Swan View students share their ideas on education

Today I met with my new Swan View Advisory Committee for the first time.

This group of students from the Follow The Dream program and the student representative council at Swan View Senior High School will work with me throughout the year to support a project on keeping children engaged in education.

Several students took me on a tour of the school’s facilities before we all met as a group to talk through the role of being an Advisory Committee and how we can all work together this year.

In groups the students discussed what they felt was good about school and ways in which going to school could be improved to ensure more students are better supported to continue their learning.

Swan View Senior High School is a great example of a school using programs targeted for their students that provide assistance and encouragement for students to achieve their goals. Many of the students included support programs, such as the Follow The Dream program, in their examples of what keeps them engaged in schooling.

The students mentioned that they felt safe at school, which was important to them. However one issues raised by students was general community safety beyond the school gate as it impacted on students.

Throughout the year I will use the input from these students and those of the North Albany Senior High School Advisory Committee to inform a broader consultation on education.

Updates from both committees will be regularly published online.

Colin Pettit
Commissioner for Children and Young People