PARLIAMENT OF TASMANIA TRANSCRIPT LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ESTIMATES COMMITTEE B Hon. Jeremy Rockliff MP Thursday 26 November 2020 MEMBERS Hon Rosemary Armitage MLC Hon Ivan Dean MLC Hon Jo Palmer MLC Hon Tania Rattray MLC (Chair) Hon Jo Siejka MLC Hon Josh Willie MLC WITNESSES IN ATTENDANCE Hon. Jeremy Rockliff MP, Deputy Premier; Minister for Education and Training; Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing; Minister for Disability Services and Community Development; Minister for Trade; Minister for Advanced Manufacturing and Defence Industries Mr Tim Bullard, Secretary, Department of Education Ms Trudy Pearce, Deputy Secretary – Learning, Department of Education Ms Jenny Burgess, Deputy Secretary – Strategy and Performance, Department of Education Ms Katharine O’Donnell, Registrar Education Mr Kane Salter, Director -Finance and Budget Services, Department of Education Mr Bob Rutherford, Deputy Secretary Industry and Business Development, Department of State Growth Ms Angela Conway, General Manager, Workforce Development and Training, Skills Tasmania Ms Liz Jack, Executive Director Libraries Tasmania Ms Jenny Dodd, Chief Executive Officer, TasTAFE Mr Scott Adams, Chief Financial Officer, TasTAFE Mr Craig Jeffery, Chief Financial Officer, Department of Health Ms Kathrine Morgan-Wicks, Secretary, Department of Health Mr Dale Webster, Deputy Secretary, Community, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Department of Health Ms Ingrid Ganley, Director, Disability and Community Services, Department of Communities Tasmania Mr Michael Pervan, Secretary, Department of Communities Tasmania Ms Courtney Hurworth, Acting Manager of Community Development, Department of Communities Tasmania Ms Kate Kent, Deputy Secretary, Disability Services and Community Development, Department of Communities Tasmania Ms Lara Hendriks, Executive Director, Business and Trade, Department of State Growth Rear Admiral Steve Gilmore (Retired), Defence Advocate, Advanced Manufacturing and Defence Industries Mr Brett Stewart, A/General Manager, Business and Trade Tasmania, Department of State Growth The Committee met at 9.00 a.m. DIVISION 3 (Department of Education) CHAIR - Good morning, everyone. The time being 9 o'clock, I'll invite Lynne to be ready to broadcast. Thank you very much. Minister, welcome to day 4 for Committee B Estimates Process. I will introduce our team at the table and then invite you to introduce your team, provide what we consider is a brief overview if that's possible, because we do have quite a bit to get through and we've already made some commitments around that. Mr ROCKLIFF - I understand. CHAIR - On my left, I have the honourable Josh Willie, the honourable Ivan Dean, myself, Tania Rattray, the honourable Rosemary Armitage and the honourable Jo Palmer who's managing to work through her first Estimates process and doing very well. Thank you. We also have an apology from the honourable Jo Siejka who has not been so well. We've invited her to stay at home and she's probably watching online; perhaps not. We have with us our secretary, Natasha Exel and Allison Waddington; they are invaluable with their assistance. We have Lynne from Hansard, who's been with us for the last three days. Minister, one of the most important areas of the budget is Education. You have a couple of other hats as well: the Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, Disability Services and Community Development, Trade, and Advanced Manufacturing and Defence. So many portfolio areas. Let's get started. Thank you. Mr ROCKLIFF - Thank you, Chair. To my right is Tim Bullard, the Secretary for the Department of Education. To his right is the Deputy Secretary, Strategy and Performance, Jenny Burgess, and to my left is Kane Salter, the Director of Finance. I have an opening statement. CHAIR - Thank you. Welcome, Kane, Tim and Jenny. When you come to the table, anybody in support, clean chairs are at one end, so put your clean chair in and remove any that have been used over to that side. Thank you. Mr ROCKLIFF - Chair, our Government has prioritised lifting education achievement in Tasmania with a significant investment in students, teacher support staff, schools, resource and infrastructure. We're all passionate about ensuring every Tasmanian student, no matter where they live or what their background, has the best possible opportunities in life and a good quality education is key to that. We continue to build on our plan to improve outcomes for learners that is based on research and data, is tailored to the needs of particular schools and communities and is focused on providing support and the time necessary for our valued school leaders to succeed, and it is working. Too many times in the history of education the right policy has been produced but not given the time it deserves to make a difference. This is a budget that recognises the importance of building on what we have already achieved to ensure that every child and young person is extraordinary. We are investing a record $7.5 billion over the next four years into education in Tasmania to provide more opportunities for learners to remain engaged in their learning, to feel safe and secure and to complete year 12 in a way that is meaningful for them. Legislative Council Estimates Committee B 5 Thursday 26 November 2020 - Rockliff As Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, as well as Education minister, I also take the wellbeing of our students in our schools very seriously. Evidence demonstrates that students who have greater health and wellbeing are more likely to have better educational outcomes, more likely to have positive wellbeing throughout their lives, and be more productive. I'm very proud of how our department has prioritised mental health and wellbeing in our schools since we came to government. In fact, we have committed an unprecedented $81 million to support mental health and wellbeing in our schools since 2014, which includes across the forward Estimates, record numbers of professional support staff, including social workers and psychologists; the reintroduction of school nurses, health nurses; $1 million over four years to deliver SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY schools program in Tasmanian Government schools; $14 million over four years to build capacity in schools to support children and young people with the emotional and behavioural challenges impacted by trauma; and wellbeing teams implemented in every school. We know there is no one single solution to dealing with mental health issues, which is why we have taken a holistic, multi-faceted approach to supporting our students. Every student is different and so are their needs. We recognise that listening to students and understanding their needs is key to improving student wellbeing. The annual student wellbeing survey introduced last year provides schools and the department with critical data on the wellbeing of our students which will further guide our approach. We're also supporting more families to have the financial resources necessary to provide for their children by expanding the students distance scheme which waives the cost of school levies for eligible students. Improvement in literacy and numeracy outcomes of students continues to be a priority. NAPLAN data shows us that when the education levels of parents are taken into account our results are clearly on par with the rest of Australia. Our challenge is to overcome the long-standing barriers to achieving in Tasmania that are clearly linked to socioeconomic status. Continuing to build on the schools and the capacity of our teachers is key to this. That's why we've committed $12.8 million over four years, for 35 additional quality teaching coaches to support our dedicated and talented staff. COVID-19 has provided us with an important reminder that every one of our learners is unique. Individuals who have their own hopes and aspirations, ways of learning and sometimes barriers to engaging. This year, we introduced the educational adjustments funding model for students with disability which includes funding of $34 million over four years. I'm very proud to say that this budget increases the funding even more to help build on improving, accessing engagement for students with disability. We also recognise that what a student needs to succeed is not a one-size-fits-all solution. We've already taken action to keep our young people engaged in education until they complete year 12 by raising the leaving age to 18. Years 11 and 12 extension school program has been embraced by school communities, students and their families since its introduction in 2015. There are now 47 extension schools across the state. Many are working collaboratively and effectively with our colleges to give our students more choices and options to be able to complete year 12. I'm also excited by the work being undertaken by three education sectors in partnership with industry and the community to deliver the years 9 to 12 project, providing a new curriculum and a strong vision for vocational learning and VET in Tasmanian schools. The capacity of our schools to provide better opportunities across the state is being prioritised as more schools extend to years 11 and 12 and a focus is based on labour market requirements of a school's region. Legislative Council Estimates Committee B 6 Thursday 26 November 2020 - Rockliff In 2020, there are 53 different full VET qualifications delivered to schools and colleges across the state. In addition, the profile of Australian school based apprenticeships and traineeships has been elevated. In 2020, there were 418 in Tasmanian government schools. Chair, we're allocating $6.6 billion over the four years to engage and empower our learners through years 9 to 12 by accelerating the packages of learning program designed for years 9 and 10 students and the back-on-track pilot at Hellyer and Claremont Colleges. This work complements the extensive scope of vocational education and work-based learning outcomes. In Tasmanian government schools, work-based learning includes vocational placements and work placements as well as work experience, mentoring, observing work place practice skill development in the work place, volunteering and community involvement.