Page 1177 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 10 April 2018
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MS LEE: Minister, will you be seeking the views of educators in the non-government schools sector in making any decisions about the future of NAPLAN in ACT schools?
MS BERRY: I have invited the non-government schools to engage in the future of education conversation. Through that conversation I have heard from all sectors about their views around standardised testing, league tables, and the stress and anxiety that they are bringing to our children.
Yes, they have been part of that conversation, and I will continue to talk with the Canberra community more broadly as we talk with the states and the Northern Territory about a possible review of NAPLAN.
MR WALL: Minister, are the AEU survey findings an accurate assessment of NAPLAN in ACT government schools?
MS BERRY: I have not looked in detail at the union’s findings around NAPLAN in ACT government schools. But it is clear that there are some concerns in the school community, particularly in public schools, around how NAPLAN is used and whether it can be used better to support teachers to give children the best learning experiences. With that in mind, it is an important piece of information, but it is not the only piece of information that will be considered.
I look forward to having conversations with my ministerial colleagues in the very near future about NAPLAN and how we can improve that to make sure that it is providing the data the teachers need to support students in their classrooms.
National Youth Week—youth achievements
MS CHEYNE: My question is to the Minister for Disability, Children and Youth. Minister, what is the government doing to support the celebration of national Youth Week in the ACT?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Ms Cheyne for her question. As members will be aware, Youth Week is a week-long celebration of young people aged between 12 and 25 years. This year ACT Youth Week will run from Friday, 13 April to Sunday, 22 April.
ACT Youth Week encourages us to celebrate the wonderful contribution young people make to our community while providing a platform for young people to share ideas about the future and to advocate on issues they are passionate about. I will launch ACT Youth Week at the prestigious ACT Young Canberra Citizen of the Year awards on Friday, 13 April.
To support events and activities during Youth Week, the ACT government committed $25,000 for small grants for organisations and groups of young people to organise events for other young people as well as for a range of free public events across Canberra. The grants are funding innovative new projects so that young people can see their ideas become a reality.
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