Page 2620 - Week 07 - Thursday, 1 August 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
relating to physical and mental health to meet the complexities that principals face every day. Again, the activities laid out in the implementation plan are clear, tangible and targeted on what the ACT government heard from its extensive consultation, and is therefore committed to in its investment.
Priorities four and five relate to community schools and giving young people the best start. This is a core foundation of the future of education. That is to provide strong communities for learning. This underpins the fourth and fifth priorities of implementation. The fourth priority, community schools, is about recognising our schools as hubs of the community and an integral part of a broader human services system that takes a holistic view of students and their needs, as well as the needs of their families.
The implementation plan in the first phase will focus on forging innovative partnerships, which recognises the importance of the government’s interdependent agencies and the relationships needed for success. This includes partnerships between early childhood providers, community and government agencies and primary schools, where the government is ensuring that young children zero to eight have the strongest possible start to their education journey.
Giving young people the best start is the fifth priority. Members will recall the work the ACT government is doing to develop the ACT’s first early childhood strategy. This work is critical to the future of education. It is critical because it focuses on creating a foundation for lifelong learning, critical because it increases access to high-quality early childhood education and care experiences, particularly for children experiencing disadvantage.
The implementation plan highlights clear, specific activity to support the ACT government’s commitment to work towards a goal of providing universal free early childhood education for three-year-old children. This work is important, and will help create a fairer early childhood education and care system in the ACT.
I draw your attention, Madam Speaker, to the sixth and final priority: focus the system on what matters most. The initiatives within this priority will create the enabling system conditions needed in the first phase in order to deliver on the government’s 10-year vision for the future of education. Through this priority, the ACT government is investing in teachers as researchers to improve research rigour and evidence-informed teaching practice through strengthened links with tertiary institutions and post-graduate scholarships.
The government will also focus system and school improvements on educational equity and invest in future schools for a growing city. The ACT government’s investment in schools is not only about population growth. It is also about planning for the infrastructure needed to support learners of the future.
The government’s first phase implementation plan for the future of education sets a clear precedent of tangible action and investment from a government committed to providing the very best opportunities for that ACT’s children and young people. The 10-year road map will continue to be supported by rolling implementation plans
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video