PHOTO: Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce, speaking at the grand opening of new facilities at Scone Grammar School.
Students and staff at Scone Grammar School in the New England will have full use of a new Secondary Teaching and Learning Centre thanks to funding from the Coalition Government.
Mr Joyce officially opened the new facility in Scone today on behalf of the Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham.
“It was great to visit Scone Grammar School and see the new facilities firsthand and the impact they will have on students’ learning potential,” Mr Joyce said.
The Coalition Government provided $900,000 in funding from the Capital Grants Program, which provides funding for non-government schools to improve capital infrastructure where they otherwise may not have access to sufficient capital resources.
Mr Joyce said students and the whole school community would benefit from these new facilities.
“These new learning spaces take into account the latest in educational research and will see students in regional centres like Scone, learn more effectively.”
The Government’s school reforms will deliver real needs-based funding, so that students with the same need within the same sector will attract the same support from the Commonwealth, and with students who need the most support getting the most support, as quickly as possible.
Independent schools in New South Wales will also benefit from increased funding under these arrangements. Funding for independent schools in New South Wales is estimated to grow from $1.4 billion in 2017 to $1.5 billion in 2018, $1.8 billion in 2021 and $2.4 billion in 2027. This represents an average per student increase of 4.8 percent each year over the next four years.
“We’re delivering the real Gonski needs-based funding that Labor distorted with 27 special arrangements with states and territories and sectors.”
Minister Birmingham said the Government’s recurrent funding growth will be tied to a range of evidence-based initiatives to support students by focussing on outcomes in literacy, numeracy and STEM subjects, helping lift teacher quality and better preparing our children for life after school.
“While buildings alone do not make a great school, I hope students and staff will enjoy learning and be inspired by these new facilities,” Minister Birmingham said.
“The Australian Government is committed to improving the quality of our schools and equipping students with the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive world.”
For more information on the Quality Schools reform package visit: education.gov.au/qualityschools
(ENDS)