Last week Education Minister Liz Constable said feedback from the 34 Independent Public Schools that began at the start of the year had been overwhelmingly positive and the schools had already experienced a surge in community involvement.

“This call for schools to join the second intake signifies the Government’s continuing drive to hand more control to schools and their communities,” Dr Constable said.

“The strong interest shown demonstrates the desire for moving decision-making, responsibility and accountability closer to where it matters, in the classroom.”

Expressions of interest from schools keen to join the next intake of Independent Public Schools close on April 27, giving them more than two months to consult with their communities.

Esperance Primary School was among the 34 schools to receive independent status last year.

Principal Lisa Helenius said the move was already paying dividends as it had allowed the school to replace teachers much faster than it could previously.

“It is so empowering and a lot of people want to see big changes quite quickly but a lot of the differences are probably subtler more at a managerial level but they impact on students,” Ms Helenius said.

“The first thing we were able to do is select our own staff.”

Ms Helenius said the school was able to hire teachers before the school year began, minimising classroom disruptions.

“If I had to wait until the term started I would be having interviews with disgruntled parents concerned that their children’s education was getting disrupted,” she said.

The move to independent status had also given the school greater autonomy to manage its finances.

A school board has been appointed and will meet for the first time on March 10 after more parents and community representatives took a greater interest in becoming involved.