. This school is providing an open door and an opportunity for some of these people to reconnect, to grow skills, to grow in confidence and, more importantly, to connect into the community.

Julia Mannix has been awarded an excellence prize for her work there in the area of ceramics and arts. She works with students to give them both the skills in terms of the art itself and, more importantly, the skills to engage with confidence with the community and build connections with people beyond their immediate circle. Importantly, it is also opening doors for them in terms of a path forward not only in the arts area but in other areas of life, work and community involvement.

The other school I wish to mention is Salisbury High School. Salisbury High School was once in an area that has been called ‘the wasteland of Australia’s youth’, but the youth in that place have been transformed by the leadership in Salisbury High School, particularly by Mrs Helen Paphitis, the Principal of Salisbury High School. She has implemented a number of very innovative programs that in this case have won an award for excellence in family-school partnerships. One of the programs she has implemented builds on the fact that life at its most fundamental level is about relationships. Where many schools struggle to engage young people, Salisbury High School has a care system in place where, when students enter, they come into a group with one teacher and that one teacher, those students and the families work together all the way through high school. We have seen a great improvement in retention rates and outcomes for the students, whether they be further education, training or employment. (Time expired)