What will the Government do to help Queensland children get ready for school?
Where and when will the extra kindergarten services be established?
Where can I find out more about the Early Childhood Teacher Scholarships?
What is the Queensland Ready Readers Program, and why is it being expanded?
Why are you encouraging parents to read to their young children?
What is the Parent Ready Reader training program?
Where can I get more information about reading to my children?
Where can I find resources and services for children in the early years?
What does 'Prep recognised as the first year of schooling' mean?
How old does my child need to be to start Prep?
What should I do if I think my child isn't ready to start Prep?
Why is Year 7 moving to secondary (high) school?
What practical steps will the Government take to prepare for the move of Year 7 to secondary?
Why is the Government implementing Junior Secondary?
What consideration is being given to students from families living in geographically isolated areas?
How will the introduction of the Australian Curriculum impact on Year 7 students in primary school from 2012 to 2014?
What will Teacher Education Centres of Excellence do?
Where will the Centres be located?
What are the outcomes of the Review of Teacher Education and School Induction?
What will the new standards authority do?
What will the new school standards cover?
What will happen to the Queensland College of Teachers?
Further questions
The Queensland Government will help children get ready for school by:
In 2010, six services opened at state schools at Moorooka, Stretton, Beaconsfield, Mudgeeraba, Oonoonba and Woodford. In 2011, 16 services have opened with one more service to open this year. Another 85 services will open in 2012.
The location of extra kindergarten services is available online. A search function for existing local kindergarten services is also available online at the above website.
Interested applicants can obtain all necessary information and forms to apply for the 2011 Early Childhood Teacher Scholarship Program.
To be eligible for an Early Childhood Teacher Scholarship, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:
The Queensland Ready Readers program was a Flying Start Green Paper initiative that commenced as a trial in February 2010. The program trains volunteers across the state to support schools in their early years reading programs. Volunteers receive training so they can work confidently with early readers.
Ready Readers work with individual children. They help children gain confidence with their reading and become independent readers.
The program has been a success. Over 1450 volunteers have been trained and more than 870 of them placed in 360 state and non-state schools across the state. To be involved, volunteers can contact Volunteering Queensland on (07) 3002 7600, or visit the Volunteering Queensland website.
Early engagement of children in learning opportunities builds basic skills and provides a flying start to later development and success in school.
This is an area we need to boost for Queensland children. Children's brains develop rapidly in the early years, and there are opportunities to acquire new knowledge in a variety of ways. Research shows that just 20 minutes a day reading aloud with young children helps prepare them for school. It encourages children to listen, develop their imaginations and language skills and establish strong literacy foundations.
The Parent Ready Reader program provides training for parents with children in Prep to Year 3. The training is specifically designed to give parents tips and strategies for integrating literacy activities into daily family life. Parents are also presented with knowledge about the reading process, so they can assist their children with literacy development.
There is no cost to parents to attend the Parent Ready Reader program - it is free.
Parents can register interest here in attending training in their local area or they can respond to local advertising through schools.
A range of great resources and tips designed to help parents support their children's literacy and numeracy development, including reading, is available.
It's also important to use the resources available at local libraries, which hold a range of books to suit children of different ages and abilities. To locate the nearest public library, visit the State Library of Queensland website.
The Fast Finder is an online directory that lists services and resources that can provide information, assistance, advice, programs, referrals and resources to support children's development, health and wellbeing in the early years.
The Fast Finder web directory is available on the Department's website.
The Government's ambition is that every Queensland child will have thirteen years of schooling, from Prep to Year 12. This means that Prep is the first year of school.
Prep is a full-time, five day per week program, and it is expected that students attend every day, unless there is a legitimate reason to be away, such as illness.
With the introduction of the new Australian Curriculum in 2012, full-time attendance in Prep gives students important foundational learnings that they will need for successful learning in Year 1. No Queensland child can afford to miss out on this important year.
Your child must be five years old by 30 June in the year they start Prep.
Most children will start Prep in the year they become eligible, however parents who are concerned their child is not ready to start Prep at that time can choose to start their child a year later - the year they become of compulsory school age (6 years and 6 months).
If you think your child may not be ready to start Prep, please contact the principal of the school where you intend to enrol the child. A listing of all schools in Queensland and their contact details is available from the school directory on the Department of Education and Training website.
By 2015 more than half the students in Year 7 will turn 13. Educators agree that young teenagers are ready for greater independence and the depth of learning that high schools provide, which is why in most other states and territories Year 7 is already the first year of high school.
Introducing a Prep year in 2007 greatly benefited Queensland students and they now enjoy an additional year of schooling. By 2015 Queensland Year 7 students will be in their eighth year of school, and this is the right year for high school to begin.
In 2012 Queensland adopted the new Australian Curriculum for the subjects of English, mathematics and science. Every Australian school student will learn this core national curriculum. In high school, our Year 7 students will have access to specialist resources, such as science labs and science teachers.
To ensure a smooth transition, the Queensland Government has planned a comprehensive package of measures, backed by significant financial resources for state, Catholic and independent schools.
Some of the measures include:
From 2013 Years 8 and 9 will become Junior Secondary in all state schools, with Year 7 becoming part of Junior Secondary in 2015. We will strengthen support for students in Years 7, 8 and 9. Catholic and independent schools will also ensure Year 7 students moving to high school are well supported.
The decision to introduce Junior Secondary was made in direct response to the parent feedback received from the Green Paper consultations. Parents told us that we needed to strengthen our supports for students in transition from primary to secondary school.
Junior Secondary is based on practical approaches that many Queensland state schools already apply, as well as the literature on teaching young adolescents.
| Junior Secondary | |
| Six Principles | Some practical examples |
|
Special identity, areas and events for Junior Secondary students Home" teachers and "home" classrooms Varied, engaging learning experiences and authentic assessment Strengthened pastoral care |
Families living in rural and remote parts of the state have a number of choices when it comes to the best educational options for their students.
Where there is no local school close by, geographically isolated families may opt for their students to attend boarding school, live with a relative closer to a school, live in a student hostel, or use distance education.
The Queensland Government recognises this and has committed to providing rural and remote families with the support they need. This includes increasing the Living Away From Home Allowance for eligible Year 7 students to the secondary student rate.
In 2012, Queensland commenced the implementation of the Australian Curriculum for English, mathematics and science. The history curriculum will start being implemented in 2013.
2011 was the preparation year. Teachers were engaged in professional development, building their understanding of the new curriculum and reviewing their school programs to see where changes may need to be made.
Queensland's current curriculum - the Queensland Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting (QCAR) Framework is aligned with the Australian Curriculum. This means that in most areas, the amount of change in what students learn will not be significant. Some topics will have been shifted to different times in the year or to different year levels. As with any change, some year levels will require a greater focus - in particular in science.
Primary schools that include Year 7 will need to introduce the Australian Curriculum for 2012 to 2014, before Year 7 moves to high school. Although the Australian Curriculum in Year 7 has been written for use in either primary or high school, it focuses on a greater depth of knowledge and understanding as students progress through school. By moving Year 7 to high school, we will be able to provide our students with access to the specialist facilities and expertise to support this focus.
This time will be used to ensure a smooth transition. Throughout the transition, schools and teachers will receive significant support.
The Queensland Studies Authority (QSA) has provided all schools with practical advice and resources to support implementation of the Australian Curriculum. These resources are designed to ensure that Year 7 students have access to the learning described in the curriculum. As Year 7 moves to high school the advice and resources will be reviewed and updated to reflect increased access to specialist facilities and teaching. The QSA will work closely with the three school sectors to support implementation of the Australian Curriculum. The school sectors have also planned a range of initiatives to support implementation of the new curriculum.
The Centres will provide teachers with extended experiences in real school environments and will build closer links between schools and university teacher education providers. Centres will focus on priority teaching areas such as literacy and numeracy, behaviour management, science, Indigenous students, community engagement, and special education.
Five Teacher Education School Centres of Excellence in state schools have been announced:
All centres will strengthen the quality of teaching, including behaviour management.
The Government will work with universities and the Queensland College of Teachers to immediately implement 24 recommendations to improve the classroom readiness of Queensland teachers. This includes an improved focus on behaviour management, students with special needs, early childhood, Indigenous students, parental engagement and graduate professional standards.
A Ministerial Teacher Education Implementation Taskforce will be established to develop a collaborative approach to the remaining 41 recommendations of the Caldwell Review.
Queensland new education standards authority will commence in 2013. The authority will set and monitor shared standards for all Queensland schools.
The authority will:
QSA functions include development and accreditation of school syllabuses and kindergarten guidelines, assessment and testing, the Queensland Certificate of Education, and tertiary entrance procedures.
NSSAB functions include school accreditation, auditing non-state school enrolments, and recommendations regarding non-state school eligibility for state government funding.
The new school accreditation standards will outline essential community expectations for all Queensland schools. This will include areas covered in current Queensland accreditation standards for non-state schools, such as the school's governance, resources, education programs, student safety and improvement plans.
Development of the new standards will be informed by a broad cross-sectoral reference group with representation from schooling authorities, principal organisations, unions and parents groups.
The reference group is expected to tackle standards to address key aspects of school operation such as behaviour management, student welfare and the use of student data to inform school improvement processes.
New standards will be announced in mid-2012. This will provide schools and school systems with the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the new requirements prior to the commencement of the new standards authority.
The Education Green Paper initially proposed that Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) would be integrated as part of a new education standards authority together with the Queensland Studies Authority and the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board.
Extensive consultation revealed wide-spread support for the QCT to continue as a separate entity. QCT is a relatively recent, self-funded entity with a specific focus on the teaching profession.
QCT will continue to operate as a separate statutory authority funded through the receipt of teacher registration fees.
If you have any further questions please contact your local school or the Department of Education and Training.
This page was last reviewed on 23 January 2012
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