Yvette Berry, ACT Minister for Education and Youth Affairs, has today released the Final Report of the Literacy and Numeracy Education Expert Panel, and accepted its eight recommendations in principle.
The Literacy and Numeracy Education Expert Panel was appointed in November 2023 to provide the Minister with independent advice on how to address equity gaps and improve literacy and numeracy outcomes in ACT public schools. It was also tasked with enhancing supports for educators and students.
The Expert Panel’s overarching message was “for the ACT to achieve equity and excellence in education, our schools need a system wide approach to teaching and learning.”
The Panel observed that the ACT public school system is highly autonomous: the system empowers principals to make local decisions on curriculum implementation, teaching, assessment practices, professional learning and school management. While some stakeholders valued this level of autonomy, others suggested that it meant the system acted more as a collection of independently run schools, resulting in a high degree of variability between schools, with significant workload implications for both teachers and school leaders.
The Panel heard from experts and research organisations that for a system to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes, it must act with a greater level of consistency and specificity in relation to what is taught; how it is taught; what, when and how to assess; and how to provide targeted support when students are not learning effectively.
Ms Berry today said she acknowledges and embraces this message.
“I’ve heard there is a broad desire across the ACT community for a more consistent system-wide approach to teaching and learning in ACT public schools,” she said.
“Teachers and school leaders have told us they want more centralised curriculum support and consistent assessment tools that provide real-time feedback, so they can use their professional judgement on what really matters – delivering high quality teaching.
“Over the past few months, the Expert Panel received 295 survey responses, 96 written submissions, conducted 25 targeted consultations, and visited 52 ACT public schools. Thank you to everyone who contributed, and to the Panel for their hard work.
“The Expert Panel has provided evidence-based and practical suggestions for how we can strengthen our public education system by working together as one system, delivering better learning outcomes for students, and better workloads for teachers and school leaders.
“This isn’t about a ‘one size fits all’ approach, but about guaranteeing every ACT public school supports every student to realise their potential. It’s also about ensuring our schools use the best teaching approaches for all students, and provide targeted supports to those who need it.
“I look forward to rolling out the Expert Panel’s recommendations with a focus on ensuring the ACT’s public education system is the most equitable in Australia, and reversing the unsustainable workloads of our teachers and school leaders.”
The government will now design a four-year implementation plan, and invites principals to be part of this work. Implementation will begin from the start of the 2025 school year.
The Final Report can be read online at: www.education.act.gov.au.
Canberra Liberals welcome findings
Elizabeth Lee MLA, opposition leader and shadow education minister, welcomed the findings of the Literacy and Numeracy Education Expert Panel.
The inquiry, Ms Lee stated, was established after a Canberra Liberals motion in the Legislative Assembly in October calling for a full independent inquiry into literacy performance in ACT government schools, after the release of data which showed outcomes for literacy in ACT Government schools have been consistently underperforming over the last two decades.
“Experts in this field have been calling for leadership in explicit instruction of phonics for years, and it’s pleasing to see that these calls have been backed up by this inquiry.”
“I note from media reporting that the Education Minister has said that the Government will accept the report’s recommendation ‘in principle.”
“It’s very clear from this report that schools should move towards consistent, evidence-based teaching of literacy and numeracy. It is now incumbent on Minister Berry to be upfront with Canberra families and to commit fully to implementing these recommendations, not just ‘in principle” and provide support to our hard-working teachers to do so.
“What the findings of this independent report show is that this Government has ignored the evidence and the advice of experts in this field for years.
“Back in 2017 when the then Federal Education Minister, Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham, backed a plan to introduce national phonics testing in year 1, the ACT Education Minister dismissed this and expressed concern that national phonics checks will do little more to identify students who need support.
“The findings of this report show that she was wrong back then, and it’s our children who have paid the price.
“This Minister has consistently ignored the evidence, ignored pleas from teachers and parents, and ignored the significant improvements shown in other jurisdictions who have implemented these measures. Let’s hope she doesn’t ignore this review.”
ACT’s newest school
Yesterday, Ms Berry announced that Canberra’s newest and 92nd public school would be called Agnes Shea High School, after a Ngunnawal elder.
Located in Taylor, Agnes Shea High School will open in 2025 and cater for up to 800 year 7 to 10 students.
Aunty Agnes Shea was a founding member of the United Ngunnawal Elders Council, a member of the advisory board to ACT Health, helped establish the Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm, and was a member of the ACT Heritage Council.
She received the Centenary Medal in 2001, a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2004, and an ACT Senior Citizen of the Year award and a place on the ACT Honour Walk in 2010.
The inaugural principal of Agnes Shea High School will be Daniel Mowbray, principal of the University of Canberra High School Kaleen for the past eight years.
