DEPARTMENT of EDUCATION

Our services

The Department of Education is responsible for providing public education, vocational education and training, adult and community education, library and archives services throughout Tasmania. The services of the department are focused in three main areas:

  • Pre-compulsory and compulsory education;
  • Post-compulsory education and training; and
  • Information services.

These service areas are supported by a number of other units responsible for corporate support, policy development, regulation, and assessment and review. Many of the department’s business units contribute to more than one area of service delivery.

Pre-compulsory and compulsory education

The following areas of the School Education Division deliver pre-compulsory and compulsory education services.

  • Tasmania’s 209 primary, secondary and combined schools, deliver pre-compulsory (Kindergarten) and compulsory education (Prep to Year 10) through three regional branches (North-Western, Northern and Southern). Schools are grouped into 27 clusters that align with geographical communities and share collective responsibility for the students who live in that area. Support services are provided by guidance officers, social workers and speech and language pathologists, who are based in schools. Education is also available through Distance Education Tasmania for students who are unable to attend a school.
  • Curriculum, Standards and Support provides curriculum implementation support for teachers and principals implementing the Essential Learnings in the compulsory years of schooling, and those working with pre-school children. Through the Child Care Unit, support is also provided for the development of high-quality child care programs and services in Tasmania.
  • Leadership and Learning provides services for students who require additional support and assistance to achieve maximum benefits from schooling. The branch is also responsible for professional learning and leadership initiatives associated with the implementation of the Essential Learnings, professional learning in relation to supportive and inclusive schooling and improving school effectiveness, the use of ICT in teaching and learning, and all distance education and flexible learning services.

Post-compulsory education and training

The following areas of the department provide post-compulsory education and training services.

  • Tasmania’s eight senior secondary colleges provide education for students in Years 11 and 12. A number of high schools and combined schools also provide access to various post-Year 10 education and training.
  • The Office of Post-Compulsory Education and Training (OPCET) provides policy advice, support and strategies for growth and development of post-compulsory education and training in Tasmania, services through Adult Education and the Guaranteeing Futures area teams and resourcing and accountability for the senior secondary college sector. OPCET also purchases vocational education and training services from the Institute of TAFE Tasmania, a public Registered Training Organisation (RTO). As a statutory authority the institute reports separately. VET services are also purchased from private RTOs by OPCET.
  • The Tasmanian Qualifications Authority (TQA) provides syllabuses, assessment, accreditation and certification for senior secondary students. It also provides registration services for vocational education and training and higher education providers, and accreditation services for courses in these areas. As a statutory authority, the TQA reports separately.

Information services

The following sections of the department deliver information services.

  • The State Library of Tasmania, a statewide library and information service, provides for the information, educational, cultural and recreational reading needs of the Tasmanian community through a network of seven city libraries, 41 branch libraries (including seven community libraries) and five reference and specialist collections. These libraries are linked by the Tasmanian Automated Library and Information System (TALIS), along with 170 schools and 10 Institute of TAFE Tasmania locations.
  • Tasmanian Communities Online provides a network of 64 Online Access Centres around the state that can be used to access online government and community information, as well as providing lifelong learning opportunities. This is a community access strategy that enables Tasmanians to have access to computer technology close to where they live.
  • The Archives Office of Tasmania provides access to state and local government records, and non-government records which have a continuing value to the community and to government. It provides formal guidelines for government recordkeeping, and statutory authorisation for the destruction or retention of state records for appropriate periods of time, including those identified for retention as the state’s archives. It also provides long-term preservation of state archival material in suitable storage, as well as housing a major collection of non-government records and manuscripts.

Educational review

The Office for Educational Review is an independent unit whose principal functions are to report to the Secretary for Education on significant educational issues and to provide advice on all matters relating to the evaluation and review of educational processes and the assessment of student learning outcomes.

Corporate support

The following areas provide corporate support to the service delivery areas of the department.

  • Finance, Facilities and Business Strategy Branch is responsible for managing the department’s current and emerging resource management needs. This includes supporting the management of the physical assets of the department, as well as providing leadership in business improvement.
  • Human Resources Management Branch provides human resource management policies and practices, employee entitlements, staff development programs and industrial advice.
  • Information Management Branch provides information and communications technology services for the department, including identifying and managing emerging and future information and communications technology needs.
  • The Ministerial and Coordination Unit provides liaison and coordination with the Office of the Minister for Education, and assistance with legal, policy and administrative matters for the department.
  • The Public Communications Unit provides media and public information services for the department and promotes the department and public education to the community.
  • The Corporate Reporting Unit provides support for the department’s strategic policy and planning framework and coordinates the department’s reporting requirements. The unit also provides executive support to the Learning Together Council and the Schools Registration Board.
  • The Department of Education Information Services Unit provides policy and advice on information management practices for the department. It also provides media library services to schools, corporate library and records services and management of the department’s websites.
  • Internal Audit provides the Secretary with reports on the administrative effectiveness and efficiency of programs conducted by the department and conducts special investigations as required.

New arrangements

Changes made to the department’s service areas and reporting structures in 2004-05 were a result of the implementation of Essential Learnings for All. Resourcing and service delivery areas were adapted to better support the development and delivery of education and training services, particularly in relation to students with special and/or additional needs.

Major changes included:

  • creation of three school education operational branches - Northern, North-Western and Southern, replacing the previous district structure;
  • creation of 27 clusters of schools across the three branches, with each cluster run by a board consisting of principals from all schools in the cluster;
  • appointment of a coordinating principal for each cluster of schools;
  • support teams for each cluster that include guidance officers, speech and language pathologists, social workers, support teachers and, in some cases, Aboriginal education officers who are located in the schools; and
  • establishment in OPCET of the Colleges and Curriculum Support Branch, which includes the state’s eight senior secondary colleges and a post-compulsory curriculum development project.