*Pic: Minister for Education and Training, Jeremy Rockliff
Our kids our future
Parents will gather on Parliament House lawns on the first day of Parliament to call on our Government to invest in public education.
As a result of the Treasurer’s budget cuts in late 2014, public schools across the State have started 2015 with larger classes and less programs.
Schools have lost literacy support, sports activities, language classes, band programs and much more. Parents from schools around the State report that they are relying on volunteers to run programs. Some schools have classes with more than 30 children.
“Some schools have managed to keep class sizes roughly the same as previous years but this has come at the cost of cutting literacy and numeracy support along with cutting other support roles,” said Julian Watchorn, a father of primary and high school children, “Senior staff including Principals are also taking on a teaching load which obviously leaves less time for planning and development of programs and general running of the school. Some School Associations will have to run additional fundraisers to keep their school’s music programs going. This can’t continue year after year.”
“What chance is the Government giving our kids when schools have to cut literacy, numeracy, library and I.T. support? Where is their leadership and vision?” asks Kate Grady, a mother of one primary school child, “It isn’t good enough to say that each Principal is responsible for deciding how to spend their yearly budget. Their budget is too small and it has been cut. This is a dreadful failure of leadership.”
The Tasmanian Association of State School Organisations (TASSO) is adamant that the concerns of parents must be heard by the Government. “Schools are doing everything they can to overcome the effects of the cuts,” said Cassandra Wells, TASSO Executive Officer and mother of two, “We fear the worst is yet to come, the biggest impacts will be more obvious later in the year and compounded in following years. Our children’s education must be quarantined from any further cuts. Our politicians must back the vital importance of education by financially investing in it.”
Parents from across the State and from both primary and high schools are concerned about lost opportunities. “While our Treasurer pursues his narrow focus on balancing the budget at all costs, he is robbing a generation of children of their education,” said Lisa Schimanski, mother of primary and high school children, “Our children cannot be seven again and have the optimum time to learn to read and write with specialist help. They can’t be ten again once they have missed the opportunity to get the individual help they need in an over-crowded classroom. They can’t be twelve again and enjoy the full enrichment of specialist subjects that have been cut. We elected this Government to lead this State to our future. Our State’s future is the education of our children.”
“We need to put librarians back into school libraries to show that we care about reading, we need to fund languages in primary schools so that our children will be able to converse with our trading partners, we need to fund literacy and numeracy programs so that our kids can work in the 21st century,” said Teresa O’Leary, mother of primary and high school children.
“We call upon our Government to invest in education in the next budget,” said Margie Law, mother of a primary school child, “This must include enabling schools to reinstate frontline teaching and support positions. Investing in our kids’ education is also investing in our economy and our social well-being. If Tasmanian children are to be equipped with the skills of the 21st century we need more not less investment in public education.”
Tuesday’s details:
This will be a family event with music and games. We are inviting everyone to come along to help us call on our Government to give Tasmanian children an education that will equip them for their future – for work, for health, for personal and social wellbeing, for Tasmania’s future.
Parents would welcome the chance to chat with politicians – please come out to talk with us about our concerns. We also hope we will be welcome to come in to the Visitors’ Gallery to teach our children how Parliament works.
We have invited the Minister for Education, Jeremy Rockliff, to meet with us and to receive postcards calling on him to find a solution that makes no cuts to programs or teaching staff in Tasmania’s government schools.
Where: Parliament House lawns
When: Tuesday 3 March 3.30pm
Parents from schools around the State report the following changes so far:
• Keeping class sizes the same but cutting literacy and numeracy support to grades 3 to 6; cutting other support roles; senior staff required to teach leaving them with less time for planning, development of programs and general running of the school; School Association raising funds to keep band and music programs going.
• Classes with 30 children; one class that started the year at 30 but has already increased to 31 due to a late enrolment.
• Loss of literacy support to maintain classes below 30; class sizes between 25 and 28.
• Most classes larger than 25; all grade 3/4 classes have 29 or 30 children.
• Keeping classes the same size but cut strings, marimba and recorder programs; keep language for term 1 but no plan beyond this; retired teachers coming in unpaid to run leadership program and IT program; reduced in-class support for literacy and numeracy.
• Loss of library technician, reduced level of teachers’ aide support, reduction in literacy support; loss of numeracy program; senior staff on class so loss of behaviour management options.
• Increased class sizes; high school science class with 31 students; cut PE for kindergarten.
• Large reduction in learning support.
