Burleigh Students Welcomed Back to Term 4

2 Oct 2014 10:21 AMMichael Hart

 

Burleigh Students Welcomed Back to Term 4

 

Burleigh students and teachers will today head back to the classroom for the final term of the 2014 school year.

 

Member for Burleigh Michael Hart MP welcomed back students and teachers and wished them all the best for what was shaping up to be a busy final term.

 

Mr Hart said the past year had been an excellent one for education in Queensland, with many of the State Government’s key reforms now rolled out and delivering improved educational opportunities.

 

“Following on from the Queensland Plan, our new 30-year Education Accord will help shape our system for many years to come,” he said.

 

“We’ve just held our Queensland Education Accord Summit which brought together teachers, principals and representatives from the state, Independent and Catholic sectors, along with representatives from the community, to plan a vision of what schools will be like in 2044.

 

“The Queensland education sector is vibrant and innovative. Teachers and principals are focused on continual school improvement to ensure the best possible education for our most precious asset – our children.”

 

Mr Hart said the Queensland Government had also just announced the second round of the Great Results Guarantee.

 

“Local schools are set to receive $1.2 million to help them ensure every student is achieving the National Minimum Standard for literacy and numeracy in 2015,” he said.

 

“This is part of a total $183 million in additional funding for state schools to improve student outcomes – an increase of $52 million from the Government’s investment in this initiative in 2014.”

 

Mr Hart said Term 4 would also be a busy time for schools making final preparations for the move of Year 7 to high school.

 

“Much work is being done to ensure we’re ready to welcome Year 7 to high school in 2015,” he said.

 

“Infrastructure work to create more than 600 new classrooms and refurbish a further 1100 other classrooms will also continue in Term 4 as part of the Queensland Government’s $328 million capital investment to ensure state schools have the appropriate facilities for Year 7 students.

 

“I’d like to wish all of our Year 6 and 7 students the best as they enjoy their last term of primary school before making the transition to Junior Secondary.”

 

Minister for Education, Training and Employment John-Paul Langbroek said the Queensland Government was working hard to ensure all young people had access to the educational opportunities they need to prepare them for a bright future.

 

“Term 4 will see the announcement of the successful 70 Queensland students and 10 teachers for the Premier’s Anzac Prize 2015,” Mr Langbroek said.

 

“The successful students will participate in the Anzac Day centenary commemorations at Gallipoli and Western Front battlefields in France and Belgium.”

 

Mr Langbroek said Term 4 would also see the naming of the next group of schools to become Independent Public Schools.

 

“These schools will join the 80 state schools which have already been granted independent status since the $22.8 million initiative began in 2013,” he said.

 

“This program has been particularly successful in giving schools more autonomy, allowing budget flexibility for new staff, partnerships and to tailor curriculum programs for particular student cohorts.

 

Mr Langbroek said the government would also release its draft response to the Australian Council of Educational Research (ACER) review into the Year 12 Overall Position (OP) system by the end of the year for public consultation.

 

“We want Queensland to be at the forefront of the best education practices nationally and internationally and to achieve this we must have a modern tertiary entrance system that reflects the needs of students.”

 

[ENDS] 2 October 2014

 

Media contact: Burleigh Electorate Office – 5526 6024