Local member for Davidson, Jonathan O’Dea today said The NSW Liberals & Nationals $250m Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan would help ensure children in Davidson develop the foundations for success at an early age. It will focus on early intervention by individually targeting those students most at risk.
It includes:
· Moving responsibility for preschools from the Department of Community Services to the Department of Education.
· Using kindergarten screening assessments and other data to identify K-2 students at risk of not meeting literacy and numeracy standards.
· Providing an additional 900 teachers for the Reading Recovery Program and expanding it to include both literacy and numeracy.
· Reallocating more than 300 K-2 Support Teachers Learning Assistance (STLA) to provide more intensive support to students in Years 3-10.
· Establishing a Ministerial Working Group comprising educational experts to report annually on the performance of our Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan.
“Under State Labor too many children in NSW (including Davidson) are unable to adequately read, write or count by the time they finish primary school,” Mr O’Dea said.
“Sadly for most of these children, by the time they reach high school it is almost too late for them to recover these skills.
“The Liberals & Nationals believe that every child has the right to achieve in reading, writing and maths. Our $250m Action Plan will help develop children’s literacy and numeracy skills to ensure they have the necessary skills to transition from preschool to primary school and then onto high school.
“This is another one of our positive, practical plans that will give our children the best possible start to life and deliver the change NSW desperately needs.
“The NSW Liberals & Nationals are determined to deliver a strong education system that promotes equity, as well as excellence”, concluded Mr O’Dea.
