LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL PORTFOLIO COMMITTEES BUDGET ESTIMATES 2020-2021 Supplementary Questions Portfolio Committee No. 3 – Education EDUCATION AND EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING Hearing: Wednesday 3 March 2021 Answers due by: 29 March 2021 Budget Estimates secretariat Phone 9230 2898 [email protected] EDUCATION Questions from the Hon Mark Latham MLC 1. Could the Minister please provide the list of prequalified service providers contained within the panel of external service providers for Student Engagement and Attendance Services? 3Bridges Community Limited Australian Childhood Trauma Group Barnardos Australia Berry Street Education Model Careers Network Inc CASPA Christian Community Aid Coast Shelter Community Activities Lake Macquarie Inc Compact Incorporated Connect Northern Rivers Inc Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand Grand Pacific Health Joblink Plus Ltd Key Employment Association Inc Learning Links Macquarie Darling Work Placement Incorporated Mid Coast Connect Inc Ministry of Minds Pty Ltd Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra Nepean Community & Neighbourhood Services Network for Educational Workplacements Inc. NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Inc. One Vision Productions Penrith Skills for Jobs Ltd Phoenix House Youth Services Police Citizens Youth Club NSW Ltd Project Youth Queanbeyan Enterprise Centre Inc Raise Foundation Relationships Australia NSW Limited Role Models and Leaders Australia Ryde Family Services South Eastern Community Connect Inc. Southern Youth and Family Services Limited StreetWork Australia Limited Sutherland Shire Family Services Tamworth Family Support Service Education and Early Childhood Learning 2 The Junction Works Ltd The Smith Family Trustee for Top Blokes Foundation Veritas House Inc. Wesley Community Services Ltd Whitelion Youth Agency Woodville Alliance World Vision Australia Youth Express Association Incorporated Youth Off The Streets Limited 2. What specific qualifications is the document on the Department of Education’s website about prequalified service providers for student wellbeing referring to when it states that to be put onto the prequalified list each service provider must supply licenses, accreditations, registrations held and the qualifications of key staff? The list of prequalified service providers was established in 2019 to assist schools locate services and agencies that offered programs to improve student attendance and engagement. The Department followed NSW Government’s procurement processes to create this panel. These providers offer a variety of services and may include the delivery of targeted wellbeing programs based on the identified needs of the school community. The Prequalification Scheme Agreement states that services are to be provided by suitably qualified professionals. This was part of the assessment criteria. The providers’ staff were required to hold post school qualifications in a relevant discipline or have appropriate experience. In addition, providers were required to demonstrate that personnel have the knowledge, skills and experience to provide engagement and attendance services to children and young people, including: Knowledge of cognitive, emotional and behavioural development of children and young people. Supporting children and young people using evidence-based interventions. Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills, including report writing. Ability to work collaboratively with school executive, teachers, parents/carers and other key stakeholders to deliver evidence-based services for students. Appropriate cultural knowledge and skills to engage with specific groups of young people in ways that are culturally relevant, safe and appropriate. 3. Are the people who are actually running the program in face to face workshops qualified? The Prequalification Scheme Agreement states that services are to be provided by suitably qualified professionals. This was part of the assessment criteria. The providers’ staff were required to hold post school qualifications in a relevant discipline or have appropriate experience. Education and Early Childhood Learning 3 4. The 2019-2020 NSW Education Budget has allocated $88.4 million to hire a full time psychologist and social worker in every NSW government high school. Could the Minister advise: a) the number of primary schools provided with a psychologist, b) the number of high schools provided with a psychologist, c) the number of primary schools provided with a social worker, d) the number of high schools provided with a social worker. The NSW Government committed funding to provide a full time counselling allocation and a full time Student Support Officer to every public high school. Student Support Officers are required to hold a diploma or higher qualification in youth work, social work, welfare or related discipline. a) All NSW primary schools receive a school counselling service allocation. The school counselling service may be provided by a school counsellor or a school psychologist. b) All NSW high schools receive a school counselling service allocation. The school counselling service may be provided by a school counsellor or a school psychologist. As part of the $88.4 million commitment, all high schools will have a full time school counselling allocation by June 2023. c) As part of the $88.4 million election commitment, all high schools in NSW will be allocated a full-time ongoing Student Support Officer between July 2020 and June 2023. Primary schools are not being allocated Student Support Officers through this commitment. d) In July 2020, 183 schools were allocated an ongoing Student Support Officer position. A further 207 schools will be allocated a Student Support Officer position in July 2021. In July 2022, the final 74 schools will be allocated a Student Support Officer. 5. What controls and measures has the Minister introduced to ensure that the social workers and psychologists referred to in 1 above will: a) not provide instruction or advise on ideologically-based and political material that is inconsistent with the wishes and values of parents, b) Ensure that parents are fully consulted and aware of their child’s visits with the social worker/psychologist. a) All personnel working in schools, including external service providers must comply with all laws, regulations and departmental policies, including the code of conduct policy and procedures and the controversial issues in schools policy. b) Where appropriate, parents or carers are notified of the participation of students in the delivery of curriculum, school programs and activities, presentations including those provided by external service providers. Education and Early Childhood Learning 4 6. What parental engagement programs and incentives has the Minister introduced to ensure that parents are engaged with their child’s education in the infant and primary school years? The Department values opportunities to work with parents and carers in supporting student learning. The following resources are examples of support provided to enhance the engagement of parents with their child’s education: The Everyday Maths Hub (at https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and- learning/curriculum/key-learning-areas/mathematics/everyday-maths- hub#%3Cspan2) is an engaging and dynamic online platform for parents and carers of children in Kindergarten through to Year 10. It aims to support and encourage family conversations about the relevance and usefulness of mathematics in everyday life and build on in class learning. Learning from home - learning packages for parents and carers (at https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/learning-from-home/learning-at- home) contain explicit teaching activities with self-guided videos to compliment the learning program provided by schools. They have been developed for parents and carers to use to ensure learning continuity in response to learning from home. The Literacy and Numeracy website (at https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and- learning/curriculum/literacy-and-numeracy) has resources to assist parents and carers in supporting their child’s development of literacy and numeracy skills. They include ‘Helping your child with literacy and numeracy at home’; and ‘Handwriting in the early years – a guide for parents and practice sheets for letters’. Resources for families (at https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and- learning/curriculum/early-learning/resources-for-families) contain a variety of resources such as Learning outcome cards, translated resources, resources to support Aboriginal families and podcasts, that provide ideas to engage in learning at home through everyday experiences. The early learners’ animations for families, explore the learning that happens in the early years of a child’s life at home and early childhood services, the important role families play in their child’s learning and how this learning supports a child’s lifelong educational journey. Schools also continue to provide a range of opportunities for parents to engage with the school and the decision making process to support their child’s education. This includes participation in school Parents and Citizens Associations, opportunities to attend meet the teacher and information nights and providing feedback to help inform the school’s situational analysis and School Improvement Plan. Schools may also include parents in a number of school-based activities to help support teaching and learning and various school committees to assist in making decisions around school-