Page 3671 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 13 September 2017
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projects already underway in ACT schools. It is not something that is just done immediately, like Mr Wall wants to claim.
Since the schools for all program commenced, the Education Directorate has closed 34 of the 49 recommendations related to government schools and remains committed to continual improvement and building on these recommendations. Contrary to Mr Wall’s motion and public statements, the Catholic sector has closed 15 of the 26 recommendations related to it. If Mr Wall had read the report, the government response and updates that have been provided by the government to date, he would have known that many recommendations, including recommendations that remain open, relate to more than one school sector and require action by several school sectors. The one open recommendation for Catholic schools that his motion refers to is discrete to this sector. Others are shared recommendations related to this sector that remain open.
This work is not about pitting schools against each other. The schools for all program board of all three school sectors has been working together to achieve lasting change for the benefit of all schools and all students. To this end, work led and resourced by the Education Directorate has supported non-government school sectors to close recommendations related to Catholic and independent schools, because the government is committed to supporting every student in any school presenting with complex needs and challenging behaviours.
Work on open recommendations has been occurring throughout the schools for all program and, while these recommendations cannot be regarded as closed, they are being implemented. A number of the remaining recommendations are dependent on the finalisation of cross-government initiatives and other reform projects currently being undertaken by the directorate.
The recommendations that remain open include one recommendation, number 15.3, which asks that the Education and Training Directorate, Catholic Education and the independent schools co-fund a tertiary institution or other relevant research institute to undertake a longitudinal study on post-school outcomes for students with complex needs and challenging behaviour. Longitudinal means that it is going to take a little bit longer to get that study up and running.
Another recommendation, number 10.7, asks that ETD, Catholic Education and independent schools commit to the professionalisation of LSAs to ensure that by 2018, that is, next year, (a) all LSAs hold, or are in the process of obtaining, at least a certificate IV in school age education and care or equivalent; and (b) all LSAs working in a learning support unit or specialist school hold, or are in the process of obtaining, at least a certificate IV in education support or equivalent. That is happening too. Both of these recommendations were agreed in principle.
I encourage members to look at the latest status update and the key outcomes achieved against the open recommendations. Change on the scale contemplated by the schools for all report takes time, but progress is being made by all ACT schools.
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