Blacktown area high school co-education community consultation
The department will be consulting with the community in Term 4 2024 to better understand the factors that influence high school selection in the Blacktown area.
Community consultation is part of the department’s work to fulfill the NSW Government’s commitment of offering all families a co-educational public high school option by 2027.
Consultation will begin 28 October and finish 6 December 2024.
The department will provide opportunities for students, families, staff, the community and special interest groups to provide their feedback on current high school options and seek input on two proposals for future arrangements at Blacktown Boys and Blacktown Girls high schools.
Proposals
Create one co-educational school by combining Blacktown Boys High School and Blacktown Girls High School to establish a single co-educational campus in the current location.
Retain Blacktown Boys and Blacktown Girls high schools as separate single-sex schools and adjust surrounding high school intake areas to provide all students guaranteed access to a co-educational high school within their intake area.
How to get involved
Survey
Share your views on co-educational high school offerings via this online survey.
The survey closes at 5pm, Friday 6 December 2024.
Workshops
The following in-person and online workshops are being held for parents, carers, staff, students, special interest groups and the wider community.
Note: If a workshop is fully booked, we invite you to join the general public session on 22 November, which delivers the same content and facilitation as all other sessions.
| Date | Group | Medium / location | Registration |
|---|---|---|---|
14 November |
Blacktown Boys and Blacktown Girls High School parents and carers |
Online |
Concluded |
18 November |
Primary school parents and carers |
Online |
|
20 November |
Blacktown Boys and Blacktown Girls High School parents and carers |
In-person at Blacktown Girls High School |
|
20 November |
Primary school parents and carers |
In-person at Blacktown Girls High School |
|
22 November |
General public |
Online |
Closed sessions with staff members will be held from:
- Blacktown Girls High School staff (12 November)
Blacktown Boys High School staff (13 November)
Feeder primary school and secondary school staff (21 November)
Sessions with special interest groups, including but not limited to the Public Service Association of NSW, NSW Teachers Federation and the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, will also occur.
The survey is confidential, and feedback shared cannot be used to identify individuals.
Frequently asked questions
What is the co-educational initiative?
The NSW Government is committed to offering all families a co-educational high school option.
This means that every student in NSW will be guaranteed a place at a designated co-educational public high school by 2027.
The NSW Department of Education (the department) is consulting with school communities to understand their views relating to high school enrolment decision-making and to collect feedback on a range of proposals for future arrangements for Years 7-12 in the Blacktown area.
What is involved in meeting the co-educational commitment?
A comprehensive consultation process will take place in Term 4 that seeks to better understand parent and student decision-making regarding high school enrolment choices for Blacktown Boys High School and Blacktown Girls High School.
Parents, carers, students, staff, special interest groups and the community are invited to share their feedback by online survey, in-person and online workshops, which will further inform any proposals or recommendations to meet the co-educational commitment.
Has a decision been made?
No decisions about future school plans have been made. Community consultation will inform any decision making about educational offerings in the Blacktown area. All feedback will be reviewed and considered before any proposals or recommendations are made.
When is consultation happening and how long will the process take?
The consultation phase, including workshops and a survey, will run from 28 October to 6 December.
Who is facilitating the consultation?
The Department of Education is coordinating the consultation process using an independent facilitator, drawing on a range of skills and expertise from school performance, school operations, communications, engagement, educational outcomes and school infrastructure across the department.
When will the consultation report findings be released?
At the end of the consultation process, a report outlining the findings will be prepared by the department. A decision on how future co-educational settings will be provided in the Blacktown area will be shared with school communities by early 2025, or earlier if possible.
Contact
The project team can be contacted by email at BlacktownConsultation@det.nsw.edu.au.