2769. Hon Alison Xamon to the Minister for Education and Training:
I refer to the Department of Education Annual Report 2018–19, page 24, and to the partnerships with stakeholders to improve student attendance, and I ask:
(a) will the Minister please advise with which agencies and non-government organisations partnerships have been developed;
(b) what work is being done, or is intended will be done, under each of these partnerships?
Hon Sue Ellery replied:
(a) In response to the report Setting the Stage for Improvement: Department of Education’s Management of Student Attendance, a cross-agency steering group has been established. The group has high-level representation from the Telethon Kids Institute, Commissioner for Children and Young People, Mental Health Commission, Western Australia Police Force and the following six Government departments:
Education;
Communities;
Health;
Training and Workforce Development;
Local Government,
Sport and Cultural Industries; and
Justice.
(b) The purpose of the steering group is to provide strategic advice and recommendations on cross-agency actions to improve student attendance that help to address underlying social, cultural and institutional causes of school absence in remote and/or very disadvantaged communities.