Page 3346 - Week 09 - Thursday, 22 August 2019
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It is vital that our community encourages the right people to enter the teaching profession, supports them through their journey into the profession and provides them with opportunities to learn and specialise in this area of need. I am pleased to support this bill.
MS BERRY (Ginninderra—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Minister for Housing and Suburban Development, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for Women) (11.21), in reply: I welcome the opportunity to put before you the ACT Teacher Quality Institute Amendment Bill 2019. The government values and respects the professional expertise of our teachers and appreciates the significant impact that the high quality of teaching has made on the lives of children and young people in our community.
Every child and young person is unique. They bring their own abilities, interests and life experiences to their learning journey. What all students have in common, apart from personal factors, is that the standard of teaching that they receive is the most important factor that influences learning outcomes. This is where we can make the biggest difference for every child.
Teachers in the ACT education system are experts at designing and delivering learning opportunities to meet the unique needs and interests of each student. The knowledge and skills that they bring to this important role should be acknowledged and supported. For this reason, the government has invested significantly in the professional development of our teachers and school leaders through the 10-year future of education strategy. We are empowering learning professionals, including teachers and school leaders, other educators, allied learning professionals and supporting staff in our schools, to meet the learning needs of all students.
The Teacher Quality Institute, TQI, is a critical part of this work. This bill provides the way forward in achieving several key directions, as set out in the future of education strategy. The ACT Teacher Quality Institute was established through the ACT Teacher Quality Institute Act in 2010. The institute’s function is to build the professional standing of the ACT’s teachers and to enhance the community’s confidence in the teaching profession through professional regulation and practical initiatives to raise teacher quality. The institute is well respected nationally and is known as a leader in many areas. It is well placed to take on an expanded role, and this bill begins the process towards that.
The institute enhances student outcomes by integrating standards-based quality measures into professional regulation, collaborating across school sectors, and promoting continuous professional learning development and the professionalism of all teachers in the ACT. This happens as teachers enter the profession when they start their initial teacher education at university and continues as they progress to graduate teacher and through the years as a teacher and school leader.
The amendments to the Teacher Quality Institute Act that I propose are about ensuring the quality of the ACT’s teacher workforce and building a workforce that
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