Wednesday, 29 May 2024

Pascoe Vale electorate education funding

Anthony CIANFLONE (Pascoe Vale) (19:02): (682) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Education, and the action I seek is for the minister to provide an update on the investments the Victorian Labor government have been making to deliver the Education State across my electorate, including for Pascoe Vale North Primary School. As the local member for Pascoe Vale, as a local dad and as a proud product of our local public education system, I am committed to doing everything I can to help continually improve local schools for local families, including Pascoe Vale North Primary. First established in 1956, the Pascoe Vale North Primary School is situated on the corner of Derby Street and Kent Road. For almost 70 years it has continued to educate generations of local young students for their careers and lives ahead, thanks to generations of teachers, including Matt and Chris Coughlan, who are in the gallery today, who met there and taught there from 1982 to 1985. Today a vibrant home for 420 students, 40 staff and hundreds of families from a range of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds – consistent with its motto, ‘Rise to excellence’ – the school very much prides itself on having a supportive culture where everybody is valued and encouraged to reach their full potential.

That is why I was proud to have again visited the school on 22 May to meet with school principal Deborah Crane and school council president Peter Van Buuren to commend the work of the school’s leaders, teachers, admin support staff, volunteers and students and to receive an update on the school’s good work and its ongoing priorities, including the need for a covered outdoor learning area and other areas for future improvements. This ongoing advocacy will of course continue to build on the previous investments we have made at Pascoe North Primary through federal and state Labor governments, which have included projects delivered through the Building the Education Revolution program to upgrade the then administration and learning blocks, which I am proud to have helped facilitate back then as a humble electorate officer to the former federal member for Wills Kelvin Thomson, who is also a former student of the school. Since 2014 we have also continued to invest to improve school grounds, facilities and resources through the Inclusive Schools Fund and established a new sensory garden to promote mindfulness and support through the mental health and wellbeing schools initiative. There are also the Glasses for Kids program and of course the new $400 school kids bonus and much more.

These commitments will continue to provide the students of Pascoe Vale North with good-quality education, including this year’s school captains and junior school leaders, Aryan, Samirah, Lachlan and Rayane. But it is also students like Angus Kendall in grade 5 who will continue to benefit from our commitment to improving local schools. I had the pleasure to welcome Angus and his dad Adam to Parliament, following the receipt of his passionate letter, to talk to him about issues around transport, environment and youth policy. He also met the Minister for Education himself.

But it is beyond the school gates at Pascoe Vale North Primary that we are investing to improve learning opportunities for local families too. Just down the road we are investing a record $1.4 million to rebuild and expand the Derby Street Children’s Centre to cater for 75 children and support the rollout of free kinder, saving families $2500 a year. We are developing the first ever Merri-bek North education plan for secondary schools to continue improving the quality of local secondary education, with the member for Broadmeadows, including through investments in John Fawkner secondary college – $14.5 million – and upgrades to Pascoe Vale Girls, Coburg High and Glenroy secondary. I really welcome the minister’s response so I can share it with my hardworking, dedicated Pascoe Vale North school community, who are there to support young people.