Mr BARRETT - 2015-06-18
Can you please update the House on what this government is doing in relation to school term dates?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Blain for his ongoing interest in schools, especially in the Palmerston area and his electorate of Blain.
The government is proud of the great work we are doing in education. Territory students are our future and investing time, effort and money in our schools is vital. This government is considering the outcomes of the first and second rounds of consultation in relation to changing term dates. A total of 5215 submissions were received. The results from that were extensive, but it was split down the middle with the options proposed. We are now looking at the science behind any decision before it is made on student outcomes, but no decision has been made yet. A decision will not be made without further consultation with parents.
I stress to the House that any decision we make in this area must be focused on student outcomes.
We have spoken about this. I can remember, years ago, being chair of a primary school council hearing time and again parents, teachers and the general community complaining about issues with term dates and the fact we have a four-week break in the middle of the year. The one I can recall, which was probably the most contentious, was about the one-week break between Terms 3 and 4.
At that time of the year we have run out of public holidays and we come into the hottest time of the year, the build-up, and many people felt that one week was not a good enough break.
When looking at changing term dates, what should we do to make it better? Many people will argue throwing in an extra couple of weeks as many people like extra holidays, but that has its complications around business and individuals. At the end of the day our focus must be on student outcomes. A great deal of the research we have looked at recently suggests that having a four-week break in the middle of the year is detrimental to a child’s performance, given there is a difference between when a child finishes Term 2 and starts Term 3. The lack of education over those four weeks can have an effect on some students.
The other thing we should consider is that our Territory senior students are left with one less week of education in their final year of school because of the four-week break in the middle of the year.
We will consult further with the community, but we will also look at the science around student outcomes and the effects term breaks have on them. We will also look at better ways of doing what we are doing. We have consulted; it is line-ball because there are different options and opinions from people. We need to focus on student outcomes to get this right. Nothing will happen until at least 2018.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Blain for his ongoing interest in schools, especially in the Palmerston area and his electorate of Blain.
The government is proud of the great work we are doing in education. Territory students are our future and investing time, effort and money in our schools is vital. This government is considering the outcomes of the first and second rounds of consultation in relation to changing term dates. A total of 5215 submissions were received. The results from that were extensive, but it was split down the middle with the options proposed. We are now looking at the science behind any decision before it is made on student outcomes, but no decision has been made yet. A decision will not be made without further consultation with parents.
I stress to the House that any decision we make in this area must be focused on student outcomes.
We have spoken about this. I can remember, years ago, being chair of a primary school council hearing time and again parents, teachers and the general community complaining about issues with term dates and the fact we have a four-week break in the middle of the year. The one I can recall, which was probably the most contentious, was about the one-week break between Terms 3 and 4.
At that time of the year we have run out of public holidays and we come into the hottest time of the year, the build-up, and many people felt that one week was not a good enough break.
When looking at changing term dates, what should we do to make it better? Many people will argue throwing in an extra couple of weeks as many people like extra holidays, but that has its complications around business and individuals. At the end of the day our focus must be on student outcomes. A great deal of the research we have looked at recently suggests that having a four-week break in the middle of the year is detrimental to a child’s performance, given there is a difference between when a child finishes Term 2 and starts Term 3. The lack of education over those four weeks can have an effect on some students.
The other thing we should consider is that our Territory senior students are left with one less week of education in their final year of school because of the four-week break in the middle of the year.
We will consult further with the community, but we will also look at the science around student outcomes and the effects term breaks have on them. We will also look at better ways of doing what we are doing. We have consulted; it is line-ball because there are different options and opinions from people. We need to focus on student outcomes to get this right. Nothing will happen until at least 2018.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016