Labor pledges $11.8 million to get kids back to basics

A re-elected ACT Labor Government will invest $11.8 million over the next four years to ensure a renewed focus in schools on teaching the basics – reading, writing and maths.

Minister for Education and Training, Andrew Barr said the massive injection of funding will provide new literacy and numeracy teachers, assist children who have English as a second language and establish a new literacy centre in partnership with the University of Canberra. He also said all schools will be required to develop a plan to reduce the achievement gap in their school.

A re-elected ACT Labor Government will:

• Require all schools to develop action plans to reduce the achievement gap in their school;
• Invest $8.2 million over four years to provide seventeen new specialist literacy and numeracy teachers. These specialist teachers will work in school clusters (typically a High School and feeder Primary Schools) and will assist classroom teachers develop literacy and numeracy lesson plans, analyse student data and help teachers develop targeted plans to help students in need. The teacher specialists will also be able to develop individual learning plans for those students in need of the most assistance and work one on one with these students. This initiative will see outcomes in schools improve, especially for those students in the lowest achievement bands.
• Invest $3.1 million over four years to improve the literacy and numeracy outcomes for those students who currently lie within the lowest performance band of achievement by increasing the access to special programs for children who speak English as a second language. This initiative will see another 8.4 teachers employed in our schools.
• Invest $486,000 to establish the National Capital Literacy and Learning Centre(NCLLC). This is a joint initiative between the University of Canberra and the ACT Government aimed at establishing a new research and teaching focus on literacy and learning. The NCLLC will prepare ACT teachers to ensure high literacy outcomes for students. It will also build on the outstanding work of the Parents as Tutors Program and assist parents with strategies to help their children’s literacy and numerary development.

“ACT Labor believes the foundation for all students to achieve excellence in education is ensuring strong skills in reading, writing and maths. We are committed to ensuring schools prioritise the teaching of these important foundation skills and to bridging the gap between the highest and lowest achievers,” Mr Barr said.

 “New national assessment results show the ACT performs very well in comparison to other states and territories, with ACT students well above the national average in all areas tested. However, we want to ensure ACT students continue to have an excellent grasp of these basic skills and that those in the lowest achievement bands are given specialist support to improve.

“These measures will ensure all schools have a renewed focus on literacy and numeracy and that students in the lowest achievement bands have individual support.

“The establishment of the new Literacy Centre will mean our upcoming teachers studying at UC will be trained in techniques for teaching literacy and numeracy and that parents will be assisted to help their children develop in these areas.

“ACT Labor’s responsible economic management has put the ACT Government’s finances on a sustainable footing, allowing Labor to make this commitment to Canberra’s students and their families.

“Only the ACT Labor team has both the record of responsible financial management and the commitment to the education of Canberra’s children that will see this $11.8 million investment become a reality.” Mr Barr said.