State Government has initiated a review of Springbank Secondary College in Pasadena, to ensure current and future generations of students and their families have confidence in the opportunities they have to access public education.
The three-month review will consider the best interests of current and future students living in the Springbank Secondary College zone and their education, particularly exploring the impact of closing the campus and merging the zone into Unley High School.
The proportion of local parents choosing to send their children to Springbank Secondary College has been very low for a number of years. Recent data shows that of nearly 850 government school students currently living in the school zone, only 7 per cent have chosen to attend their local zoned school, with almost half attending nearby Unley High School.
Springbank Secondary College is the state’s smallest mainstream metropolitan public high school, and this year just 23 mainstream students started Year 8 at the school, down from 31 last year.
A key consideration of the review will be to work with families of students with special needs to consider their requirements, including the feasibility of building a new unit at another school. The school currently caters for 37 students in its disability units and special class.
If the closure of Springbank Secondary College were to take place, the following commitments will be met:
- The current Springbank zone will be added to the Unley High School zone, giving all families living in the area a new local school.
- All current mainstream students enrolled at Springbank will be able to transition to Unley High School at the end of 2020.
- Should families have a different school of choice, every effort will also be made to secure enrolment at their requested school, subject to there being available spaces.
- Students currently enrolled in the school’s disability units and special class will be individually case managed, to assist the student to find a school that meets their educational needs.
- Financial support will be provided by the department to cover the costs of new uniforms for all 2020 students at the school.
- Additional capital works will be provided to Unley High School to ensure sufficient capacity to accommodate a larger zone.
- All current permanent teaching and support staff will retain their industrial entitlements. The department will work with staff to find appropriate placement and maintain existing tenures. This will be determined in consultation with staff.
Unley High School has an existing budget of $32.5 million to deliver significant and long awaited upgrades to its facilities, for which concept designs have been revealed today. Designs include the construction of a brand new three storey building including technology, science, art and home economics spaces, as well as a refurbishment and expansion of the new front of school administration space.
Education Minister John Gardner said that the Government is focused on the best interests of students and families in the area.
“While we have confidence in the teaching and learning at Springbank Secondary College, it is concerning that our confidence is not shared by the local community,” said Minister Gardner.
“Our priority is to ensure that current and future generations of students have access to high-quality public education.
“A sustained period of very low enrolments is having an impact on the school’s ability to offer students a broad and varied curriculum with specialist subjects and teachers.
“We know that staff at Springbank Secondary College are working very hard and this decision is not a reflection on their efforts.
“In particular I pay tribute to the outstanding work done by Principal Wendy House over the last four years to deliver great outcomes for Springbank students. Unfortunately those strong efforts have not seen the sort of positive response from the community that we had all hoped for.
“With more than 90% of local parents continuing to send their children to schools outside the Springbank zone, we now have an obligation to explore how we can best meet the needs of current and future students.
“Conducting a school review of this nature is a very difficult decision and we will be carrying out thorough consultation incorporating feedback from all relevant parties including students, parents, staff and the governing councils of local schools.”
