Department of Education

RTBCTG is complemented by Smarter Schools National
Partnerships for Literacy and Numeracy, and Low Socioeconomic
Status School Communities. The National
Partnerships are co-investments with the Australian
Government that provide significant support for
improving literacy and numeracy in schools. Teacher
learning, and building teacher capability in a sustainable
way, is a priority within the Tasmanian approach to the
National Partnership for literacy and numeracy and
has predominantly underpinned all actions in schools.
Students in Years 5, 6, 7 and 8 are being specifically
targeted for initiatives, and implementation is requiring
primary and secondary schools to work together.
Closing the
Gap on
Aboriginal
Education
Outcomes
The Tasmanian Closing the Gap strategy (2010–14)
complements work through the Smarter Schools
National Partnership for Literacy and Numeracy to lift the
performance of Aboriginal students. This strategy aims
to better meet the educational needs of Aboriginal
students and improve performance through whole-of
school approaches to personalised learning, literacy and
numeracy improvement and community engagement.
A feature of the strategy is the identification of focus
schools, based on high Aboriginal student enrolment
and high educational need. Focus schools are receiving
specialised support from Aboriginal Education Services
to support inclusive teaching and improve community
engagement.
Many Aboriginal students in Tasmania achieve lower
outcomes compared to their non-Aboriginal peers.
A range of targeted strategies to improve outcomes
are designed to close this gap. These strategies include:
in-class tuition, personalised mentoring and tutoring,
as well as support for speech, hearing and other
impediments that hinder progress. Specialised
professional learning for tutors that focuses on quality
teaching programs and cultural awareness is also
provided.
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education
Action Plan (NATSIEAP) has enabled extension funding of
$1.9 million to support five NATSIEAP focus schools to
incorporate the Raising the Bar Closing the Gap strategy
into their schools—Raising the Bar Closing the Gap
Indigenous extension. This program commenced in Term 1,
2011 and will continue until December, 2012. The Raising
the Bar Closing the Gap Indigenous extension program will
help to accelerate literacy and numeracy achievement of
participating Aboriginal students.
Literacy and
numeracy
learning
initiatives
The following funded literacy and numeracy initiatives
occurred in 2010–11:
• Learning Services Support for Schools – schools,
in conjunction with their Learning Services, are
best placed to develop individualised literacy and
numeracy plans. Funding of $3 million in 2010–11
was provided for Learning Services to support
schools in literacy improvement. Schools have been
supported with focused professional learning and
have been working together to interpret data and
better diagnose and address the learning needs of
their students.
• Literacy Grants – literacy intervention support was
provided to schools with the highest Educational
Needs Index (ENI).
• Reading Recovery – a school-based literacy
intervention for Year 1 was a funded improvement
strategy with 56 schools participating in 2010.
• Reading Together – a family literacy program which
supports pre-school and adult literacy at 18 locations
statewide.
• Flying Start – the Flying Start resource is a staffing
allocation made to primary and combined schools
to support literacy teaching and learning from
Kindergarten through to Year 2. All primary and
combined schools provided this early intervention in
literacy.
• Student Links – an initiative to improve outcomes
for students moving from Year 6 to Year 7, which
provides additional support to schools and
communities to address the specific needs of students
at risk during transition periods. Projects and programs
vary and include the provision of personal support
through case management and curriculum designed
around individual student needs and capacities.
• Partnerships in Teaching Excellence (PiTE) – this preservice
training program is in part used to better
prepare beginning teachers as literacy/numeracy
teachers and improve professional learning for
experienced teachers; 20 students were part of this
initiative in 2010 with 23 students participating in 2011.
Literacy and
Numeracy
Plans
In response to the NAPLAN 2011 results, a strategy
has been developed and implemented. The strategy will
see each school carefully analysing their school data to
identify specific aspects of literacy and numeracy that
require further focus. Schools have also been provided
with additional data to assist with their analysis as well
as direct access to web-based teaching resources and
strategies and support. In addition the Curriculum and
Educational Performance Services teams are providing
further school level support, including help desk
assistance to aid their analysis and planning.
Principals and teachers are translating their findings into
revised Literacy and Numeracy Plans at the school level,
and implementing teaching and learning strategies to
address the identified areas of future focus.
Pre-Compulsory and Compulsory Education – Literacy and Numeracy
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