Our Services
We provide services through four major organisational units:
Early Years is responsible for the promotion of learning for young children. The unit provides support for schools, child care services and their communities in the implementation of high quality programs and effective practices that enhance learning from birth to eight years. There is a strong focus on strategies that assist early literacy development and school readiness. The unit also facilitates development and implementation of the Launching into Learning initiative to support families and young children in Tasmanian school communities, and the work undertaken to develop a Whole of Government Early Years Framework for Action. Located within the Early Years, the Child Care Unit licenses and regulates child care in Tasmania. The unit is responsible for the administration of the Child Care Act 2001 and supports and monitors the development of high quality child care programs and services in Tasmania. Learning Services support schools in each of the North, North-West, South and South-East areas of the state. In providing support, Learning Services work collaboratively with schools and through School Improvement Boards appointed by the Minister for Education. Support includes professional learning across teaching, curriculum and assessment as well as human resource, finance and facilities support. Learning Services have a key role in facilitating the sharing of resources, knowledge, innovation and learning between schools and across the state, and responding to schools on the basis of their improvement needs. Each Learning Service carries a statewide program area responsibility:
Learning Services work with a network of schools:
Senior secondary education is provided by eight senior secondary colleges. Education services for students who are unable to attend a school are provided by Distance Education Tasmania. Skills Tasmania, formerly the Office of Post-Compulsory Education and Training (OPCET) provides policy advice, support, and strategies for achieving accessible, relevant and up-to-date skill development opportunities for industry and the community. This is achieved through the development of vocational education and training (VET) in this state. VET services are purchased from the Institute of TAFE Tasmania, a public registered training organisation (which is a statutory authority that reports separately), and other registered training organisations. Services are also provided to support Tasmania’s apprenticeship and traineeship system, high schools and colleges in the implementation of vocational learning programs and determine training responses to support industry development. Tasmanian Qualifications Authority (TQA) is responsible for the administration of post-compulsory qualifications. As a statutory authority, the TQA reports separately. Information Services and Community Learning integrates the programs and services of the State Library of Tasmania, the state’s network of online access centres, Adult Education and the Archives Office of Tasmania. This provides enhanced access for all Tasmanians to information and education through a statewide network of service points. Information Services and Community Learning includes a statewide library network of seven city libraries, 40 branch libraries, five reference and specialist collections, 66 online access centres and Adult Education facilities in all regions. The Archives Office of Tasmania and State Library Heritage Services collectively preserve and manage the cultural memory and documentary record of Tasmania, including the legal framework for government recordkeeping. Central Support
These service areas are supported by the following business units responsible for corporate support, policy development, regulation, and assessment and review. Many of our business units contribute to more than one service area. Educational Performance Services (EPS) provides an accurate and timely information and reporting service to its clients - Learning Services and schools, as well as parents, the state and Australian governments and the public. It is responsible for measuring and reporting on student performance and achievement as well as gathering evidence to support the assessment standards for students in the compulsory years of schooling. The services provided assist schools to set improvement targets and evaluate strategies to increase student learning outcomes. It is also responsible for corporate reporting and evaluating and reviewing educational programs as well as facilitating the collection, storage and utilisation of student and school data. Finance, Facilities and Business Support (FFBS) ensures that the department has a strong financial and resource management focus and infrastructure to enable the appropriate and effective delivery of education, skills and community knowledge network services across the state. The unit provides leadership and fosters an environment which supports strong financial and asset management within the department, whilst enabling innovation and improvements to resource management across all areas of the department. Human Resources Management Branch (HRMB) provides services including HR policy development and implementation, processing of payroll and employee entitlements, staffing and establishment services, employee health and rehabilitation, workplace consultancy, and legal and industrial advice. Information and Technology Services (ITS) provides timely and high quality information and communications technology related services and support to the schools, colleges, libraries and corporate units within the department. These services cover a range of areas including the provision and maintenance of information technology infrastructure hardware and network services, the identification of opportunities for business improvement through technology and the development and maintenance of standards and processes for information technology issues across the department. The unit is also responsible for information and document management systems and processes including archiving and disposal schedules. Ministerial and Co-ordination Unit (MCU) is the primary point of contact between the department and the office of the Minister for Education, and is responsible for managing the flow of information, advice and documents between the two. The unit also assists with policy and administrative matters for the department. Communication Services Unit manages internal and external communication for the department. It provides media and communication services, and promotes the department and public education to the community. The unit also coordinates the department’s publishing activities including the management of its 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. |