Parents worry over cuts

Non-permanent education assistants at support-centre school sites across Rockingham and Kwinana could be victims of the State Government’s education funding cuts.

Last week the Government announced plans for a new student-centred funding model for the beginning of the 2015 school year and would axe 500 education staff, including assistants.

Department of Education director-general Sharyn O’Neill told the Telegraph no permanent education assistants would lose their job under changes to education funding.

“However, in line with the new model of redistributing resources and staff to best meet student need, some permanent staff will move to other schools, some schools will get more staff and some will receive fewer,” she said.

Secret Harbour mother Barbara Marshall said she was concerned for her children’s education in light of the announcement.

Mrs Marshall, who has three children with learning and health difficulties, believed education should be immune to funding cuts.

“My daughter Stephanie has got autism, ADHD, non-verbal learning disorder, and central auditory processing disorder, and Zoe has mild autism,” she said.

“The education assistants have been there for them in class, they give them extra help with their writing and numeracy skills — just all the normal everyday things that everybody else gets to do, the assistants help them by giving them an extra helping hand.”

Mrs Marshall said her daughters received up to three days a week of extra support from education assistants.

She said she believed her daughters would struggle in the system if the resources were cut. “I think it would be a case of sink or swim and I think they would be sinking very fast,” she said. Mrs Marshall said her son Damon, 13, who was at Malibu School and had cerebral palsy and epilepsy, would not be able to attend school if it were not for the work of education assistants.

“I want my kids to have a future — if they do not get the helpers they need now then what sort of future will they have?” she said.

Warnbro MLA Paul Papalia said Labor was calling on the Government to reverse the decision.

Ms O’Neill said the department would work with Rockingham and Kwinana schools to determine each school’s staffing allocation.