Page 5315 - Week 12 - Thursday, 28 October 2010
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the most difference. We currently invest about 30 per cent more in each ACT school student than the national average. NAPLAN results show that we are not getting a 30 per cent better result in terms of education outcomes.
Some reform is needed to ensure that every ACT student gets the maximum benefit out of this significant territory investment. We are going to have to change the way we do things. To ensure that every ACT taxpayer gets the maximum benefit out of this education investment, we have to ensure we change the way we do things.
The same applies to any new investment, Mr Speaker. There can be no new investment without reform. Central to better outcomes is attracting and keeping the best teachers in our classrooms, giving them incentive to strive for better outcomes for their students and removing the shackles the currently highly regulated industrial relations landscape places on teacher creativity and innovation. We are negotiating a new EBA next year. It is a very important opportunity for reform in this area.
MS HUNTER (Ginninderra—Parliamentary Convenor, ACT Greens) (3.48): I am very pleased to speak on this matter of public importance today and I thank Mr Smyth for bringing it forward.
In the February 2010 ACT school census, of the 65,412 students enrolled in all ACT schools and colleges, 2,348 were students with special needs or a disability. As the minister has stated today, the numbers of students with a disability are growing, and the range of disabilities is also increasing, which adds greater complexity. Therefore it does follow that addressing all the needs means ongoing challenges that need to be tackled. These are challenges that schools and teachers are responding to.
I would like to mention one of the schools in my electorate, Cranleigh special school. This is a wonderful education institution that has been going for many years and has provided a fantastic place for children to participate in learning. Cranleigh provides educational programs for children with developmental delays, autism and moderate to severe intellectual and multiple disabilities in the age range of three to 12 years. It has a range of facilities, including a hydrotherapy pool, a gymnasium, a multisensory room, a sensory garden and outdoor play areas. Its motto is “achieving potential together”. It has a partnership with Therapy ACT, which works together with the children, teachers and parents. It collaborates with therapists and parents to develop individual learning plans. Communication, independence skills and information and communication technologies are taught across the curriculum, and assisted technologies allow students to access the curriculum.
I would very much like to congratulate the principal, Ms Karin Wetselaar, and also the deputy principal, Sue Roche, who are both dedicated, along with all their staff, on ensuring that this is a wonderful place for these children to attend. I have visited the school and was impressed by the staff, how they worked with the children and also the working with and connection to the families. Recently, I had the privilege of attending their art auction, along with Mr Coe and Ms Porter. It is a fantastic event that is held every year as part of the school’s fundraising.
The principal, Ms Karin Wetselaar, has said:
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