We are a growing public education system providing education to over 51,000 children and young people in Canberra. This year marked the opening of Throsby School as Canberra’s 90th school in February 2022.
Our students, teachers and school leaders continue to inspire me every day. Hearing and learning about their incredible achievements and personal stories and experiences in our schools and early childhood settings shows the value and impact of education in our children and young people’s lives and life-long learning.
In late 2021, increased COVID-19 transmissions in our community resulted in a period of lockdown. During this time, our schools remained committed to delivering learning outcomes for all students as we shifted to remote learning. In 2022, we have seen our students and staff returning onsite in our schools and early childhood education and care centres (ECEC) as we manage the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. I am so proud of the amazing work across all our schools and ECEC, placing our students at the centre of what we do and deliver as an organisation.
This year we continued to deliver on our strategic objectives centred on the principles of equity, agency, access, and inclusion as we progress through Phase Two of the implementation of the Future of Education Strategy. We remain committed to engaging and listening to children and young people, their families, and the broader community to inform how we can deliver high quality and inclusive education across all our schools. This has also meant strengthened partnerships with the tertiary sector to support teaching excellence.
We know that quality early childhood education gives children the best start in life. In the past year, we have continued to implement the first phase of the Set up for Success: An Early Childhood Strategy. This outlines the ACT Government’s commitment to provide universal access to quality early childhood education for all three year-olds in the ACT. Our Early Childhood Community Coordinators provide support to priority children and families to facilitate and nurture referral pathways into the three-year-old initiative. We continued to build on our partnerships with key directorates and expanded our connections with community organisations to ensure that this initiative was delivered equitably and to children that would most benefit.
Our schools are committed to creating safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environments for all students and this is supported by our continued implementation of the Safe and Supportive Schools Policy and the Positive Behaviour for Learning framework.
In 2022, we have elevated our approach to improve the safety and wellbeing of students and staff by establishing a new safety culture team to deliver a system-wide transformation in ACT public schools.
This year, the Minister’s Student Congress provided an important opportunity for student voiceduring the pandemic. Students shared their perspectives and experiences on mental health, eSafety perspectives, staying healthy and well online, and transitions. The Congress provided valuable insights from our students on their learning experiences through the pandemic which has informed improvements on remote learning.
Our schools continue to strengthen Cultural Integrity to meet the needs and aspirations of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and to support all students and staff to deepen their understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, languages, and knowledges.
This year, we have undertaken work to finalise the new Education Directorate Strategic Plan 2022-25, building on what we have achieved and learned over the last four years, ensuring that we continue to focus on improving learning and wellbeing outcomes for all children and young people. The new plan will be finalised by 2022 and I am excited to share the vision we have set out for our system in the next four years.
I am very proud of the continued dedication and outstanding efforts across the Directorate, both in our education settings (schools and early childhood) and the Education Support Office, working closely and collaboratively with our school communities. These efforts have been nothing short of extraordinary in response to this year’s challenges.
Katy Haire
Director-General
The Education Directorate acknowledges the Ngunnawal people as the traditional owners and custodians of the Canberra region. The region is also an important meeting place and significant to other Aboriginal groups.
We also acknowledge and pay respect to the Wreck Bay peoples as traditional owners and custodians of the land on which the Jervis Bay school is located.
We respect the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, particularly our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, and their continuing culture and contribution they make to the Canberra region and the life of our city.
The ACT Government is committed to making its information, services, events, and venues as accessible as possible.
If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment, and need the telephone typewriter (TTY) service, please phone 13 36 77 and ask for 13 34 27.
For speak and listen users, please phone 1300 555 727 and ask for 13 34 27. For more information on these services, contact us through the National Relay Service: www.relayservice.gov.au
If English is not your first language and you require a translating and interpreting service, please telephone Access Canberra on 13 22 81.
ISBN: 978 0 642 60740 9
© Australian Capital Territory, Canberra 2022.
Freedom of information requests can be made by emailing: EducationFOI@act.gov.au
General enquiries about this report should be directed to ETDAnnualReport@act.gov.au.
The 2021-22 Education Directorate Annual Report is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. You are free to re-use the work under that licence, on the condition that you credit the ACT Government as author, indicate if changes were made and comply with the other licence terms.
The licence does not apply to the ACT Coat of Arms, the Education Directorate logo and branding, images, artwork, photographs, and any material protected by trademark.
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Source: Licenced from the ACT Government under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia Licence. The ACT Government does not necessarily endorse the content of this publication.
First published in October 2022. Information about the Directorate and an electronic version of this annual report can be found on the website: www.education.act.gov.au