In 2019 the Hodgman Liberal Government will be focusing on building on what we have already delivered in education and continuing to prioritise record investment into lifting educational achievement.
While we know that there will be challenges, we can already see significant improvements as we strive to deliver a world-class education system.
In 2018 we released the Child and Student Wellbeing Strategy which aims to achieve strong alignment of effort and improve child and student wellbeing. To further support this work, in 2019 we will be releasing a Mental Wellbeing Action Plan and Principal Wellbeing Action Plan.
Work is underway to enable greater access to early learning and to support and strengthen a vibrant Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) community in Tasmania.
As part of our nation-leading Working Together for 3 Year Olds initiative, five pilot locations (Glenorchy, Devonport, Kingborough, Derwent Valley and Launceston (with a focus on Mowbray, Rocherlea and Newnham) will start this year. This will open up pre-school access for a number of eligible 3-year-olds before it is rolled out in full in 2020.
Development of our Early Learning Hubs will also continue, with four of these operational by 2024. These hubs will provide important health, education and outreach support for these communities.
Literacy and numeracy is the foundation for achievement in all areas of learning. In 2019 a new Literacy Strategy will begin implementation in schools and this will be supported by the inclusion of Literacy Coaches in all schools, including colleges and special schools.
The Department will also commence initial work on the development of a numeracy strategy in the second half of 2019.
We will continue to support those with the highest needs to access the education they deserve. The signing of the ground-breaking National School Reform Agreement will provide an additional $490 million to implement a new needs-based funding model for students with disability in 2020. This will better support students with disability to access, participate and engage in education and achieve quality outcomes.
We have already seen great results in improving retention and attainment in schools, but we know that we need to keep improving.
In 2019, Penguin District School, Parklands High School, Kings Meadows High School, Winnaleah District School in partnership with Scottsdale High School, and Prospect High School, will join 38 other Tasmanian schools from around the state that have already extended to Years 11 and 12.
It means that even more of our students will have the opportunity to stay on and study Year 12 at their local high school and achieve a Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE) or equivalent.
As part of our $192 million investment into school and training infrastructure,planning has also started for new schools at Sorell, Cosgrove, Legana, Penguin and Brighton. These exciting projects, plus upgrades to many existing schools, will deliver modern and vibrant learning environments for those communities.
Our targets for Education and Training include:
- Invest a record $324 million over 6 years into Education including 250 more teachers and 358 new staff in total.
- Invest $192 million in Education infrastructure.
