Page 663 - Week 02 - Thursday, 16 February 2017

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4.connecting the community, which helps to build resilient families, communities and support networks that can self-determine their involvement with the ACT Government and service partners;

5.employment and economic independence, which is a key to improving access to opportunities for individuals and families;

6.education, which is the foundation of an individual’s life outcomes and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities should have opportunities to be life-long learners; and

7.leadership, which recognises the wealth of experience that exists in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community of the ACT and the need to pass on the skills and knowledge to tomorrow’s leaders.

The National Indigenous Reform Agreement and the ‘Closing the Gap’ agenda are agreements between the Commonwealth of Australia and the States and Territories, while the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement is a partnership between the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the ACT Government.

(1) (b) (c)

In response to questions (1) (b-c), the Education Directorate’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education 2015-16 Report to the Legislative Assembly sets out the suite of educational programs and strategies that the ACT Government is utilising to maximise the learning outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The Report is available on the Education Directorate website at http://www.education.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/912272/ATSI-Education-Report-FA-web.pdf.

Positive outcomes highlighted in the Report include:

In 2015, the ACT consistently had a higher proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students achieving at or above the national minimum standard for both reading and numeracy than was the case nationally.

The ACT is one of only three jurisdictions on track to meet the COAG target for attendance rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students by 2018. The ACT saw an increase of 1.6 percentage points, from 83.6 percent in 2014 to 85.2 percent in 2015.

In ACT public schools in 2015, the apparent retention rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from year 7 to year 10 was 100 percent. This was the same as the rates in 2013 and 2014, and an increase from 88.4 percent in 2012.

The apparent retention rate for students from year 7 through to year 12 was 89.5 percent in 2015, an increase from 81.0 percent in 2014 and 65.2 percent in 2013.


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