Premier of Victoria

Education

The Coalition Government has set Victoria an ambitious education agenda: to lift student performance into the global top tier within a decade.

In 2012 the Government released two major education reform papers; the New Directions for School Leadership and the Teaching Profession discussion paper and the Towards Victoria as a Learning Community policy paper. Together with our statement on universal Languages education, the initiatives in these papers form our education strategy to lift Victoria into the global top tier within a decade.

Improved performance of this magnitude will depend on significant improvements in the quality of teaching across all Victorian classrooms.

To achieve this improvement the Coalition Government has committed to lifting the quality, status and professionalism of the teaching profession through partnership with an empowered, supported and trusted group of school leaders. Reforms to recruitment, training, performance management and professional development are all key features of this agenda. In schools the Government has committed to important improvements in curriculum, professional practice, accountability, assessment and reporting, support for schools and stronger partnerships with the community.

The Coalition Government is fulfilling its election commitments and rolling out an ambitious education reform agenda that will drive Victoria’s competitive advantage in the future and place our students among the best in the world.

These achievements include:

• investing $124 million for Primary Welfare Officers in 800 primary schools;
• providing 100 maths and science specialists to work in primary schools;
• investing in capital works to upgrade and modernise schools across Victoria;
• cutting red tape and bureaucracy in schools;
• giving Principals greater control over school safety and discipline;
• giving Principals control over student support services and school networks; and
• investing $16.5m in programs and professional development for teachers and schools to stamp out bullying and cyber bullying and better manage student behaviour.

Achievements and policies implemented

 Schooling

• Despite significant global economic pressure the Coalition has increased education expenditure by almost $400 million since 2010-11, in addition to the over $400 million invested by this Government in school capital works. 

Key priorities include:

• Over $170 million for the Program for Students with a Disability and transport for students with a disability
  
  
• Implementation of the world leading Abilities Based Learning and Education Support program where teachers in mainstream schools get evidence based tools to assess student capacity and construct targeted education exercises
  
  
• Over $500 million for school capital works and maintenance 
  • $100 million of additional funding for school maintenance
  • Increased annual maintenance funding by almost 40 per cent.
  • The largest single investment in Special and Autistic school capital works in over a decade
  • Over $140 million for capital works in regional Victoria
  • All capital works election commitments will be funded in first term
  • 5 new schools in growth areas including Torquay, Officer, Point Cook and Doreen
  • $56m for land acquisition for new school construction
     
• Cutting Red Tape and increasing local decision making 
  • No more Network reporting
  • Suspension of the School Compliance Checklist
  • New support roles for Regional Network Leaders
  • Investing in Local Administration Bureaus to support small schools
     
• Safe and supportive schools 
  • $124m investment to provide Primary Welfare Officers in 800 schools
  • Principal powers to ban and remove weapons and dangerous items
  • Over $45 million a year to schools for Student Support Services
  • New funding model and pilot sites for Alternative Settings
  • Support for Principals to fight unacceptable behaviour by adults in schools
     
• Key subject areas 
  • 100 Maths and Science specialist teachers for primary schools
  • 400 Science scholarships for undergraduates to become teachers
  • 210 Language scholarships for experienced, undergraduate and aspiring teachers to become world class language teachers
  • Languages clusters and new language education pilots across Victoria
     
• More parent choice 
  • Extra funding for non-government school students to deliver 25 per cent of the cost of educating a student in a Government school
  • First government school International Baccalaureate Diploma at Werribee SC
  • The new Bio21 science school at University High
  • 25 school specialisation grants
  • New VCE level options: specialisation, Victorian baccalaureate and industry programs
     

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