Queensland Government Submission

House of Representatives Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs Inquiry into educational opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

January 2017

Queensland Government Submission Page 1

Acknowledgement of Country

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are amongst the oldest continuing cultures in the world. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have a wealth of knowledge and skills passed through Elders and family links.

The Queensland Government acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands from across Queensland and pays respects to the Elders past, present and emerging, for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the state.

A better understanding and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures develops an enriched appreciation of Australia’s cultural heritage and can lead to reconciliation.

This is essential to the maturity of Australia as a nation and fundamental to the development of an Australian identity.

Queensland Government Submission Page 2 1. Introduction

1.1 The Queensland Government is committed to:

 Preparing Queenslanders with the knowledge, skills and confidence to participate successfully in the economy and broader community, supporting Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people to participate fully in Queensland’s economic, social and cultural life; and

 embracing and supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, identities, languages, histories and traditions in working and learning environments so that they are inclusive places of belonging and empowerment for all people.

1.2 Education is a fundamental driver of social and economic participation. Investing in education will increase labour force participation and improve productivity and growth.

1.3 Education plays a vital role in preparing and inspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, students and young people to be:

 actively engaged and connected to their local communities and able to participate at state, national and global levels;

 lifelong learners who are technologically engaged, knowledge creators, problem solvers, innovators and effective communicators sharing ideas with others and responding positively to change;

 successful people who are resilient, able to create opportunities and confident in pursuing their passions; and

 economically productive as skilled workers, entrepreneurs and leaders of tomorrow.

1.4 Children who grow up in a household where at least one adult member is working are relatively less likely to be living in poverty. They are more likely to have higher rates of educational attainment, be employed in the future, and less likely to have contact with the juvenile justice system.

Queensland Government Submission Page 3 2. Context

General

2.1 At the end of June 2015, it was estimated that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in Queensland was 208,026 – making up 4.2 per cent of the state.

2.2 Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is young and increasing at a much faster rate than the non-Indigenous population. It is projected to be one of the fastest growing among all states and territories.

2.3 The vast majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders live in urban or regional parts of the state. Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is becoming increasingly urban.

2.4 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged between 15-64 years are far less likely to be in employment than their non-Indigenous counterparts.

Early childhood and school education

2.5 In 2015, over 4,200 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were enrolled in a kindergarten program. This represented 85.6 per cent of four year old Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Queensland.

2.6 The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander four year olds in Queensland is expected to grow by 24 per cent over the next seven years.

2.7 In 2016, approximately 61,400 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander full-time students were enrolled in Queensland schools. More than three-quarters (83.6 per cent) of Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander full-time students were enrolled in Queensland state schools – making up 9.7 per cent of all Queensland state school students.

2.8 In 2016, 33,228 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander state school students in Queensland were enrolled in primary year levels (64.8 per cent) and 18,083 students (35.2 per cent) were enrolled in secondary year levels. This includes 476 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrolled in special schools or campuses.

2.9 The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrolled in Queensland state schools continues to increase. Over the past five years (from 2011 to 2016)

Queensland Government Submission Page 4 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enrolments grew by 23.9 per cent, compared with 8.6 per cent for all students.

2.10 Queensland had the highest number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrolled in Year 12 in state schools in Australia during 2015, with 2,080 students.

Key agencies

2.11 In Queensland, the Department of Education and Training (DET) and the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships (DATSIP) work together to improve education and employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.

2.12 DET’s service areas comprise:

 Providing children with access to quality early childhood education and care and strengthening childrens' transition to school. Services include the establishment, funding and monitoring of Kindergarten and integrated early years services, and the regulation, and assessment and rating of education and care services

 School education - delivering targeted kindergarten to Year 12 in Queensland state schools to prepare children and young people for successful transitions into further education training and/or work, regulation of home education and administering funding to Queensland non-state schools; and

 Training and skills - improving the skills profile of Queensland through targeting funding for delivery of vocational education and training (VET) that leads directly to employment, and providing information, advice and support to VET providers, employers, students, apprentices and trainees.

2.13 DATSIP focuses on achieving the following objectives for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community:

 Whole-of-government leadership in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy, coordination and monitoring, and delivery of services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders;

 Building safe, caring and connected communities by addressing historical government controls over the wages and savings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Queensland Government Submission Page 5 Islander Queenslanders through providing funding for a Reparations Program; and supporting discrete communities in the review of their Alcohol Management Plans;

 Protecting the environment by administering and managing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage legislation and Cape York Peninsula Tenure Resolution;

 Creating jobs and a diverse economy by generating new employment and business opportunities for Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people, and by removing barriers to home and land ownership; and

 Delivering quality frontline services that are culturally capable and responsive to customer need, including the delivery of community and personal histories services.

2.14 Both DET and DATSIP operate in a complex and challenging environment where, on average, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders are experiencing greater levels of socio-economic disadvantage than non-Indigenous Queenslanders. These challenges reinforce the need to continue to be agile and innovative in delivery of services and focus on the drivers of inclusion.

Resourcing

2.15 Queensland schools have the second largest Indigenous student cohort in the country — only behind NSW, though increasing at a greater rate. Queensland’s Indigenous students are geographically dispersed across a large state, with large enrolments in Far North Queensland schools and ever increasing enrolments in more urbanised areas such as Moreton Bay in the North Coast Region.

2.16 DET Indigenous Education School Grants to state schools are allocated based upon a combination of school Indigenous enrolments and ICSEA scores, providing support to students who are most in need. Priorities are set annually at a state-wide level, and schools are supported through data, research, advice and professional development to implement local strategies targeting student improvement. This methodology has enabled schools to flexibly use resources to support students through a range of evidence-based strategies resulting in recent successful outcomes for students.

Queensland Government Submission Page 6 2.17 In 2014, the Australian Government invited applications under the first funding round of its Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS), which replaced a range of existing funding arrangements in Indigenous education and training. DET made an application seeking approximately $72 million to develop or continue a number of initiatives that had been making a significant contribution to the Council of Australian Governments’ Closing the Gap targets for Indigenous early childhood education, schooling and employment.

2.18 In 2015, the Australian Government approved only $8.4 million of the $72 million applied for. Three projects were approved: Community Development Employment Program Job Transition ($4.76 million) to transition 131 school-based employees previously supported through the program; a school attendance social marketing campaign ($150,000 contribution); and the Ready Together Remote Early Years Transitions project ($3.5 million) to provide holistic, community-focused support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s transitions from home to early years services and then on to school in four communities. The $150,000 contribution for the social marketing campaign was the only funding approved of approximately $18 million that Queensland proposed for place-based initiatives in schools.

3. Progress against key early childhood and school education measures

3.1 Queensland is on a significant improvement trajectory against its Closing the Gap targets, but much more remains to be done.

95 per cent of all Indigenous four-year-olds enrolled in early childhood education (by 2025)

3.2 A range of universal and targeted programs and services have supported significant growth in the Indigenous kindergarten participation rate, which increased from 25.5 per cent in 2008 to 85.6 per cent in 2015.

3.3 In areas with high Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, enrolment in kindergarten is particularly strong. It is more challenging to increase enrolment in kindergarten in areas where there are low and medium populations.

3.4 In remote and very remote regions overall, the 2014 Indigenous kindergarten program participation rate was 72 per cent (of the estimated 840 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander four year old children living in these areas).

Queensland Government Submission Page 7 3.5 Due to the existence of Pre-Prep services in Far North Queensland, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children attending a kindergarten program in this region in 2014 was above the target of 95 per cent.

Close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous school attendance within five years (by 2018)

3.6 Based on Semester 1, 2016 school attendance data, the gap between Queensland Indigenous state school student attendance rates and Queensland non-Indigenous state school student attendance rates was 7.2 percentage points.

3.7 Improvement in school attendance for Indigenous students remains a major priority for all Queensland state schools.

Halve the gap for Indigenous children in reading, writing and numeracy achievements within a decade (by 2018)

3.8 In 2016, Queensland was the only Australian jurisdiction to have met a closing the gap National Minimum Standard (NMS) target (for Year 3 Reading). The national minimum standard is a level at which students can demonstrate some of the skills and understandings at their particular year of schooling, in a specific subject area or domain.

3.9 Particularly significant gains have been made in Reading and Numeracy in Queensland. The gap has narrowed in Reading across all year levels, including halving the gap in Year 3 (see Attachment 1). The greatest closure in Years 3, 5 and 7 occurred in Reading (closed by 51 per cent, 32 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively). In Year 9, the greatest closure was in Numeracy (by 37 per cent).

3.10 The gap between Queensland Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in 2016 was smaller than the gap between Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. This applies to all test areas in all year levels, across the three measures — NMS, the highest two bands i.e. Upper Two Bands (U2B) and Mean Scale Score (MSS).

3.11 In 2016, Queensland Indigenous students outperformed Australian Indigenous students in all 20 test areas in MSS and NMS, and in 12 test areas in the U2B.

3.12 From 2015 to 2016, Queensland Indigenous students experienced improvement in 11 of the 20 test areas in NMS.

Queensland Government Submission Page 8 3.13 The educational attainment gap varies across locations, for both Queensland and Australia:

 The gap between Queensland Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in the NMS is much smaller in major cities and regional areas than in remote and very remote areas.

 The gap between Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in the NMS is much smaller in major cities and regional areas than in remote areas, and it is noticeably greater again in very remote areas.

 The difference in the mean scale score gap between Indigenous and non- Indigenous students in Qld follows a similar pattern.

Halve the gap for Indigenous Australians aged 20-24 in Year 12 attainment or equivalent attainment rates (by 2020)

3.14 This target refers to the percentage of 20-24 year olds having completed at least Year 12/Cert II or above.

3.15 While “Year 12 Certification” at a national level has not yet been determined, the Queensland Government has targets which specify Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) or Queensland Certificate of Individual Achievement (QCIA) requirements.

3.16 In the Metropolitan region almost 100 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander state school students who completed Year 12 in 2015 (272) received Queensland Certification (either a QCE or a QCIA). By comparison, 98 per cent of their non- Indigenous peers (7,412) achieved certification.

3.17 Throughout Queensland, there have also been significant improvements made by state schools in narrowing the Year 12 certification gap. In 2015, 95 per cent of Indigenous state school students across Queensland achieved Year 12 certification, compared with 97 per cent of non-Indigenous state school students.

3.18 DET is now seeking to build on this success by focusing on improving Year 12 retention rates. For Indigenous state school students, the number of Year 12 enrolments compared with the number of Year 10 enrolments two years prior increased from 64.3

Queensland Government Submission Page 9 per cent in 2014 to 66.7 per cent in 2015. This indicates a narrowing of the Year 10 to 12 apparent retention rate gap from 17.8 percentage points to 16.8 percentage points.

4. Response to the Standing Committee’s Interim Report

4.1 Together with other Australian jurisdictions, Queensland is firmly committed to making progress against national targets to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

4.2 While improved outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, students and young people is critical, governments must be careful not to adopt a ‘deficit’ approach when discussing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and to collaboratively engage in partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to develop and identify solutions.

4.3 As such, Queensland seeks to adopt an approach which:

 acknowledges the strengths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, students and young people and supports them to achieve their full potential;

 holds high expectations of and aspirations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, students and young people;

 raises the bar in our teaching, learning and partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities; and

 celebrates, values and builds on the strengths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and their contribution to education and training.

4.4 Together with this approach, it is the Queensland Government’s view that sustained improvements in educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people will be made by an unrelenting focus on the key drivers of educational participation, engagement and attainment.

4.5 In addition to the initiatives designed to lift educational outcomes for all students, the gains made in Queensland against the indicators for Indigenous children and young people outlined earlier in the submission are being achieved through key investments in:

Queensland Government Submission Page 10  Queensland's Children and Family Centres (CFCs), which deliver vital early childhood education, child and maternal health and family support services for children who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and their families. Following the Federal Government’s refusal to continue funding CFCs beyond the expiry of the National Partnership Agreement on Indigenous Early Childhood Development in 2014, the Queensland Government stepped in to fund these vital integrated services, at a cost of $38.8 million over four years.

 Indigenous education grants to assist schools to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to be enrolled, engaged and achieving in school and progressing at the same rate as non-Indigenous students ($24.2 million in 2016- 17);

 The establishment of academies in the Darling Downs South West, Far North Queensland and North Queensland regions in partnership with the Clontarf Foundation to deliver programs to support education and achievement of Aboriginal and Torres Islander male students through the use of sport as an engagement tool ($17.4 million over five years); and

 the Be well Learn well program, which applies strategies that integrate education and health methods to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ developmental needs in remote schools - the project focuses on treating the underlying symptoms affecting education and learning outcomes ($5.549 million from 2015-19); and

 Solid Pathways, a partnership with the University of Queensland to support high achieving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to continue their academic success and enter tertiary pathways ($1.035 million in 2015-16).

4.6 Other key early childhood strategies and initiatives include:

 providing kindergarten programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children across 35 discrete Indigenous Queensland communities, and more generally in another 36 remote state schools across Queensland in 2017;

 providing funding and support to kindergarten services to facilitate access across the state, including subsidies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to ensure low or no cost access;

Queensland Government Submission Page 11  building professional and leadership capacity of Indigenous early childhood educators in remote locations through the Remote Indigenous Professional Development project (funded by the Australian Government);

 supporting educators in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to gain early childhood qualifications through implementation of the Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce Action Plan 2016-19;

 sponsoring the Kindergarten Transport Solutions initiative to increase the participation of children in 11 locations across Queensland where attendance is impeded by lack of transport;

 delivering the Ready Together: Remote Early Years Transition project to provide holistic, community-focused approach to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s transitions from early child education to school in the communities of Doomadgee, Mornington Island, Mount Isa and Palm Island (funded by the Australian Government under the Indigenous Advancement Strategy);

 partnering with the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health to leverage their successful Deadly Choices campaign to promote the benefits of kindergarten through the Kindy is a Deadly Choice program;

 promoting the importance of kindergarten through an Indigenous social marketing and communications campaign; and

 establishing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Early Education Cross- Agency Working Group, a cross-agency working group with the specific task of identifying alternative, comprehensive and innovative solutions to increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kindergarten participation.

4.7 Other key school education strategies and initiatives include:

 a significant focus on supporting language acquisition and oral language foundation skills for EAL/D learners, as a pre-cursor to teaching reading and fundamental step in obtaining improvements in Year 3 reading outcomes, including:

Queensland Government Submission Page 12 o supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander EAL/D students through Principal Coaches, Principal Education Advisors in each region and an Indigenous Language Perspectives team - these build the capability of school staff to meet the needs of Indigenous EAL/D students, target greater identification and awareness of Indigenous EAL/D students, and improve the number of Indigenous EAL/D students meeting the national minimum standards for Year 3 Reading; and

o leading development of an online professional development course through the national Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander EAL/D learners project, a collaborative initiative with New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Western Australia – this project aims to build the capacity of teachers to effectively teach Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who have a first language other than Standard Australian English (SAE);

 continuing to support the Remote Area Teacher Education Program (RATEP), a joint initiative between DET, TAFE Queensland North (Cairns) and James Cook University (Townsville) to increase the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander registered teachers and qualified paraprofessionals in Queensland schools by providing alternative study options delivered at 15 RATEP centres across Queensland;

 continuing to support Year 12 Certification, through a deliberate sharp and narrow focus, clear line of site to individual students, case management and data- focused approaches.

 supporting Year 12 graduates to access fee-free training in high priority qualification areas under the Plan’s ‘Year 12 Fee-Free’ initiative which targets post-school transitions;

 delivering the state-wide Youth Employment Program, providing a range of supports to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Year 12 school leavers and other highly qualified candidates in post school transitions to work, study or training;

 working with the Australian Government to increase school attendance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students through:

Queensland Government Submission Page 13 o the Remote School Attendance Strategy, which focuses on employment of local School Attendance Supervisors and School Attendance Officers in selected remote communities to work with schools, families, and children to ensure children go to school; and

o a School Attendance Social Marketing Campaign, which includes new promotional material from National Rugby League football players Johnathon Thurston and Sam Thaiday who encourage students to attend school every day.

4.8 To ensure strong accountability and improved student outcomes, Queensland’s Department of Education and Training has established a School Improvement Unit. The unit which is situated in the Office of the Director-General, independent from the State Schools Division which operates state schools, conducted over 700 reviews of schools in 2015 and 2016. The unit’s reviews involve an analysis of school performance data and the collection of additional information through school-based field work including discussions with school leaders, teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders.

4.9 The Reviews are tailored to the school’s level of need and context. The review report presents findings and improvement strategies in order to guide future school improvement activities including the school’s four-year strategic plan. Assistance is also provided to the school by the relevant regional office. Regular stakeholder engagement and principal surveys attest to the value of the support provided by the unit.

4.10 As well as providing schools with an evaluation of their performance based on the National School Improvement Tool, the review reports are analysed to produce an annual report which describes the practice of school improvement in Queensland state schools and provides advice regarding ‘next steps’ for the system.

4.11 At a strategic level, the Queensland Government is committed to developing strategies that will enhance cultural capability, and support the governance and voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This is being achieved through:

 implementing the Moving Ahead Strategy 2016–2022, a whole-of-government approach to improving economic participation outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders;

Queensland Government Submission Page 14  implementing the Queensland Government Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Capability Framework and associated departmental cultural capability action plans, and adopting the Queensland Government Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Capability Training Strategy, which will contribute to increasing effective communication and partnering with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and delivering education services in a culturally respectful and appropriate manner;

 engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on education and training through structures such as:

o the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education and Training Advisory Committee, which provides expert advice to the Minister for Education and Minister for Training and Skills on early childhood, school education and training related matters; and

o DATSIP’s Policy Leaders Forum, which comprises national and state Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and experts, and aims to build relationships, share information, expand expertise and engage in policy discussions on economic and social policy issues to improve and influence outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders.

4.12 The Queensland Government also supports and acknowledges the work of the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foundation, an independent public trust managed by the Public Trustee, to provide a scholarship program to assist young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to remain engaged in school to complete their secondary education and receive a Queensland Certificate of Education.

Interim Report recommendations

4.13 The Standing Committee Interim Report makes key recommendations in relation to ABSTUDY, gender equity and direct instruction.

4.14 The sections below provide the Queensland Government’s comments on these key issues.

Recommendation 1: The Committee recommends that the Department of Human Services undertake an independent review of ABSTUDY with a view to the program

Queensland Government Submission Page 15 being redesigned and the new system being fully operational at the latest by 30 June 2017.

4.15 The Queensland Government supports the independent review of ABSTUDY.

4.16 It is concerning to note the finding in the report that some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are unable to commence at the beginning of the new school year due to the time taken to process ABSTUDY forms. Every day at school counts and research shows absences have a significant bearing on literacy and numeracy outcomes.

4.17 Queensland recognises that ABSTUDY acts as a facilitator for students to access quality education, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students that need to leave their home community to access secondary school. To assist with this transition, the Queensland Government provides Transition Support Services (TSS) to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from remote communities in Cape York and Palm Island who have to leave home in order to complete secondary schooling.

4.18 In 2016, TSS worked with 130 Year 6 students and families (Cape York) to develop and enact primary into secondary school transition plans. As at December 2016, TSS assisted 90% of this Year 6 cohort and their families to take part in interviews at prospective boarding schools and/or to accept offers of placement for 2017, or to re-apply to other schools were relevant.

4.19 In relation to secondary school transition and re-engagement support, TSS assisted 349 students from remote communities at 24 boarding school and residential sites.

 87% of students took up their first scheduled flight arriving at the start of terms 1 and 2; and

 72% of students were retained by boarding schools.

4.20 More than 40 compulsory age youth not enrolled in schooling across 5 community sites were assisted to develop and enact secondary school re-engagement plans by TSS.

4.21 DET is seeking to add more schools to the ABSTUDY bypass school list in Queensland and is willing to explore further opportunities with the Australian Government to help streamline the ABSTUDY process for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and families. DET would welcome greater flexibility and accountability in ABSTUDY payments to cater for students’ mobility.

Queensland Government Submission Page 16 Recommendation 2: The Committee recommends that, as a matter of urgency, the Australian Government allocate an additional portion of the remaining funds available through the Indigenous Advancement Strategy to girls’ education programs, comparable to that of boys’ programs previously allocated funding through the Strategy, so to ensure gender equity.

Recommendation 3: The Committee recommends that in evaluating future grant applications, the Australian Government ensure that there is equity in the number and especially the type of girls’ and boys’ education programs funded, and if necessary, undertake to fund additional programs to ensure gender equity.

4.22 The Queensland Government acknowledges the Standing Committee’s views and supports female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students having access to developmental and leadership programs comparable to their male counterparts.

4.23 All Indigenous students, both male and female should have the opportunity to reach their full potential in life.

4.24 Overall, differences between Indigenous girls and boys favour the girls to a greater extent than for non-Indigenous students in three of the five test strands; the other two strands do not show this effect.

4.25 Queensland NAPLAN results by strand based on 2008 -2016 time series data (except writing which is 2011-2016) show:

 Reading - Indigenous girls perform better than Indigenous boys by about the same extent as non-Indigenous girls outperform non-Indigenous boys.  Writing - Indigenous girls outperform Indigenous boys by a little more than non- Indigenous girls outperform non-Indigenous boys.  Numeracy - Indigenous girls perform similarly to Indigenous boys, while non- Indigenous girls perform slightly lower than non-Indigenous boys in this strand.  Spelling - Indigenous girls outperform Indigenous boys by a little more than non- Indigenous girls outperform non-Indigenous boys (similar to Writing).  Grammar and Punctuation - results are similar to Reading.

4.26 While these NAPLAN results show Indigenous girls are out-performing their male counterparts, their school performance still lags behind non-Indigenous students overall. School retention and attendance in the senior years is a key plank of ensuring successful transitions to post-school pathways that involve study, work or training. To the extent that these decisions are influenced by programs funded by Commonwealth Indigenous

Queensland Government Submission Page 17 Advancement Scheme, funding should be allocated equally between programs to target girls and boys, because significant gaps are evident for both cohorts of Indigenous students.

4.27 Queensland offers a range of programs targeted at specific cohorts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders students, with applicability to both males and females. The Solid Pathways Program and Indigenous Student Ambassador Network are two such initiatives for high achieving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to support their academic success and develop leadership capabilities.

4.28 Should the Australian Government seek to address the spread and focus of education programs amongst Indigenous boys and girls as raised by the Committee in the context of future funding, it should allocate funding to programs and initiatives on the basis of a sophisticated analysis of issues facing these cohorts, with programs targeting the individual cohort’s needs.

4.29 For example, in Queensland: (a) retention rates to Year 12 tend to be better for Indigenous girls than Indigenous boys; (b) Indigenous girls’ attendance in Year 11 and 12 tends to be worse than Indigenous boys’; and (c) Indigenous girls’ rates of School Disciplinary Absences (SDAs) tend to be lower than those for Indigenous boys.

Although the Committee made no explicit recommendation in relation to Direct Instruction in the report, it ‘recommends that no additional financial support for Direct Instruction be available until an independent comprehensive and longitudinal review finds the teaching method to be effective in delivering improved outcomes for the majority of students.

4.30 Queensland state schools have a pedagogical framework which ensures high quality teaching that is focused on the achievement of every student. The six key principles of the framework are: student-centred planning; high expectations; alignment of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment; evidence-based decision-making; targeted and scaffolded instruction; and safe, supportive, connected and inclusive learning environments.

4.31 Each state school is required to develop a research-validated pedagogical framework guided by the key principles that is collaboratively developed with the school community and promotes consistency of practice. Within this framework Queensland State Schools Division also acknowledges that expert teachers employ a range of pedagogies to meet the needs of students and the demands of the curriculum.

Queensland Government Submission Page 18 4.32 Pedagogies include but are not limited to: explicit instruction (or direct teaching), experiential learning, interactive learning and Direct Instruction.

4.33 Teachers select a range and balance of approaches that will support every student to achieve. Their selection is influenced by current knowledge of individual student learning needs, the learning area, the type of assessment the students will be undertaking and the school community context.

4.34 While acknowledging the benefits of direct instruction in certain contexts, Queensland state schools encourage educators to take a balanced approach to the use of specific teaching practices within their school. Direct instruction may be one, but not the only, approach incorporated into the teaching practices in Queensland state schools.

5 Closing Remarks

5.1 The Queensland Government remains staunchly committed to improving educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders.

5.2 Queensland’s improvements in Year 12 certification, Year 3 reading and early childhood education participation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and students have demonstrated that adopting a ‘sharp and narrow’ focus can achieve transformative outcomes.

5.3 Maintaining these improvements will require a sustained commitment supported by dedicated funding from the Queensland and Australian Governments, with a strong emphasis on the key drivers of educational participation, engagement and attainment.

Queensland Government Submission Page 19 Attachment 1

Queensland Government Submission Page 20