Plan 2006 – 2007: A Summary
Minister's Foreword
This paper provides a brief summary of an 18 month plan to better link the full expertise and resources of the Department of Education with our schools and students. By doing this, we can better support Tasmanian public schools and colleges to further improve both the educational experience and the results of students.
The achievements of our school, training, library and information systems in recent years are readily and willingly acknowledged; the standard set is already high. However, there is more to learn and consolidate from recent reforms. There is also more to achieve if the expectations of individual Tasmanians and our whole community are to be satisfied.
This plan is about improvement. It’s also about change, but change over time that builds on work that has already been done. Its theme is continuing improvement, influenced by practising educators in our schools rather than by a ‘top-down’ or centralist approach. It is based on building better organisational networks to support communication and learning.
The process of transferring resources to and building capability in schools, as well as closer to them will be an important part of the Department’s work over the next 18 months. It will be guided by a detailed plan. In implementing the proposals in this paper, there will be open discussion with the staff involved.
A full discussion paper is available to Department of Education staff in both school and central support roles to ensure that they understand the rationale behind these proposals. It is then for them to build the organisational networks and culture that enables all staff to subscribe to our central reason for being – the student at the very centre of our education system.
David Bartlett MHA
Minister for Education
14 July 2006
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Students
There has been much progress in establishing the public education and information systems we need to support the continuing development of a culturally rich and economically productive Tasmanian community. While recognising achievements, there is also capacity for further improvement.
We must make sure that all students in our public education system do even better. In particular we must further raise literacy and numeracy levels so that all children can reach their full potential. We must make sure that our children’s educational experience is stimulating and fulfilling so that they leave school with an appropriate career pathway and with the enthusiasm to continue learning.
All of the Department of Education’s education and corporate effort must be directed towards the student – the student is at the centre of our education system.
Schools
The capacity to bring about improvement rests in our schools, and it depends on inspired teaching and excellent school leadership. It also depends on the notion of leadership not being restricted to those at ‘the top’, and for every staff member to be able to contribute ideas about what works and what does not. This applies equally to those working in the central areas of the Department as to those in schools.
Every school must have its own plan for improvement. By matching school practice against the plan, the school community should develop an understanding of the learning, networks, and support it requires. This will mean there will be much less variability between schools and greater achievement for all students.
Working alongside schools, the corporate role is targeted policy development, the maintenance and delivery of essential support to a networked school system, and the development of capabilities and trust. To that end, the Department will concentrate its resources on school improvement, in collaboration with schools - we will give all possible support to teachers and school principals. We will move resources closer to schools. We will build teaching and learning capacity in schools. We will have a smaller, businesslike and streamlined corporate structure to support this process.
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Learning Services and Support
Schools will be divided into four manageable regions – north-west, north, south-east and south. Each region will be supported by a Learning Services group. The four regionally-based and networked school Learning Services will respond to and work with schools and school communities to build strong internal capacity.
They will have a service orientation, use information, and build relationships in order to respond to schools on a priority needs basis. They will provide schools with services across a range of professional learning areas aligned to curriculum, teaching practice, and assessment practice. They will also deal with operational HR, finance, facilities support, service co-ordination, and improvement.
There will be one small and strategic central unit, Learning Support, to co-ordinate policy and research. While we are a relatively small system, we incur the same reporting obligations as other jurisdictions and we wish to maintain our capacity for educational innovation. For these reasons, we need to retain minimal but sufficient capacity to manage educational policy, accountability, and to research issues.
These five areas will each be led by a general manager, who will be a member of the Department’s corporate management team and report directly to the Secretary.
Clusters have been an excellent step in improving networking in the Department. However, they have varying levels of support from principals, with some supportive and others arguing that they work against improving school effectiveness because the groupings exclude associated schools or are too large. A more organic model that enables communities of practice to form and disband as schools’ needs change would be more beneficial for school-led improvement. Clusters should only retain their current administrative roles until Learning Services can provide this support.
Review and Corporate Roles
Both the Office for Educational Review and Corporate Services will have mainly strategic responsibilities. The Office for Educational Review will assess and report on what we are doing so that schools, the Department and the community know where we are doing well and where we can do better. Performance data tells us how we are progressing, but does not replace a shared and clearly articulated vision of excellent and engaging teaching, or of highly effective schools, or of how principals can both challenge and inspire teachers to achieve and live the vision. These factors need to be considered in any assessment of a school’s improvement.
Corporate Services will ensure that there is sound governance, financial, administrative, ICT, and HR practices through highly effective and responsive business systems that provide clear information to users. They will continue to service non-school divisions of the Department and manage whole-of-government demands and functions of critical mass across the agency. They will provide systems and support, with outstanding service, that are good enough to remove the administrative burden from schools.
Implementation
The changes envisaged here will take place over the next 18 months and a detailed implementation plan will be developed in consultation with stakeholders. As part of this, two new Learning Services will be established from the Southern Branch, and central functions that have a direct involvement with schools, teachers or students will be assessed to see if they would be better managed by one of the Learning Services. The plan will be based on three things - there will be minimal disruption for schools, there will be no redundancies, and while over a longer time some people’s physical workplace may change, no one will be forced to transfer from, say, the south to the north. Furthermore, by reducing senior executive positions and by better using the expertise of existing senior staff, these new staffing arrangements can be implemented on a cost-neutral basis.
The innovation and support needed to underpin further achievement by our students can best happen through our schools, supported by a devolved structure such as is found in a networked organisation. Rather than a traditional bureaucracy, we envisage a networked Department of Education, with the student at the centre.
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The Student at the Centre