Keeping our schools safe
Jason Clare posted Wednesday, 8 February 2012
First day at school nerves should never be about safety. Parents deserve to know their children will be safe at school.
For the Gillard Government, ensuring students and staff are safe in our schools is an important part of our overall commitment to education.
In 2007 the Government introduced the Secure Schools program. We worked with state and territory governments to determine which schools might be at risk of racial, religious or ethnically motivated violence, property crime or harassment, and provided $20 million in capital grants to make safety improvements.
I have just announced that the Gillard Government will spend a further $15 million to make more Australian schools safer places for children to learn.
The program is aimed at schools at risk of racial, religious or ethnically motivated violence, property crime or harassment.
It’s about making sure that people can’t get into school grounds to damage property, cause harm to staff or students or commit offences on school grounds.
By working with state and territory governments we make sure the money goes to the schools that need it most.
Safety infrastructure which can be funded includes safety fencing, closed-circuit television and improved lighting.
For parents and staff, the program provides peace of mind. Parents have the right to expect their children will be safe at school, and staff have the right to feel safe in their workplace, particularly when they are there outside school hours.
I have written to State and Territory Governments asking them to help identify which schools should be provided with funding.
Schools nominated by State and Territory Governments will be invited to submit an application for their proposed Secure Schools project. Applications will be open for a six week period, with successful projects selected in the second quarter of 2012.
More information is available at www.ag.gov.au.
Tags: education,
schools