Fighting for Equity in Education
//The Minister for Territories and Municipal Services, John Hargreaves, has announced a two-stage community consultation process on the future use of schools and pre-schools closed at the end of last year.
Primary schools in Flynn, Hall, Chifley (Melrose), Mt. Neighbour, Rivett, Tharwa and Weston closed at the end of 2006. Also included in the consultation process are two former primary school sites in Downer and North Curtin. Continue reading “Consultations on Future Uses of Closed School Sites”
//Save Our Schools (SOS) today called on the Federal Government to provide $500 million to put an additional counsellor in each government school to deal with bullying and other behaviour problems.
Spokesman for the public education advocacy group, Trevor Cobbold, said it was time that the Howard Government matched its rhetoric on bullying and school violence with resources on the ground.
Continue reading “Call for $500 Million to Curb Bullying in Schools”
//The Howard Government’s new $50 000 reward for better school performance is an invitation to schools to cheat, ‘game the system’, poach high achieving students from each other and discriminate against some students says Save Our Schools, a Canberra-based public education advocacy group.
SOS spokesperson, Trevor Cobbold, said that the $53 million could be better used to increase funding for schools with high student learning needs rather than dissipated in fruitless and destructive competition between schools for students. Continue reading “Howard Government Encourages Cheating, Poaching and Discrimination by Schools”
//Save Our Schools has criticised the ACT Government’s new Road Safety Action Plan for wilfully ignoring the impact of school closures on the safety of children walking and cycling longer distances to and from school.
SOS spokesperson, Trevor Cobbold, called on the Government to support national Walk Safely to School Day this Friday by improving traffic safety arrangements for children affected by school closures. Continue reading “Media Release 2 May 2007 – Road Safety Plan Ignores School Students”
//The Save Our Schools group, which was formed last year to oppose school closures, has announced that it is taking on a broader role.
SOS spokesperson, Trevor Cobbold, said today that the organisation will campaign for public education and increased equity in education. Continue reading “Media release 23 April 2007 – Save Our Schools Adopts New Role”
//Save Our Schools today called on the ACT Government to retain closed school sites for community use and possible re-opening.
SOS spokesperson, Trevor Cobbold, said that the affected communities should have a say in decisions about the future use of the sites.
“These school sites provide essential public facilities. In many instances, school sites provide the only available recreational space in a suburb. Selling the sites will reduce public space for recreational and leisure activities of local neighbourhoods. Continue reading “Media Release – School Sites Should Not be Sold”
//The decision of the Stanhope Government to close 12 primary schools and partially close four others has major implications for the future of public education in the ACT.
While the reprieve for 4 schools is welcome, the announcement is the most devastating attack on a public education system since the Kennett Government in Victoria in the 1990s. Continue reading “School Closures Undermine Public Education”
//Save Our Schools today accused the Stanhope Government of neglecting student safety in its rush to close schools.
SOS spokesperson, Trevor Cobbold, said that a sample survey of schools proposed for closure has highlighted a number of “black spots” which will place children at greater risk of traffic accidents in walking or cycling to another school. Continue reading “Media release 31 October 2006 – Increased Accident Risks for Children from School Closures”
//Save Our Schools today released its 75-page submission on ACT Government’s school closure plan.
SOS spokesperson, Trevor Cobbold, said that the Government has failed to justify its case to close schools on educational, financial or demographic grounds. Continue reading “Media Release 20 November 2006 – School Closure Case Not Substantiated”
//Government claims that the neighbourhood school is obsolete and that most students do not attend their local school are refuted by the Government’s own enrolment data. Continue reading “Most Children Attend Their Neighbourhood School”