Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Although I have spoken on many occasions in this place about the successes of people and organisations within the suburb of Ballajura, this is the first time I have spoken about Ballajura Primary School. Last Friday I attended the Ballajura Primary School athletics carnival and I was greatly impressed with what I saw. I immediately noticed that there were a lot of parents there—in fact, probably more parents than children. I think that is a sign of a school with good morale. At the athletics carnival I was also informed that in the last couple of years the average attendance at P&C meetings had risen from six to 30—another good sign that Ballajura Primary School is doing things right. In 2008 the P&C were able to raise $17,000 for an adventure playground. In my view, that sort of parental commitment to the school and the education of the children demonstrates a very strong school spirit.

Another way strong school spirit can be judged is by its student numbers. I understand that Ballajura Primary School expects to be the largest of the four primary schools in Ballajura in 2010, with more than 600 students from kindergarten to year 6. While the primary schools in Ballajura are all very good, Ballajura Primary’s Principal, David Wanstall, attributes the school’s popularity to the excellent academic and pastoral care programs.

I would like to speak specifically of one of the school’s programs, the learning difficulties project, which is being run in partnership with the School of Inclusive Learning. The project is designed to identify and implement successful teaching practices while also identifying why students are failing to achieve literacy and numeracy at appropriate levels. The project includes best practice assessment strategies and evidence based remediation practices. Principal David Wanstall and associate principals Jane Schorer and Jane Conley have led the progressive staff of Ballajura Primary School in comparing current teaching practice to evidence based world’s best practice. The staff have embraced structural reorganisation in pursuit of maximum student performance through new approaches in assessment, content, instructional strategies, instructional skills and classroom management.

When I first walked into Ballajura Primary School five years ago it was pretty much a normal school with the same challenges and approaches of all schools. It was a solid and effective educational facility. Things are very different now. Over the last three years the attitude has changed greatly. You can feel the confidence at the school among the students, parents and staff. The determination of the staff to continuously improve the school is one factor that has driven a number of changes. Ballajura Primary School is a strong and determined school. The leadership team has provided the initiative and led the way. The parents have picked up on this and are supporting the positive drive of the teaching staff. The conditions have now been met for the students to achieve their great potential, and I look forward to their and their school’s future success.