Kym Richardson (Kingston, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to bring to the attention of the House the outstanding achievement of a school in my electorate of Kingston, the Seaford 6-12 School. Yesterday we celebrated the 2007 National Awards for Quality Schooling, which seek to celebrate great achievements in education and the outstanding teachers who make great personal sacrifices to provide students with the best possible learning environment. Yesterday Seaford 6-12 and the amazing teachers who fall within this category were recognised with their receipt of the Best National Achievement Award and the inaugural Medal of Distinction.

The purpose of the Medal of Distinction was to highlight the achievements of the winner in order to hold them up as an example for other schools to emulate, and I am exceptionally proud that Seaford 6-12 are being held up as that example. I live just around the corner from the school and, having visited the school and seen the students at the local Seaford shopping centre and around the area, I know that they are a credit to themselves and their school. I am very proud to be their federal government representative.

The work the school has undertaken over the last five years and the challenges it has overcome should undoubtedly stand as a beacon for others to follow, involving as they have the principal, the deputy principal, the teachers and support teachers, the volunteers and, most importantly, the students themselves. Seaford 6-12 is a fine example of the difference that improved leadership can make in a school. They were experiencing a lack of work ethic in students, high nonattendance, low retention rates, low staff morale and a lack of direction and vision. This school has now been transformed thanks to the leadership restructure undertaken by the principal, Mary Asikas, in partnership with the entire school community and its divisional superintendent, Mr Mike Hudson. The reforms meant that staff became more engaged in the entire agenda of reform and the school’s performance increased in line with the reforms.

The black and white evidence of the success of the program is in the results. Academic results are up 19 per cent across the curriculum. There is 30 per cent greater student retention and improved attendance. There is a 65 per cent reduction in student management issues, along with increased enrolments and improved parent and student perceptions of their school. The anecdotal evidence of the school’s improvements is even more impressive, though. If you take the time to talk to those involved with the school, you find the parents, the teachers and the students alike are all filled with a new vigour and enthusiasm about their school. As the Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon. Julie Bishop, said at the awards:

Schools play a critical role in preparing the young Australians for the challenges they will face as adults and after parents, teachers are the single most important factor in a child’s educational outcomes.

We need to create an environment where students have every opportunity to reach their potential, and to reach that potential students require a positive learning environment and teachers who provide support and an education which allows them to develop not just academically but personally as well. Seaford 6-12 are providing those quality educational and personal outcomes and they deserve to be highly commended for the role that they play in shaping the lives of their students. I am proud to be a part of their community and proud to represent them in Canberra and in the southern suburbs of Adelaide as their local federal member.