Page 3200 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 18 October 2022
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NAPLAN test was missed, which has also impacted on the way that NAPLAN is reported, or the impact of not having that reporting included in the data that has been provided in the most recent releases.
The ACT government continues to focus on equity and equality within our schools to ensure that young people who have not had the chance or need a better hand-up to get a good quality education get that. We know that when we tackle inequality within our schools, we impact on the academic performances of our young people.
We are continuing to work with each of our school communities and the federal government around ways that we support young people, particularly over the last couple of years, to ensure that they get the appropriate gains in literacy and numeracy across the board.
MR HANSON: Minister, how will progress be tracked to ensure that students are not behind by the time they finish their secondary education?
MS BERRY: One of the ways that the ACT government tracks the success of a young person’s education in our schools is through our survey of senior secondary students. It identifies the number of students who continue on with education or continue on to work. We have really high participation rates because it is a voluntary survey, but it allows us to track the number of students who have been in our system, participated in the survey and then continue on to further education, have a gap year with an intention to go to university, or have other forms of education or work.
That is unique to the ACT, but it is one way that we can see that our students, particularly when they leave senior secondary school, are continuing on with either their learning or going into the workforce.
MR COCKS: Minister, what extra resources are being provided for teachers and support staff as they take on an extra workload to help to ensure that these students are not left behind?
MS BERRY: I thank the member for his supplementary. This is an important question, particularly after the last couple of years. Our teachers have been working incredibly hard, so making sure that they are supported, as far as their workload is concerned, has been vital. It has been a really good experience to be working with the Australian Education Union on the task force, to understand clearly from the educators themselves what the workload pressures are and how government can help the workforce to overcome those. We have already seen changes in that workload pressure through the A to E reporting, without the comments, and encouraging parents and families who want to understand how their child is going at school to contact their school and attend their teacher-parent interviews.
Mr Cocks: A point of order.
MADAM SPEAKER: A point of order, Mr Cocks?
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