Phonics Checks

Mr DULUK (Waite) (14:35): My question is to the Minister for Education. Can the minister update the house on the delivery of year 1 phonics checks?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (14:35): I am very pleased to have this question from the member for Waite, who I speak with regularly about education matters, both in relation to his electorate and, of course, issues such as this, which relate to all children across South Australia and, indeed, all government schools across South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: This year, for the second year, all government schools in South Australia undertook the year 1 phonics check. What we saw were some very strong improvements in the outcomes. The benefits of the year 1 phonics check are twofold. Firstly, it draws to our attention the system performance and the school performance so that those schools who potentially might have expected better results can take a look at their practice.

Indeed, what we have seen is that many schools in that circumstance have sought to introduce new whole-of-school approaches to early years literacy, and many of them are now introducing explicit synthetic phonics approaches for the first time. In particular, some of those schools have had very positive results. Some of them are now using decodable readers for the first time as part of that.

The second part of the phonics check that is particularly valuable is that for those students identified as not meeting the mark, particularly those who are not meeting the mark by some distance, early interventions are then able to be applied. Our department is working with our Literacy Guarantee Unit, our literacy coaches in that unit, and researchers from around the world and interstate, delivering best practice guides and support to schools so that teachers can put in place the interventions that are necessary. Teachers in schools are given the release time through the centralised funding arrangements so that they can plan for how best to support the students in their class who need more help.

There are some really exciting advances as a result of the first aspect, though, which is the improved and enhanced methods of teaching. Some of that is supported by the Literacy Guarantee coaches from our election commitment. Some schools have had all the teachers working with the principal and the early years literacy leader, or whatever position that might be, on those whole-of-school approaches. We have seen across South Australia the results of students meeting the expected benchmark improve, from 43 per cent last year to 52 per cent this year.

It is a significant step change and hopefully just the first of a series of changes and improvements that we will see in the years ahead. We have also seen that improvement reflected across all domains: Aboriginal students and non-Aboriginal students, students with disability and students without disability, students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and students not from those backgrounds. Indeed, last year, students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds outperformed students from English-speaking backgrounds quite significantly, and they outperformed them again this year, albeit by less. All domains saw improvement.

I was really pleased to see that 21 of the schools that had 40 or more students (15 per cent of them) had an improvement from last year to this year of more than 20 percentage points. That is a very substantial change over the period of one year and reflects the teaching practices. The member for King and I visited one of those schools not so long ago and we were able to talk to teachers and the principal. I visited one in the Leader of the Opposition's electorate, 36 points, and there is another school in the member for Light's electorate, at 36 points. Indeed, the one in the member for King's electorate had more than 50 percentage points improvement. That is very substantial.

What was reported was that teachers had embraced the new methods they had been employing in their school. Some of them had been reluctant and resistant early on, but upon seeing the extraordinary outcomes their students had they have now embraced it. Talking to those teachers, it was really impressive. I know that when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition had a trial in 2017 that was similarly a reflection of some of the schools that did that trial reported at the time.

Every member in this house can take pride from South Australia leading the nation in the year 1 phonics check. I think in the years ahead we are all going to be proud of the substantial improvements it will show for our children.