Alice Jordan-Baird (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education. As students across the country head back to school, what is the Albanese Labor government doing to ensure Australian kids get the best start possible? Why is it so important to deliver, rather than divide, on school education?

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank my friend the glorious member for Gorton for her question. School is now back across the country. That means a lot of relieved mums and dads and a few nervous kids—not as nervous as a few people over there!

Cameron Caldwell (Fadden, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tell us a story, Jason!

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll tell you a story. There are a lot of kids changing schools, changing classes, changing teachers and changing seats. There's a bit of that going on over there as well! There are kids in classrooms right now that are learning how to read and are learning how to count. There's a bit of that going on over there as well! No doubt there are a few kids yet to get back to school. They might be still on a European holiday. They'll get back late and no doubt expect to get elected school captain.

But this is a big year for school education.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Herbert is now warned.

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last year, we signed agreements with every state and every territory to fix the funding of our public schools. That funding, and the reform that's tied to it, starts to roll out this year. A big part of that reform is reading. The reading wars are over. We know what works. A big part of that is phonics. A big part of that is explicit teaching. A big part of that is identifying early children who are falling behind and giving them extra support. And part of that is a phonics check for kids when they're six—when they're in year 1. That rolls out right across the country, in every state and every territory, this year. To give you an idea of how important this is, South Australia has been doing this now for almost a decade. When they started doing it in 2018, 43 per cent of six-year-olds met the expected standard. When they did that test last year, 66 per cent of six-year-olds met that standard. That's why it's important. That's why we're rolling this out now in every state and every territory. That's why we're now going to do the same thing in maths—a year 1 numeracy check that starts to roll out this year.

I will also use this opportunity to give a quick shout-out to our teachers, people who do the most important jobs in the world. This year, there are going to be big changes to teacher training to better prepare students to teach children to read, write and count and to manage classroom behaviour. Some good news I can advise the House of is that this year the number of applications from students to start a teaching degree at university is up 6.5 per cent, and university offers are up 6.3 per cent. This is all good news: more funding for our schools, more teachers for our schools and more focus on the basics to make sure more of our children get a great start in life.