Minister for Education James Merlino visited Brunswick South Primary School this week to announce a $100,000 grant for the school’s Italian language program and its inclusion in the Victorian Government’s designated bilingual program in 2017.
Brunswick South Primary School’s Italian bilingual program is currently offered to students in years Prep to Year Three. The grant will assist the school to extend its Italian program to students in Year Four in 2016 and support its transition to the designated bilingual school program in 2017.
Schools in the designated bilingual program are funded to provide bilingual education for their students.
There are currently 14 bilingual programs offered across 12 primary schools in Victoria which give students the opportunity to learn curriculum content in both English and another language.
The Andrews Labor Government is committed to ensuring that languages education is part of the core curriculum of all Victorian schools, which is supported by a range of local and in-country professional development opportunities that has boosted the number of language teachers available to schools.
The Labor Government is also supporting every government school in Victoria to offer a quality languages program including in regional Victoria, by sharing languages teachers across clusters of schools supported by video conferencing technology.
The 2015-16 Victorian Budget invests almost $4 billion to make Victoria the Education State, so every community has access to great local schools and every child gets the chance to succeed in life regardless of background, place or circumstance.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education James Merlino
“We are making Victoria the Education State by ensuring that every community has access to great schools, supporting our teachers and principals to be their best, and ensuring that every student experiences the chance to succeed, in learning and in life.”
“Learning a language can improve a student’s overall academic performance, it also strengthens their brain development, problem solving skills and English literary.”
Quote attributable to Member for Brunswick Jane Garrett
“I commend the principal Sheryl Hall, with the support of the school community, for her strong commitment to languages education by establishing an Italian bilingual program.”
Reviewed 10 February 2021