Blueprint to deliver cash and services

The Education Department will use population planning to drive the allocation of resources. Source: adelaidenow

HEALTH, academic and behaviour data will be mapped on a population plan for the state that will help determine where money is spent on education and child services.

It is one of 15 "signature projects" under the Education Department's transformation into a larger agency controlling schools, early learning, families and child protection.

Chief executive Keith Bartley will announce the large-scale structural changes today.

They have been in the making since October 2011, when the super department of Education and Child Development was created.

Mr Bartley said feedback from 22 community forums suggested that population planning was needed to drive the allocation of services.

"What they were saying to us is that instead of sitting in this building (Flinders St head office) and saying `we're going to distribute the resources in this way', we need to start with the sum of the needs and then deploy resources to that," he said.

Existing measures and reporting systems to be used include the Australian Early Development Index of five-year-olds, national literacy and numeracy tests, health outcomes and critical incidents in schools.

The plan is intended to provide a suburb-by-suburb picture of the development of a small community to enable programs and services to be moved and strengthened as needed.

The restructure will be in place next year.

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Non-English church services on the rise

Demand for church services in languages other than English is growing, reflecting the multiculural mix of congregations. AFP PHOTO/Thony BELIZAIRE Source: AFP

GROWTH in the number of non-English church services is bucking the trend of declining church attendance, the Uniting Church of SA says.

Uniting Church of SA multicultural and cross-cultural officer Dave Williamson says national surveys report that multicultural services are growing.

"The Uniting Church in SA is definitely increasing the number of non-English services it delivers to meet growing demand," he said.

"As the demographic of society changes and communities change, we aim to meet the needs of our multicultural and cross-cultural communities."

The National Church Life Survey revealed a 5 per cent drop between 2001 and 2011 in the number of Australian-born respondents attending church.

But there were rises in the proportion of respondents born in non-English-speaking countries and those whose parents were born in similar countries. There also was an increase among those who were born in another country where English was the main language.

Glenunga Uniting Church has been running a weekly Spanish church service for the past year. It was set up by a small group of church members who had arrived in Adelaide from overseas.

Lead Pastor Mark Schultz said it soon ballooned in popularity, attracting couples and families from across metropolitan Adelaide.

"It seems to be growing and going pretty well," he said. "It started off with a really small number - a couple of families decided to get it going.

"We ended up having other Spanish-speaking couples and families joining them."

Mr Schultz said numbers fluctuate but about 40 had been attending the services recently. He said they were of particular benefit for those who came to Australia who did not speak English.

Those who came for work were more likely to speak English but often their family members did not.

"It's an easy way for them to fit in," he said.

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