Another Brick in the Wall
A SCHOOL outing to State Parliament in Brisbane has prompted 14-year-old Alpha State School student Michael Hall to petition the government to allow students to walk off school campus to buy their lunch.
At the beginning of the term students at the Alpha school were informed of a new rule banning a 40-year practice of purchasing refreshments outside schoolgrounds at lunchtimes.
Previously children held written parental permission to cross the road and buy food from neighbouring shops on the four days each week the school’s tuckshop does not open.
After collecting over 280 signatures on a petition - the backing of over a quarter of the town - Michael is taking his fight for the right to purchase his favoured lunchtime pie to Brisbane.
"We want our rights back.
"All we want is to be able to go to town to get lunch – students have been doing it here for 40 years.
"I didn’t think they could really stop us and then I found out they can."
For Michael the battle isn’t just on behalf of his fellow students, it is also about the retailers who take an income from the lunchtime trade, as he outlined in his letter to Alpha Shire’s local MP Shane Knuth:
‘We all like to support our local shops.
‘I don’t believe small children should be going over town by themselves and would not consider the option of them leaving the schoolgrounds unaccompanied.
‘We [the older children] are always back within 15 minutes to eat our lunch in the playground and after 40 years of this happening I don’t understand how they can suddenly ban it now.’
Mr Knuth has taken up Michael’s call for a suitable explanation, tabling the 287-signature petition in parliament last week.
"I would like to stress that we are not talking about cities with trains, cars and buses running at frequent schedules, we are talking about a small community with a population of less than 1,000 people.
"When over a quarter of any town signs a petition you have to take notice.
"Some of these children are travelling up to 120 kilometres every day getting themselves to and from school.
"While I appreciate and understand that the principals and staff of every school have a duty-of-care towards their students, the ultimate responsibility remains with the parents, in this case parents who have given permission for their children to purchase their lunch off schoolgrounds.
"A common sense answer should apply in this situation."
When asked to explain the ban, Alpha State School principal Glenn Forbes immediately referred The Longreach Leader to Education Queensland, stating he wasn’t "really prepared to comment about it".
A spokesperson for Education Queensland seemed a little unsure upon which legal grounds the change had been made, and cited general duty-of-care criteria.
"Alpha State School made the decision to restrict students leaving schoolgrounds during school hours in order to bring the school in line with legislation.
"It was discussed with - and approved by - the Parents and Citizens Association.
"Schools have a duty-of-care and under the current legislation there are only a limited number of situations where principals can allow students to leave schoolgrounds during the day; this does not include buying lunch.
"The safety of students is the highest priority and students are unable to be adequately supervised if they leave school grounds."
When asked which section of the relevant act Michael and his friends were banned under, The Longreach Leader was referred to section 18 by the department spokesperson.
The section specified referred to students needing to leave schoolgrounds for medical, dental or specialised instruction reasons.
Mr Knuth has vowed to investigate the matter further and is expecting a response from the Minister of Education Rod Welford next month.
At the beginning of the term students at the Alpha school were informed of a new rule banning a 40-year practice of purchasing refreshments outside schoolgrounds at lunchtimes.
Previously children held written parental permission to cross the road and buy food from neighbouring shops on the four days each week the school’s tuckshop does not open.
After collecting over 280 signatures on a petition - the backing of over a quarter of the town - Michael is taking his fight for the right to purchase his favoured lunchtime pie to Brisbane.
"We want our rights back.
"All we want is to be able to go to town to get lunch – students have been doing it here for 40 years.
"I didn’t think they could really stop us and then I found out they can."
For Michael the battle isn’t just on behalf of his fellow students, it is also about the retailers who take an income from the lunchtime trade, as he outlined in his letter to Alpha Shire’s local MP Shane Knuth:
‘We all like to support our local shops.
‘I don’t believe small children should be going over town by themselves and would not consider the option of them leaving the schoolgrounds unaccompanied.
‘We [the older children] are always back within 15 minutes to eat our lunch in the playground and after 40 years of this happening I don’t understand how they can suddenly ban it now.’
Mr Knuth has taken up Michael’s call for a suitable explanation, tabling the 287-signature petition in parliament last week.
"I would like to stress that we are not talking about cities with trains, cars and buses running at frequent schedules, we are talking about a small community with a population of less than 1,000 people.
"When over a quarter of any town signs a petition you have to take notice.
"Some of these children are travelling up to 120 kilometres every day getting themselves to and from school.
"While I appreciate and understand that the principals and staff of every school have a duty-of-care towards their students, the ultimate responsibility remains with the parents, in this case parents who have given permission for their children to purchase their lunch off schoolgrounds.
"A common sense answer should apply in this situation."
When asked to explain the ban, Alpha State School principal Glenn Forbes immediately referred The Longreach Leader to Education Queensland, stating he wasn’t "really prepared to comment about it".
A spokesperson for Education Queensland seemed a little unsure upon which legal grounds the change had been made, and cited general duty-of-care criteria.
"Alpha State School made the decision to restrict students leaving schoolgrounds during school hours in order to bring the school in line with legislation.
"It was discussed with - and approved by - the Parents and Citizens Association.
"Schools have a duty-of-care and under the current legislation there are only a limited number of situations where principals can allow students to leave schoolgrounds during the day; this does not include buying lunch.
"The safety of students is the highest priority and students are unable to be adequately supervised if they leave school grounds."
When asked which section of the relevant act Michael and his friends were banned under, The Longreach Leader was referred to section 18 by the department spokesperson.
The section specified referred to students needing to leave schoolgrounds for medical, dental or specialised instruction reasons.
Mr Knuth has vowed to investigate the matter further and is expecting a response from the Minister of Education Rod Welford next month.
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