Page 1330 - Week 05 - Thursday, 18 June 2020
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MS BERRY: We are now a week and a half into all students returning to on-campus education. What is happening now is that teachers are ensuring that the wellbeing of our students is at front of mind first, and the learning will follow from that. Teachers have been, as I said, from the start of remote education and pupil-free days and as they have returned to campus, making sure that they have a happy, healthy place to come back to, making sure that their return to school is seamless, careful and considered, and understanding families and students—because our teachers do understand our students much more than many of our parents do and can support them and their families along this journey. If there is additional support required along the way for individuals, that will be provided by our schools and our teaching professionals. If additional supports are needed then the Education Directorate will work with our schools to identify what those supports might be.
MR WALL: Minister, what has been done to assess the emotional needs of students who may have fallen behind their peers as a result of distance learning?
MS BERRY: I have to make the point again that this has been quite an incredible time for everybody. Our teachers and school leaders have worked incredibly hard through what have been incredibly difficult circumstances to continue to deliver an education to our students. I think everybody acknowledges that a remote education is not ideal. However, we are still going through an international health pandemic, and three months ago we were in a very different place from where we are now. But what we have always had is our strength and unity with each other, and we have supported each other all along the way. That is what our teachers are focused on within our schools: to ensure that young people get the support that they need both in their education and, in particular, for their wellbeing. If students are happy then they will learn much better. That is the focus of our teaching professionals. I have confidence, as I have had from the start of their work through this whole pandemic, that they will be able to deliver.
Transport Canberra—bus driver training
MISS C BURCH: My question is to the Minister for Transport. Minister, I refer to a Canberra Times article dated 17 June 2020 regarding the government’s announcement to fix some of the problems it created with network 19. The article states:
… a timeline to fully reinstate all promised weekend services—cut due to driver shortages—remains unclear.
Minister, how many prospective bus drivers have undergone driver training since you announced your recruitment blitz, and, of those, how many remain employed by Transport Canberra?
MR STEEL: I thank Miss Burch for her question. Earlier this week I announced a time line for the increase in frequency of weekend services, which will be from the start of term 4, or earlier, depending on how we go with recruiting more bus drivers. We think we need an additional 27 bus drivers in order to improve the frequency on weekends. We have currently recruited up to 813 bus drivers. Those are the overall
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