Heat Shifts To Schools
Newcastle Herald
Tuesday January 31, 2006
SCHOOL improvement targets, plain English report cards and computer skills testing are among initiatives to be introduced in state schools this year.
The initiatives are in a package announced last night by Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt. Central to the package is a requirement for all schools to have three-year plans by the end of March that contain quantifiable improvement targets.The targets, to be reported in each school's annual report, will include the achievement of better literacy and numeracy, increased retention and attendance rates.Primary and secondary school students return from their summer break today and kindergarten students begin school tomorrow. Hunter government school enrolments have stabilised generally and increased in some areas this year.A Department of Education spokesman said preliminary enrolment data showed between 112,000 and 113,000 students would attend government schools in the Hunter and the Central Coast.The Hunter's enrolment figures reflect a trend, which has shown government school enrolments have stabilised over the past two years following a decade-long drift to the non-government sector.The spokesman said strong growth was being experienced at several Hunter government secondary schools.He said a broad range of academic and vocational courses combined with an emphasis on creating links with businesses was attracting students.Preliminary Hunter Catholic school enrolments are up with 17,382 enrolments this year, compared with 17,266 last year. Projected kindergarten enrolments in Catholic schools are down, 1263 compared with 1375 last year. Report cards issue, Page 9
© 2006 Newcastle Herald