Department of Education

Corporate
Services
staff
The Managing for High Performance program for providing
feedback on performance continued in corporate
business units.
Employees participated in a range of external programs
including those provided by The Training Consortium
(Department of Premier and Cabinet).
Qualifications
of teachers
and other
professional
staff 8
Percentage of teachers and other professional staff who were four- or five-year trained (based on the total number
of base grade staff):
2009 2010 2011
4 years 78% 77% 78%
5 years 17% 18% 18%
8 This figure does not include Polytechnic teachers.
Workplace
diversity
programs
Workplace diversity is well established within the
department’s corporate culture and management
systems. Initiatives are aligned with planning and
implementation activities within frontline service delivery
areas and are drawn together through the overarching
Workplace Diversity Program 2008–2012. The program
focuses on the following goals with some achievements
highlighted below:
Goal 1: Fair treatment and removal of barriers
• Anti-bullying and harassment training for new and
existing managers and staff in relevant areas continues
to be provided in conjunction with State Service
Principles and Code of Conduct workshops.
• Ongoing promotion of the Workplace Flexibility
Arrangement Policy and Right to Request (parental leave
provisions).
• Implementation of a revised Grievance Resolution Policy
and Guidelines following a consultation process.
Goal 2: Implementation of special initiatives to
achieve a workforce that is representative of the
community it serves
• The Partnerships in Teaching Excellence teaching
scholarship program now offers specific opportunities
for pre-service teachers who identify as Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islanders. A specific scholarship place will
be made available in 2011 for pre-service teachers with
a disability.
Goal 3: Recognition of the diversity available in
the workplace
• Ongoing implementation of the department’s
performance management frameworks – Managing
for High Performance (non-school-based) and Leading
for High Performance (school-based) which allows for
performance plans to be tailored to the individual
needs of employees.
Disability
Framework
for Action
The Disability Framework for Action 2005–2010 (DFA)
sets out the government’s vision of Tasmania as
an inclusive and caring community. It provides a
whole-of-government approach to addressing the
needs of people with disability in the design and delivery
of all government policies, programs, services and
facilities. The DFA complements Tasmania Together, the
community’s 20 year social, environmental and economic
plan. A review of the DFA is currently underway to
support the commitments in the National Disability
Strategy 2010–2020.
The Department of Education’s Disability Action Plan
2008–2010 (DAP) located at: http://www.education.tas.
gov.au/dept/strategies/disability includes measures to
address issues identified in the framework as important
to people with a disability. This plan will remain in place
until a full review commences following the release of the
new DFA.
Some of the following outcomes resulting from the
implementation of the plan have been achieved.
Goal 1. Service Delivery: Program and service
provisions are flexible to meet the diverse needs of
people with a disability.
Child and family centres
A total of 16 child and family centres (CFCs) are being
established across Tasmania. These centres will provide
a range of integrated services that support families with
the health and wellbeing, learning and development of
children from birth to school age, preparing them for
a healthy life and success at school. One CFC has been
completed and opened with several more anticipated for
completion later in 2011.
Launching into Learning (LiL)
LiL provides specific funding to schools to develop
and lead initiatives with families and the community to
support childrens’ early learning prior to Kindergarten.
Currently 121 schools are participating in LiL. Feedback
suggests that very young children with disabilities are
being identified earlier and supported alongside other
families within their local community through a range of
LiL programs and initiatives.
Student Learning Policy
The Student Learning Policy has continued to be developed
through the work of the Principals’ Reference Group.
It currently outlines key principles to support student
learning and sets of indicators against each principle for
schools to measure student and school improvement
outcomes. A consultation process has been undertaken
with principals to refine the document and is currently
undergoing review for final production and the
development of an implementation plan. Professional
learning will be considered within the implementation
phase within each Learning Service.
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Required Reporting – Employee Development Programs