Schools to deliver more consistent curriculum

The 2008 school year will see greater consistency in what is taught in schools across the state, ensuring all students learn the ‘essentials’ no matter where they go to school.

Welcoming students and teachers back to school today, Premier Anna Bligh and Education and Training Minister Rod Welford said all schools would incorporate Essential Learnings into their Year 1-9 curriculum from this year.

“This heralds a new era in Queensland education,” Ms Bligh said.

“All Queensland schools, including Catholic and Independent schools, will begin using the Essential Learnings in their classrooms from this year.

“Providing more focus on the ‘essentials’ will help address concerns raised by parents and teachers about the curriculum becoming too crowded.

“It will give students the basic building blocks they need in their education to succeed in the 21^st century.”

The Essential Learnings are a part of the Queensland Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting (QCAR) Framework, which aims to improve student learning and increase comparability of assessment and reporting across all schools.

“As Education Minister in 2005, I set up QCAR to help students become better prepared for the future and their parents better informed,” Ms Bligh said.

“This framework offers teachers greater clarity about what is taught in our schools and clearer direction with planning and assessment to measure student performance.

“It will help our schools meet the needs of today’s mobile population, with all students – from the city to the bush – to be taught Essential Learnings and assessed against the same standards.

“This will significantly benefit the thousands of students and 25 per cent of teachers who change schools each year.”

Education and Training Minister Rod Welford said that while the Essential Learnings specified the necessary learning requirements for all students in Years 1-9, schools had the flexibility to organise their curriculum to meet their students’ needs.

“The introduction of Essential Learnings follows successful teacher trials in 2006-07 and strong support from state and non-state schools,” Mr Welford said.

“The Essential Learnings provide clear statements of what should be taught in Queensland schools from Years 1 to 9 – the key concepts, facts, procedures and ways of working that students need for lifelong learning.

“For example, by the end of Year 5 students will have a knowledge of the British colonisation of Australia, including European exploration, proclamation of terra nullius, establishment of penal and free settlements and contact with Indigenous populations.

“In Mathematics, students will be able to represent and compare data in two-way tables, pie charts and bar and line graphs by the time they complete Year 7.

“The QCAR Framework will also strengthen Queensland’s position on national education initiatives, by incorporating the agreed national statements of learning which will provide a strong platform for national consistency of curriculum.”

Measures to support the introduction of Essential Learnings include professional development for teachers and materials to help schools implement the program.

Media contact: Premier’s office – 3224 4500

Minister’s office – 3237 1000 or 0419 734 985

Back to School Facts

• More than 700,000 students are expected to enrol in Queensland state, Catholic and independent schools this year.

• About 480,000 students are expected to enrol in state primary, secondary and special schools.

• More than 480 graduate teachers and almost 100 additional teachers of students with disabilities are set to start work in Queensland state schools in 2008.

• This will bring the total number of teachers working in state schools to almost 37,000.

• Around 54,000 students are expected to enrol in the first full intake of the Prep Year. About 37,000 of these will be in state schools.

• More than $445 million has been allocated for new facilities in 2007-08, including two new schools and 350 new classrooms.