Adelaide schools brace for major overhaul as state government reveals next steps on education reform

The South Australian government will finalise its long-awaited education reform blueprint by October, setting in motion the biggest shake-up of public schools in more than a decade. Education Minister Blair Boyer confirmed this week that a formal response to the 18-month review, led by former chief executive of the Education Department, Dr. Ruth Dyson, will be tabled in state parliament before the end of the spring session.

What's on the table

The review, delivered to the government in late June, reportedly recommends sweeping changes to the way schools are funded, how teachers are trained, and how students transition from primary to high school. A key flashpoint: whether to adopt a statewide ban on smartphones during school hours, a policy already trialled at 12 Adelaide schools including Unley High School and Aberfoyle Park Primary School. The trial, which began in March, covered more than 4,200 students. Preliminary data shows a 23% reduction in reported incidents of cyberbullying and a 17% increase in time spent reading during lunch breaks, according to internal Education Department briefings seen by The Daily Adelaide.

The government is also weighing a controversial proposal to merge several under-enrolled high schools in the southern suburbs. Among the campuses named in early drafts are Christies Beach High School and Reynella East College, both of which have seen enrolments drop below 600 students each. The review suggests consolidating students into a single new campus near the Noarlunga Centre, a move that the Australian Education Union's SA branch says could lead to job losses of up to 90 teaching positions over three years. Union president Katarina Popovic told The Daily Adelaide that any merger must guarantee no forced redundancies.

Teacher shortage fix or band-aid?

Teacher recruitment remains a critical pressure point. The government's own figures, released in May, show that 1,874 teaching positions across South Australia remain unfilled for the 2026 school year, a 12% increase on the same period last year. The most acute shortages are in maths, science, and special education. At Adelaide High School on West Terrace, acting principal Sarah Milburn said she has been unable to fill three maths positions since term 1, forcing the school to limit some year 12 subject offerings.

The review proposes a $15 million annual incentive package to attract and retain teachers in hard-to-staff schools, including a $12,000 yearly bonus for maths and science specialists working in schools with an Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage score above 1,000. Schools like Elizabeth Downs Primary School and Parafield Gardens High School would be among the first to benefit. But the teacher union has warned that the package will not work without addressing workload, 73% of SA teachers surveyed by the union in April said they were considering leaving the profession within five years.

The government is also expected to decide soon on the future of the state's only public selective entry school, Adelaide Botanic High School, on Frome Road. The review recommends expanding its capacity from 600 to 900 students by 2029, but local parents' groups have raised concerns about increased traffic congestion and parking pressures in the already dense East End precinct. A departmental report estimates the expansion would cost $24 million, with construction potentially starting in late 2027.

Parents and students will have one final chance to have their say. The Education Department will open a two-week public consultation period from August 3 to August 17, with online submissions and community forums at the Education Development Centre on Glenelg's Anzac Highway and at the Port Augusta Cultural Centre in the far north. The final decisions, including the smartphone ban and the school mergers, are expected to be announced by Education Minister Boyer on October 14.