ACT Education Directorate Annual Report 2018-19

2018 ANNUAL REPORT Education Directorate-19 ISBN:............... This report is copyright to the ACT Government. The ACT Government utilises the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. Information from this report may be used for non-commercial purposes subject to attribution to the ACT Government. Enquiries should be addressed to the Territory Records Office, ACT Government, GPO Box 158 Canberra City ACT 2601. First published October 2019 Website: www.act.gov.au Produced by: ACT Government Publishing Services Accessibility The ACT Government is committed to making its information, services and events accessible to as many people as possible. If you have difficulty reading a standard format printed document, and would like to receive this publication in an alternative format – such as large print or audio – please call the Canberra Blind Society on (02) 6247 4580. If English is not your first language and you require the translating and interpreting service, please call the Telephone Interpreter Service on 131 450. If you are deaf or hearing impaired and require assistance, please call the National Relay Service on 133 677. This report is also available at www.education.act.gov.au Inquiries about this publication should be directed to: Education Directorate 220 Northbourne Avenue Braddon ACT 2612 Telephone: (02) 6207 5111 Postal address Education Directorate GPO Box 158 Canberra ACT 2601 Acknowledgement of Country 2 Education Directorate: Annual Report 2018-19 CONTENTS Part A Transmittal Certificate 5 Part 4 Annual Report Requirements for Specific Reporting Entities 207 Part B Organisational Overview and Performance 9 Investigation of Complaints 208 Director-General’s Reflection 11 Ministerial and Director-General Directions 209 Organisational Overview 12 Annexed Reports 211 Scrutiny 55 Annexure A - Risk Management 63 Early Childhood Policy and Regulation 212 Internal Audit 64 Annexure B - ACT Teacher Quality Institute 2018-19 224 Freedom of Information 67 Annexure C – Community Engagement and Support 69 ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies 266 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reporting 72 Appendix 1 Compliance Statement 286 Work Health and Safety 78 Appendix 2 Government Contracting 287 Human Resource Management 84 Appendix 3 List of Tables 306 Ecologically Sustainable Development 94 Appendix 4 List of Figures 308 Part C Financial Management Reporting 103 Appendix 5 Abbreviations and Acronyms 309 Financial Management Analysis 104 Index 312 Capital Works 188 Government Contracting 199 Statement of Performance 200 3 4 Education Directorate: Annual Report 2018-19 Part Transmittal CertificateA 5 6 Education Directorate: Annual Report 2018-19 Ms Yvette Berry MLA Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development ACT Legislative Assembly London Circuit CANBERRA ACT 2601 Dear Minister This report has been prepared in accordance with section 6(1) of the Annual Reports (Government Agencies) Act 2004 and in accordance with the requirements under the Annual Report Directions. It has been prepared in conformity with other legislation applicable to the preparation of the Annual Report by the Education Directorate. I certify that information in the attached annual report, and information provided for whole of government reporting, is an honest and accurate account and that all material information on the operations of the Education Directorate has been included for the period 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019. I hereby certify that fraud prevention has been managed in accordance with the Public Sector Management Standards 2006 (repealed), Part 2.3 (see section 113, Public Sector Management Standards 2016). The annual reports of the following public sector bodies are included as annexed reports: • The ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies; and • The ACT Teacher Quality Institute. Section 13 of the Annual Reports (Government Agencies) Act 2004 requires that you present the Report to the Legislative Assembly within 15 weeks after the end of the reporting year. Yours sincerely Meg Brighton A/g Director-General Education Directorate 19 September 2019 GPO Box 158 Canberra ACT 2601 | phone: 132281 | www.act.gov.au 7 8 Education Directorate: Annual Report 2018-19 Part Organisational Overview and Performance B 9 10 Education Directorate: Annual Report 2018-19 Director-General’s Reflection It has been another successful year for public education in the ACT. In 2018-19, a record number of children and young people – more than 49,000 – attended Canberra public schools. There were 1,207 new students at the start of the 2019 school year. The ACT Government is investing in building new schools, expanding existing schools, and modernising schools across the Territory to cater for this increasing demand from Canberra families. For example, the new Margaret Hendry School in Taylor opened at the start of the 2019 school year, and Belconnen High School was re-opened after a major upgrade. Significantly, this year also saw the launch of two important documents for the Education Directorate. The ACT Government’s Future of Education Strategy will guide education in the ACT over the next 10 years. It was developed collaboratively with input from more than 5,000 people – more than half of them students – and is based on the principles of equity, student agency, access and inclusion. It applies to government and non-government schools and I thank students, families and educators from all sectors for their involvement in its development. The Education Directorate’s Strategic Plan 2018-21 was also launched. It identifies our vision to be a leading learning organisation where people know they matter, in order to deliver educational services that ensure every child and young person can learn for life. This focus on people recognises that people are key to our success as an organisation. We have more than 7,000 staff – more than half of them teachers – and staff are supported through extensive professional learning. Some of the year’s highlights included the Early Years Literacy initiative, the Leadership Symposium with Helen Timperley and the Primary Leader Writing Inquiry and Secondary Leader Writing Inquiry. This year also had a focus on safe and supportive learning environments through the continued implementation of the Positive Behaviours for Learning framework in schools. Individual students requiring extra support continued to be assisted by the Network Student Engagement Team and its multidisciplinary experts including psychologists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and social workers. Thank you sincerely to our wonderful children and young people, teachers and support staff, and staff in the Education Support Office who have all contributed so much over the past year. Sincere thanks also must go to the outgoing Director-General, Natalie Howson, who retired from the Public Service in 2019 after an impressive career that began as an educator and finished as a senior executive in the Commonwealth and ACT Public Services. Her significant legacy can be seen throughout this annual report. Meg Brighton A/g Director-General 11 ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW Our Vision We will be a leading learning organisation where people know they matter. Our Mission We develop and deliver educational services to empower each child and young person in the ACT for life. Our Values The Directorate embraces the ACT Public Service’s values of respect, integrity, collaboration, and innovation to influence and direct the way we deliver our services to children and young people in our schools, and in how we work together across the Directorate. Our Purpose The Education Directorate is a leading learning organisation where people know they matter, delivering high quality early childhood education and public school education in an accessible and inclusive environment. The Directorate is dedicated to facilitating quality education services across the ACT by: > the provision of government learning institutions in the form of public preschools, primary, secondary, specialist schools and colleges; > access to quality teaching, specialised learning programs and well-being supports for individual student needs; > enrolment and support of international students; and > the registration and regulation of home education, early childhood learning centres and non-government schools. Our Minister, Stakeholders and Partners > The Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Yvette Berry, MLA; > students and their families; > children and their families accessing early childhood education and care; > the ACT Principals Association; > the ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Associations; > the Australian Education Union, the Community & Public Sector Union and United Voice; > non-government schools, the Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn; and the Association of Independent Schools of the ACT; > early childhood education and care providers; > the ACT Teacher Quality Institute and ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies; > community organisations, including school boards; > the higher education sector, especially teacher training institutions; > other ACT Public Service Directorates; > employers; > our staff; and > the wider ACT community. 12 Education Directorate: Annual Report 2018-19 Our Schools Network 13 Education Directorate Fast Facts Our Schools $63.7 million infrastructure 47 NON- investment GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS 88 PUBLIC SCHOOLS 7,131 Education including staff 3,780 teachers Our Students MORE THAN 2,584 49,000 students awarded a Year 10 STUDENTS

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