Page 2251 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 4 August 2021
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bullying and violence with their school. However, there are processes in place that give students and parents the opportunity to raise complaints or concerns, regardless of their nature, with the Education Directorate. This is through an online feedback and complaints form or through contact with the feedback and complaints phone line.
Currently being piloted, on the parent portal there will also be a link to information on how to provide feedback and complaints. For students, a link to information on how to provide feedback and complaints will be published on the digital backpack in term 3 for easy access.
A strong sense of identity or belonging between a student and their school is important. Students who identify with their school are more likely to engage in learning and to behave in line with school norms and values. Similarly, positive staff identification and parent-carer identification with the school has a beneficial impact on wellbeing and school culture.
I am pleased to advise that results of the 2020 school identification measure showed significant increases and exceeded targets in all three measures. Sixty-six per cent of students had strong identification with their school in 2020, up from 60 per cent in 2019; for staff, 92 per cent in 2020, up from 89 per cent in 2019; and for parents and carers, 82 per cent, up from 73 per cent in 2019.
As I have said many times before in this Assembly, I am proud of the free public education provided in each of our 89 schools every day, as well as the strong cross-sectoral partnerships that have been forged across the education system. Once again, I take the opportunity to acknowledge and thank our teachers for their hard work yesterday, today and tomorrow. I present the following paper:
Education system review—Government response to the resolution of the Assembly of 23 June 2021—Ministerial statement, 4 August 2021.
I move:
That the Assembly take note of the paper.
MR DAVIS (Brindabella) (10.17): I would like to thank Minister Berry for her response to the motion passed by the Assembly at our last sitting. All Canberra students should have access to a world-class education system. I would like to take the opportunity to wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments with which the minister ended her statement. I too am a proud product of Canberra’s public school system. The ACT Greens will always put public schools first, to ensure equity in access to education.
There are a number of key challenges for our education system that the government is actively grappling with. We have ageing infrastructure and a booming population. We are held to ransom by the commonwealth, who force our students to undertake a standardised testing system that we know cannot capture the richness and diversity of education that students get in our schools.
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