Member for Hawkesbury Dominic Perrottet said that local schools and students would benefit from the NSW Government’s new Literacy and Numeracy Strategy 2017-2020.
Mr Perrottet said the $340 million investment in quality teaching by the NSW Government will help to ensure students have the essential literacy and numeracy skills they need to succeed at school and later in life.
“The skills of reading, writing and numeracy are crucial – particularly in the first few years of school. Everything a student achieves in school depends on a solid foundation in these skills,” Mr Perrottet said.
The NSW Literacy and Numeracy Strategy will focus on areas including:
- Increasing our focus on early intervention, with experts supporting the literacy and numeracy skills of at-risk Kindergarten to Year 2 students in nearly 700 schools;
- Evidence-based literacy and numeracy progressions that map student learning from Kindergarten to Year 10;
- A ‘Best Start’ Year 7 literacy and numeracy assessment on entry to high school, to identify students needing additional assistance and plan the support they need to succeed; and
- Ensuring graduating primary and secondary teachers are better prepared to teach literacy and numeracy by strengthening initial teacher education programs.
The following local schools are set to benefit from targeted assistance:
Bligh Park Public School
Chisholm Catholic Primary School
Colo Heights Public School
Kuyper Christian School
Macdonald Valley Public School
Windsor Park Public School
Windsor Public School
Windsor South Public School
“The support is targeted at helping those schools which face additional challenges to ensure students are on track for success,” Mr Perrottet said.
“The initiative will help students of all abilities to develop better literacy and numeracy skills which continue to be so important to success in work and future studies.
“Parents can expect more regular information about their children’s progress, and teachers will be better able to identify areas needing improvement.”
For further information on the strategy, https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/about-us/literacy-numeracy/literacy-and-numeracy-strategy-summary.pdf.