Page 3206 - Week 08 - Thursday, 16 August 2018
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(3) Which school playgrounds and ovals are no longer accessible to members of the public and for what reason.
(4) Has the installation of fences and gates around school premises impacted the usage rates of playgrounds and ovals.
(5) How many community organisations, social groups or not-for-profits utilise schools facilities, including hall hire, in ACT government schools.
(6) For facilities of (a) school classrooms, (b) creative arts and manual arts workshops, (c) music and drama rehearsal spaces (d) music and drama performance spaces, (e) assembly halls and (f) theatres, which schools offer public hire and (i) with what conditions, (ii) for what average price per hour and (iii) what is the average utilisation rate.
Ms Berry: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
(1) The majority of ACT public school playgrounds and ovals are accessible to members of the public outside of school hours. The Education Directorate’s Community Use of School Facilities Policy states that Canberra Public Schools are ACT Government facilities and these facilities are to be made available for community use when not in use by the school. The policy can be found at the following link:
https://www.education.act.gov.au/publications_and_policies/School-and-Corporate-Policies/facilities-and-assets/communityout-of-hours-use/community-use-of-school-facilities-policy
The policy also notes that positive partnerships between community organisations and schools can contribute to strong relationships and improved student learning. Provision of school facilities for community use should not adversely affect the operation and management of the school’s core business. Neither should it require significant works to segment school property for provision of facilities for community use.
(2) Data about specific school arrangements regarding access to their enclosed spaces is not collected centrally by the Directorate.
(3) When a fence is installed in a school, consideration is made to continue community access to ovals and other play areas such as basketball courts and play equipment. On some occasions, due to local site conditions, this is not always possible. Data about specific school arrangements regarding access to their enclosed spaces is not collected centrally by the Directorate.
(4) There is no data available on the impact from the installation of fences and gates around school premises has on the usage rates of playgrounds and ovals. There has been one issue raised in the last twelve months relating to group access to a school playground. In this case the Directorate was able to provide an alternative site for usage.
There have also been two complaints to the Directorate. Both relate to personal access to school grounds.
(5) The latest data collection of June 2017 indicated there were 485 users of school facilities made up of community organisations, social groups and not-for-profit
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