Thursday, 19 March 2026

 Nathan LAMBERT (Preston) (14:50): (1585) My question is for the Minister for Education, and my question is: what is the Department of Education’s current thinking regarding the future of the Pavilion School? As the member for Thomastown noted in her constituency question, the Pavilion School operates campuses in both Preston and in Epping, in her electorate, and provides a unique, flexible learning environment for young people who may feel disengaged from mainstream schooling. I would like to refer members to an article in the Guardian last year from Adeshola Ore that set out some of the very vivid examples of the way in which the school has made a tremendous difference to the lives of its students. But I ask this question because while the school is currently part of Charles La Trobe College and operates under their whole-of-school governance model, it has a very distinct culture and approach and there have at times been discussions about whether it should have a more differentiated or independent governance model, particularly with respect to decisions about curriculum and resourcing. Any information the minister could provide about the department’s thinking about the future of the Pavilion School would be greatly appreciated.