Investing in schools and quality education

 

Only a majority Gutwein Liberal Government will provide the quality education and school infrastructure the state needs.

If re-elected, we will continue our record investment into education and schools, with more than $133 million in funding to support teachers and over 62,000 State School students in Tasmania.

All students, regardless of their circumstances, deserve to learn in state-of-the-art facilities, and we will commit $100 million to undertake an extensive program to revitalise learning spaces in our schools and colleges right around the State.

We will meet our new literacy targets and support the teaching of phonics in every government primary school by increasing the number of in-school quality literacy coaches to work in our classrooms by 50 per cent.

We will invest $9.2 million in additional professional support staff and provide free access to speech pathologists, psychologists and social workers in every Child and Family Learning Centre. This funding will also allow for additional school nurses.

We will also extend the successful mental health program Stay ChaTY in schools, with a further investment of $750,000 until 2026, and continue our significant investment in trauma support for students with behavioural challenges and professional development for all teachers and teacher assistants, with an additional $8 million.

To continue taking a strong stance against bullying in our schools we will invest $6.3 million in anti-bullying measures in secondary schools by making student bathrooms safer, and expand our school lunches pilot to 30 schools with an investment of $1.4 million.

To promote renewable energy to the next generation, we will provide $5 million to deliver a Renewable Energy Schools program that will see solar panels rolled out in all Government schools, with all energy savings to be re-invested back into the Renewable Energy Schools Fund.

There is a growing call for senior secondary assessments and exams to be undertaken in the same way students study - using technology and online platforms. We will invest $4.7 million to start building or licensing a secure, reliable, fit-for-purpose online assessment platform that connects to existing student management systems.

Only a re-elected majority Gutwein Liberal Government has the clear plan to secure Tasmania’s future.

The full policy is available here.