Page 2876 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 14 August 2018
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parents and carers, teachers, students and community organisations, as well as the broader community. We conducted a second round of consultation to test the feedback through a series of workshops held in March 2018. These workshops have helped to shape the strategy. The ultimate outcome will be to achieve greater equity in learning outcomes within all our schools.
To achieve greater equity, the future of education will concentrate on: placing students at the centre—recognising the broad range of gifts, talents, interests, challenges and unique personalities of our children, and developing their individual learning supports in a student-centred, student-led approach; investing in teacher excellence—responding effectively to the diversity that exists in Canberra by building learner capabilities and content knowledge, creating environments where students can exercise agency and be engaged, and the consideration of positive relationships and wellbeing underpinning all decision-making; and recognising the role of access to early childhood education in promoting greater equity in learning outcomes. $9.2 million is available to progress measures arising out of the future of education conversation.
The ACT continues to provide one of the best education systems in Australia. The budget maintains our investment in teachers and provides more support for students with complex needs to ensure that our local schools keep getting even better.
Canberra students will also get the chance to learn the skills they need for the jobs of the future, with the budget establishing the future skills academy for local public schools to deepen learning in science, technology, engineering and maths-related disciplines. The academy will be established with a $5.76 million investment that will allow the creation of a centre of excellence in teaching and learning, based at University of Canberra Lake Ginninderra Senior Secondary College in the north and in the south at the Centre for Innovation and Learning at the Caroline Chisholm School.
Our community values the increasingly strong, inclusive culture in ACT government schools. It is an area of focus because, of course, all children, regardless of background and circumstance, are entitled to a great education and the life chances that come from it. The government has allocated $18.2 million in needs-based funding to support students with a disability so that they have the support to be included in and be part of school life, and $5 million to support students with complex needs.
I will take the chance now to respond to a few of the comments that the opposition has made with regard to education in the ACT. The implication from the opposition is that they will take away the free Chromebooks that have been provided by the ACT government. They will take away the word “equity”, or equality more generally, because they just do not like the word “equality” and what it stands for.
The opposition spoke about a couple of things that they want to implement next year, and they include what looks like a phonics test. It is good that I have Ms Lee’s support for my leading role amongst education ministers to review how NAPLAN is reported and that if it is causing more harm than benefit then it should stop.
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