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Media Release
$600,000 TO KICK START ACCELERATED LITERACY IN THE NT
7 August, 2004 MIN 839/04
More than 10,000 Indigenous students across 100 schools in the Northern Territory (NT) will benefit from a literacy programme which will further accelerate and enhance their academic and personal development.
The Australian Government has allocated $600,000 to kick start Stage 1 of the Scaffolding Literacy programme known in the NT as the National Accelerated Literacy Programme.
This kick-start funding will allow the development of resources to train teachers for the widespread roll-out of the programme.
This funding is in addition to the $14 million commitment announced in April by the Government to improve Indigenous student literacy levels through a teaching programme with proven results. The Government specifically committed $8 million of this funding for a system-wide rollout of the Scaffolding Literacy approach in the Northern Territory over 2005 to 2008.
This significant initiative is a partnership between the Australian Government, the NT Government and Charles Darwin University. It will enable 700 teachers to be trained to deliver the programme in schools, predominantly in remote areas.
Scaffolding Literacy is a specialised teaching method that assists low-achieving students become independent readers and writers. The method aims to quickly develop reading and comprehension skills using high quality, challenging texts that are age-appropriate in both content and language.
A pilot programme, which included remote schools in SA and WA, showed that on entry, only 4% of Years 1-3 students could read independently at, or above, Year 1 level and 96% of students had insufficient literacy skills to take part in class room lessons. At the conclusion of the programme, 60% were able to read independently. Similarly impressive improvements were achieved by students in Years 4-6 and Year 7 and above.
An independent evaluation by the Australian Council for Educational Research of the Scaffolding Literacy pilots concluded that:
- The results of introducing Scaffolding procedures were ‘little short of sensational’:
- The changes were ‘always solid, always upward and often spectacular’;
- Scaffolding ‘works’ with regard to students’ personal development – behavioural, attitudinal and motivational;
- Scaffolding can be done anywhere; and
- The programme had the full participation and support of Indigenous communities.
I am confident many of the Indigenous students from regional and remote areas of the Northern Territory who are participating in this Programme will become more engaged in their own learning and develop higher literacy competency levels.
This Programme is another example of the Australian Government’s commitment to improving the educational outcomes of Indigenous students, particularly those in remote areas.
Media Contacts:
Dr Nelson’s Office: Ross Hampton 0419 484 095
Dept of Education, Science & Training: Virginia Cook 0412 971 323
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