Government Invites Public Feedback on Education and Early Childhood Service Reform Plan
Media Release - Monday 7 April, 2008
The Brumby Government wants the Victorian public to have their say in shaping the future of school education and early childhood services.
Education Minister Bronwyn Pike and Early Childhood Development Minister Maxine Morand today released the Government’s proposed future vision for supporting Victorians from birth to adulthood.
The Ministers said the linking of early childhood services and schools – with the creation of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development last August – presented a unique and unprecedented opportunity to develop a blueprint for reform.
Two Blueprint for Early Childhood Development and School Reform discussion papers – one for school reform and one for early childhood development – have been released for public comment and feedback.
The Government will also hold consultation sessions across the state throughout May.
“Education is a dynamic and evolving sector and we can never rest on our laurels and say what we are doing is good enough,” Ms Pike said.
“The first blueprint was a success and that work needs to continue – but the world does not stand still and there is more to do.
“We have introduced significant reforms since 1999 – many from the 2003 Blueprint for Government Schools – which have made a difference to ensure Victorian families have the best schools.
“We have introduced better reporting to parents through new student report cards and school annual reports, new curriculum standards, a greater emphasis on leadership and development for principals and teachers and the introduction of the $1.9 billion Victorian Schools Plan to improve our school buildings.
“That work will continue, and now it is time for a second round of ideas.”
Ms Pike said the proposed reforms are framed around an increased emphasis on ensuring every student progresses in school, new ways to equip students and the school workforce with what they need to succeed, new ways to encourage high-performing principals and teachers to work at schools that really need them and a new focus on schools where students are not performing as well as expected.
Blueprint proposals for school reform include:
- Stronger interventions and more intensive monitoring in underperforming schools;
- Monitoring and incentives to ensure that adequately performing schools are encouraged to improve;
- Develop a scheme to encourage high-performing graduates from other fields to enter teaching, modelled on the UK’s Teach First;
- Provide incentives, including higher salaries, for the best teachers and school leaders to work in those schools where they are needed most; and
- Support teachers who have become disengaged to leave the profession, after appropriate opportunities and support have been provided to lift teaching practice.
“The results of this work will benefit Victorian children, Victorian families and Victorian communities for decades to come,” Ms Pike said.
Blueprint proposals for early childhood development reform include:
- Integrating early childhood education and care, in partnership with the Commonwealth Government;
- Improving transitions to school;
- Developing a new 0-8 learning and development framework linked to existing learning standards in schools;
- Improving participation in early childhood services to improve early identification of health and development problems; and
- Supporting families to provide a home environment that supports development.
Ms Morand said one key to reform was better linking children’s services and schools to provide help that is needed as early as possible before problems escalated.
“We know that a child’s learning and development start from day one and that a child’s early experiences have a significant impact on their future prospects,” Ms Morand said.
“There is strong evidence that children’s developmental and educational outcomes improve when there is a stronger focus on early childhood.
“We have to think about all early childhood experiences from the home environment to time spent in childcare as being part of a child’s learning and development process.
“This blueprint presents many ideas where we can do things differently to make a real difference to children’s lives.”
Feedback from the public consultation process, which will run until 16 May 2008, will help shape the final Blueprint, which will be released later this year.
Public consultation forums will be widely advertised.
More information
For more information, see: Blueprint for Early Childhood Development and School Reform