Page 3810 - Week 14 - Thursday, 10 December 1992
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ESL Programs
MR MOORE: My question is addressed to Mr Wood, the Minister for Education and Training. It is a question of which I gave him some notice. Why did the ACT Department of Education and Training implement its new model for ESL resourcing after the issue of annual staffing information to schools, upon which schools had already done their planning, and what will be the exact nature and impact of the ESL programs in Caroline Chisholm High School, Hawker College, Belconnen High School and Kaleen High School?
MR WOOD: I thank Mr Moore for his notice and his question, though I do not think any notice was necessary. The process was one that I am sure he, as a teacher, would have been well aware of over many years. There is no change in the process this year from what happens normally, and that is that in August the department gives preliminary advice to schools as to the staffing arrangements come February. All schools know that that staffing is then dependent upon enrolments in February. It is a sensible way of proceeding. Schools are aware of the projections - because that is what it is based on in August - and they are aware of the fairly general numbers that they might have. All schools know that, come February, when the actual student numbers are known, there is some refinement. That is a normal process.
In respect of the ESL review, schools knew that there was that review. They also knew, and it is even more the case with ESL staffing, that you add up your ESL numbers come the year. They are just as uncertain as any other numbers. There was never any expectation in schools in August that the number of potential teachers they were given was anything like a precise and definite number. That has never been an expectation in schools.
In terms of an ALP election commitment, we reviewed ESL arrangements in the schools to see how best we might deliver that service. The Government, understandably, is under constant pressure to increase resources in ESL. This is not an era when we can increase resources; so we had a look to see whether those resources were being most efficiently administered. We proposed a fairly minor change. We did two things. We set a limit, a ceiling of seven years, for which a school may receive staffing points for students with an ESL background. Hitherto it has been much more open than that, but we reckon that after seven years that sort of assistance has run its time and if they are still needing help there is another problem. So, we put a limit on that. We also increased the size of classes from 10 to 12 for the introductory English centres. That gave us sufficient points for four more teachers. So, it is not a massive change - four more teachers. We have allocated those teachers to language understanding across the curriculum program where we think the effort will be more appropriately spent.
You asked a question about the effect on those four schools. I thank you for giving notice, because I did need to check this. Bear in mind that 20 points in our staffing formula delivers one classroom teacher. Caroline Chisholm High School may lose six staffing points. Again, this is dependent upon enrolments next year, but this is the data provided to me. Caroline Chisholm may lose six staffing points, Hawker College may lose two, and Belconnen and Kaleen may lose four. So, it is not an enormous impact on those schools. Bear in mind also that this accommodates some transition in the arrangements because of the concerns of the schools.
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