Page 2214 - Week 06 - Thursday, 6 June 2019
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Title read by Clerk.
MS BERRY (Ginninderra—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Minister for Housing and Suburban Development, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for Women) (11.58): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
I am pleased to introduce the ACT Teacher Quality Institute Amendment Bill 2019. A key focus for this government in the education portfolio has been respecting and investing in the teaching profession. It is a priority for the government because the evidence about the impact that teachers make is clear.
After personal factors related to a school student, the single most significant factor in their learning outcomes is the standard of teaching available to them. Teachers are expert professionals. As professionals, the knowledge and skills of a teacher are in working with students to lead them through a learning journey. Teachers should be respected and valued because of the specialist knowledge they have and the skills they possess.
Gone are the days when schools were seen as factories, churning uniform children through a mass standardised process. Every child is unique and brings their personal circumstances and background to their school education. Because of this, teachers need to work with dissimilarity, diagnosing and designing learning to support the individual needs of each student.
The government respects and values the ACT’s teachers. We are investing in our teachers. So significant is the government’s commitment to teachers that one of the four foundations of the 10-year future of education strategy is directed at empowering learning professionals—the teachers and school leaders, other educators, allied learning professionals and support staff that make education happen in ACT schools every day. The strategy laid out our initiatives under this foundation and the bill I introduce today provides a clear step forward on several key directions, providing a strong basis for work that is to follow.
A key part of the government’s work with teachers builds on the existing work of the ACT Teacher Quality Institute, established through the ACT Teacher Quality Institute Act 2010. The institute’s function is to build the professional standing of the ACT’s teachers and to enhance the community’s confidence in the teaching profession through professional regulation and practical initiatives to raise teacher quality. The institute is well respected nationally and is known as a leader in many areas. It is well placed to take on an expanded role and this bill begins the process towards that.
The bill makes three key amendments to the act. First, the bill establishes in legislation a framework for the registration of preservice teachers. Since the commencement of the act in 2011 there has been an increasing emphasis on
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