Stronger Requirements for Consideration of School Closure Proposals

Posted on Saturday June 26, 2010

Amendments to the ACT Education Act passed in the ACT Legislative Assembly should ensure a better consultation process around school closure proposals and ensure a much fuller analysis of the impact of proposed school closures. >> Read on...

Media Release 13 October 2009 - Flynn considers further action on school closures

Posted on Wednesday October 14, 2009

Following the scathing findings of the School Closure Inquiry, the Flynn Primary School Parents and Citizens Association is calling on the Greens to stand up for communities in the upcoming sittings of the Assembly, by supporting the re-opening of Flynn, Hall, Tharwa and Cook schools. >> Read on...

School Closure Report Fails to Deliver

Posted on Saturday September 19, 2009

The Education Committee of the ACT Legislative Assembly has delivered a weak-kneed report on school closures. It has failed to deliver a better process for considering school closure proposals in the future. It has dashed the hopes and expectations of many for a better approach. >> Read on...

Inquiry cop-out leaves cloud over Flynn

Posted on Friday September 18, 2009

The Flynn community welcomed today’s Education Standing Committee recommendation to re-open Hall and Tharwa primary schools but said the recommendation in regard to Flynn has put a cloud over Flynn’s future. >> Read on...

Media release 17 September 2009 - Hall community welcomes inquiry report

Posted on Friday September 18, 2009

Hall and district residents are delighted with the findings of the report on school closures by the Standing Committee on Education, Training and Youth Affairs tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly this morning. >> Read on...

Looking Back at School Closure Issues in the ACT

Posted on Tuesday September 8, 2009

Convenor of Save Our Schools, Trevor Cobbold, delivered a paper on school mergers and closures to a forum in Adelaide on 3 September 2009 sponsored by the South Australian Branch of the Australian Education Union. >> Read on...

School Closures Questioned in South Australia

Posted on Tuesday September 8, 2009

Schools and preschools in South Australia are currently facing the greatest potential threat of closure and amalgamation ever seen in that State’s history. >> Read on...

School Closure Savings Figures are Outdated, Misleading and Not Believable

Posted on Wednesday August 12, 2009

The estimates of government savings from school closures during 2006-2008 presented to the Estimates Committee of the ACT Legislative Assembly recently are outdated, misleading and not believable. < >> Read on...

School Closures Under Challenge

Posted on Friday July 10, 2009

School closures continue to be a hot issue around Australia as communities question government programs to close schools and set up super schools. >> Read on...

School closures provide lessons in ‘how not to consult’

Posted on Saturday June 6, 2009

It was bittersweet news for suburban communities when the Chief Minister announced a consultation on how to consult, almost three years exactly after the Government began its infamous consultation on plans to close 23 government schools.< >> Read on...

SOS Presentation to the ACT Legislative Assembly Inquiry on School Closures

Posted on Thursday May 7, 2009

Statement by SOS Convenor, Trevor Cobbold, on 29 April to the Education Committee of the Legislative Assembly public hearing on the Towards 2020 school closure process. >> Read on...

Glasgow Save Our Schools Parents Stage Easter Sit-in Protest Over School Closures

Posted on Friday April 10, 2009

Parents at two Glasgow primary schools have staged a sit-in over Easter in protest about the schools being closed. >> Read on...

Most Children Attend Their Neighbourhood School

Posted on Wednesday November 15, 2006

The ACT Government’s own enrolment data refutes Government claims that the neighbourhood school is obsolete and that most students do not attend their local school. >> Read on...

FOI documents Show that School Closures will hit least-well-off Communities

Posted on Monday October 23, 2006

The Stanhope Government is ignoring the impact of school closures on the least well-off families in Canberra, despite being advised of this by its own Department of Education. >> Read on...

Editorial - Why No Cost-Benefit Study of Towards 2020?

Posted on Wednesday October 18, 2006

The ACT Government’s failure to do a cost-benefit study of the Towards 2020 Plan leads to the conclusion that that it had already made up its mind to close schools and did not want evidence to the contrary. >> Read on...

Conversion to Early Childhood Schools

Posted on Wednesday October 4, 2006

Towards 2020 proposes the conversion of five schools to early childhood schools that include pre-school to Years 3 or 4. This article examines the options for these schools and reflects on the past experience of “amalgamated” schools. >> Read on...

Media Release 28 September 2006 - Low Income Families Hit by School Closure Plan

Posted on Friday September 29, 2006

Save Our Schools Canberra said today that low income families will be hit hard by the Stanhope Government’s school closure plan. with many of the schools listed for closure serve the least well-off communities in Canberra. >> Read on...

The neighbourhood school is critical for public education and the community

Posted on Wednesday September 27, 2006

The Towards 2020 plan to close 39 pre-schools and schools and to partially close 5 other schools is a serious threat to the equity goals of public education, effective provision of community services and the well-being of local communities. >> Read on...

Travel and environmental implications of school location

Posted on Wednesday September 27, 2006

A report published by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows that school location has a major influence on how children travel to school. >> Read on...

Safety Checklists for walking and cycling to school

Posted on Wednesday September 27, 2006

You can assess the safety of routes to a new school by using a Walking to School or Cycling to School Checklist. >> Read on...

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