Page 5836 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 7 December 2011
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I am a firm advocate of the best pay going to the best teachers. By having a strong, competitive selection process for promotional teaching positions, we will ensure teaching is a career of prestige, opportunity and longevity. The intent of the new teachers enterprise agreement aligns with education reforms taking place across Australia. The ACT government signed up to the improving teacher quality national partnership in 2009 following agreement by the Council of Australian Governments to commit $550 million to improve the quality of teaching and leadership in Australian schools. The ACT entered into the national partnership on improving teacher quality as a joint initiative with the ACT Catholic Education Office and the ACT Association of Independent Schools. The partnership has been highly successful with the three school education sectors in the ACT working collaboratively on a broad range of reforms to improve teacher quality in all ACT schools.
These reforms include the development of new professional teacher standards, improved pathways into teaching, increased teacher mobility, improved performance management and comprehensive teacher workforce planning. The national reform targets, some of which have already been achieved, include establishment of the ACT Teacher Quality Institute and teacher education committee, creation of school centres of teacher education excellence and implementation of national standards and certification processes for teachers.
The ACT Teacher Quality Institute was established in 2010 to raise the standing of the teaching profession in the ACT and to strengthen the quality and sustainability of the teaching workforce. The establishment of TQI brings the ACT in line with the states and Northern Territory, which all have teacher registration bodies. Its purpose is to uphold the standards of the ACT teaching profession, provide quality assurance processes to support the delivery of education in schools in a professional and competent way by approved teachers, recognise, develop and promote professional learning, and maintain community confidence in the teaching profession.
The Teacher Quality Institute is responsible for the professional registration of teachers, accrediting education courses for pre-service teachers and teachers, certifying teachers against national professional standards, developing and applying a code of practice for teachers, and working closely with employers to promote continuous professional learning by teachers. These functions will enable greater career opportunities for teachers. Teachers will be able to access the highest quality professional learning which has been quality assured. Best of all, the institute will ensure that only teachers who meet rigorous professional standards are teaching in ACT schools.
The most important job for any government is making sure that young people get the best possible start in life. This means ensuring every student gets the best possible education. This enterprise agreement and the underlying work that supports these reforms can only enhance the quality of the already high performing ACT teaching workforce and improve the already high performance of ACT students. This work supports the key role that teachers play in delivering positive educational outcomes for ACT school students. Education has always been and will continue to be a priority for the ACT government.
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