Communities are being invited to have their say on how year 7 will move to high school, through a series of forums in regional South Australia, and through the YourSAy website.

The consultation will be testing the possibility of providing families a choice to keep their year 7 child in primary school, if their primary school is located more than 20 kilometres from its nearest area or high school.

Modelled on the Western Australian approach, the option would be available for a limited period of 3 years from the 2022 statewide transition date, to smooth the system changeover.

Information gathered through the consultation process will also enable the Department for Education to better understand any local implications about the move of year 7 to high school and will be compiled into a report that will inform the government’s final decision about how to best respond to the needs of regional communities.

Moving year 7 into a high school setting will align South Australia’s public schools with the Australian curriculum taught in high schools, giving students access to specialist teachers and resources, increased peer interactions, and greater independence and responsibility.

Background

The approach to be tested responds to the issues of isolation and travelling distance experienced in regional communities.

It is modelled on Western Australia’s approach, where a small minority of families chose to keep their children in primary school, with the vast majority moving their children straight to high school with their peers.

Forty-six primary schools that are located more than 20km from their nearest high school have been identified under the proposed approach.

YourSAy online will allow community members to provide feedback on the proposed approach, as well as the opportunity to raise any local concerns or issues.

Results of the consultation will be presented to the state government later this year, and families will be notified of the final outcome.

All secondary schools in South Australia will be offering year 7 from 2022.

Quotes attributable to Caroline Croser-Barlow, Project Director, Year 7 to high school

We know that some regional families, travel considerable distances getting their children to school.

We’re keen to hear from regional communities about our proposal to offer flexibility to those families in the move of year 7 to high school.

The information gathered through community consultation will also help us address other issues of concern, as we move toward the introduction of year 7 in all South Australian public high schools from term 1, 2022.