Back to school for Queensland students

Queensland schools are ready to welcome nearly 780,000 students, including 67,000 new Prep students, when the 2014 school year begins today (Tuesday 28 January).

Minister for Education, Training and Employment John-Paul Langbroek wished Queensland students all the best for what will be a very exciting school year.

“Everything the Newman Government does in education is aimed at achieving better student outcomes,” Mr Langbroek said.

“We will achieve this by boosting teacher quality, increasing school autonomy and improving student discipline.

“This is about delivering on our election promise to revitalise frontline services for families so that Queensland can remain a great state with great opportunity for generations to come.”

Mr Langbroek said 2014 would be a stellar year for education in Queensland, with more of the Newman Government’s key reforms being rolled out in schools.

“Improving student learning outcomes continues to be the top priority for Queensland schools and the Newman Government in 2014,” he said.

“Queenslanders can expect to see some major reforms in our schools this year as we implement more initiatives from our $537 million Great Teachers = Great Results direct action plan.

“State schools will introduce new measures to strengthen student discipline, enhance teacher quality, reduce administrative burdens and make more local decisions.”

Mr Langbroek said state school principals would be well-placed to lead the school improvement agenda, with stronger disciplinary powers and more control over the management of their schools than existed under the previous government.

“Principals will be working with their school communities to enforce higher standards for student behaviour and new consequences such as community service and weekend detentions,” he said.

“For the first time, Principals will also be able to discipline students whose behaviour outside of the school environment – particularly on social media.”

Mr Langbroek said another 54 state schools would open their doors as Independent Public Schools this year.

“Our first 26 Independent Public Schools showed great leadership and innovation in managing their school operations and I have no doubt that the next 54 will do the same,” he said.

“We’re also moving to reduce paperwork and red tape for all state schools this year, as the Newman Government continues to streamline administration processes and reduce the burden for principals – and important area that was ignored by Labor.”

Mr Langbroek said the start of the school year was always an exciting time for Queensland students and their families, especially for those who would be starting their first day in Prep.

“The early years of school are a critical time for students, as they begin to develop essential literacy and numeracy skills that pave the way for success in future learning,” he said.

“Prep teachers have a new resource available to them this year to help them track students’ literacy and numeracy progress and measure their learning development from Prep to Year 2.

“The Newman Government is investing $26 million in literacy and numeracy programs over four years and we will continue to support schools and teachers to achieve better student outcomes in these vital early years.”

Mr Langbroek said Gordonvale State High School would be the 20th and final school to join the Year 7 pilot program this year, welcoming Year 7 students one year ahead of the historic, state wide move in 2015.

“Primary schools and high schools will be collaborating more than ever this year to ensure it is a smooth transition into high school for next year’s Year 7 students,” he said.

“I look forward to being able to share the learnings from our pilot schools with other state, Catholic and Independent schools during 2014.”

Mr Langbroek said he was pleased with the progress of the $328 million state school infrastructure program to support the Year 7 move to high school.

“New and refurbished classrooms are being readied for the move of year 7 to high school next year, with building works already complete in more than 200 schools to date and construction continuing in around 80 state schools this year,” he said.

Mr Langbroek said another three brand new state schools were being built at Highfields, Pimpama and Burpengary this year and were on track to open in 2015.

“To give us an idea of where future schools will be needed, the Queensland Schools Planning Commission will analyse the remaining 16 development hot spots across the state and release another round of demand maps by mid-year,” he said.

For school term dates and more information about the 2014 school year, visit www.education.qld.gov.au.

[ENDS] 28 January 2014

Media contact: Danita Goodwin 0439 886 652