Maths resources coming for parents, teachers following $1bn agreement

A slew of reforms will be implemented in SA public schools including upskilling leaders and resources for parents following a more than $1bn agreement.

Primary school maths leaders will be upskilled and an academy will be created to support early career teachers in an effort to lift numeracy results for South Australia’s youngest students.

A slew of maths reforms will be implemented by the state government to lift scores including increased professional learning in numeracy for preschool and primary school teachers and free online numeracy resources for parents.

A numeracy check will also be rolled out for all year 1 students at public schools.

It comes after an agreement was reached between the federal and South Australian governments in January which would ensure public schools across the state were fully funded over the next decade.

Students in public schools across the state are set to benefit from an extra $1.25bn over that period.

Education Minister Blair Boyer announced a slew of initiatives including upskilling maths leaders and an academy for early career teachers. Picture: Ben Clark

Education Minister Blair Boyer said the initiatives would “improve educational outcomes, including how we can better attract and retain our teaching workforce”.

Support for teachers will include a combination of online modules and in-person sessions at sites such as the Education Development Centre at Orbis in Hindmarsh.

Mr Boyer said the state was “leading the way” with its maths improvement strategy.

Part of the extra funding will be used “to make sure that we can put that extra one-on-one, individualised support earlier”.

“As a state, we identified early on that maths results were declining so we implemented the numeracy check to help with early intervention supports,” Mr Boyer said.

“We cannot simply coast along with the bare minimum.”

When the funding deal was announced, the funding was promised to go toward initiatives such as tutoring, literacy and numeracy checks, mental health support and professional development for teachers.

A slew of maths reforms will be implemented by the state government to lift scores. Picture: iStock

In return, the SA school system will have to meet new targets to improve student attendance and academic performance, retain more teachers and ensure more teenagers finish year 12.

It follows drawn-out negotiations with state education ministers who were demanding the federal government increase its funding contribution for public schools to 25 per cent, as set out by businessman David Gonski in a landmark review delivered more than a decade ago.

It created the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS), which estimated how much public funding a school needs to meet its students’ educational needs and lift outcomes.

Currently, the federal government contributes 20 per cent of the SRS for SA government schools, while the states fund 75 per cent, leaving a five per cent shortfall.

The new agreement cements the federal contribution at 25 per cent.