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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 10 Hansard (29 August) . . Page.. 3044 ..
MR STANHOPE (continuing):
to standards comparable with those of non-indigenous students and to better understanding of indigenous cultures for all. Mr Corbell looks forward to continuing to work closely with the Indigenous Education Consultative Body to achieve this goal.
The Indigenous Education Consultative Body has sent out the indigenous education compact to families of indigenous students in ACT government schools for final comment before it is signed off. The indigenous education compact commits all stakeholders to work together to overcome inequities and improve the experience of schooling and outcomes for indigenous students.
Literacy and numeracy performance
The government considers as a priority the continued improvement of literacy and numeracy outcomes for indigenous education to levels comparable with those for non-indigenous students. The ACT assessment program enables a comparison between indigenous and non-indigenous students in literacy and numeracy. The results are provided in section 2 of the tabled report.Results from the assessment program in 2001 indicate that while progress is being made much more needs to be done to address the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous results. The indigenous education unit and the literacy and numeracy team are working in schools to develop individual learning plans that address the literacy and numeracy needs of indigenous students.
The gaps between indigenous and non-indigenous students meeting the national benchmarks in year 3 reading, year 5 reading and year 3 numeracy are decreasing. However, the gap in year 5 numeracy is of concern.
The services to indigenous people action plan was finalised earlier this year. The plan sets out the four commitments, the outcomes that are to be achieved and the actions that must be taken by schools and the service and central office areas of the Department of Education, Youth and Family Services. It was developed in conjunction with other key plans for government school education, the ACT government schools plan and student support action plan. The plan is both realistic and achievable. Copies of the action plan will be sent out to all indigenous families.
Human resource management
The equity and diversity plan 2000-02 specifically targets the employment of more indigenous staff in education. Officers on recruitment panels are trained in cultural awareness prior to the commencement of the recruitment process. During the teacher recruitment round in 2001, eight offers were made to indigenous teachers, three of whom took up offers at the beginning of 2002.The staff induction program is continuing and has been expanded to include non-teaching staff. All participants take part in a cultural awareness module that includes indigenous cultural awareness.
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