Tasmania’s new long-term education strategy brings existing reform commitments together around workforce sustainability, literacy and numeracy, school collaboration and clearer pathways to educational success.
The Tasmanian Government has released a long-term strategy to guide education reform through to 2030, setting four priorities for the state’s education system following the Independent Education Review.
Education TOGETHER: Transforming learning through collaboration, released on 26 October, consolidates existing commitments into a single framework. The strategy does not introduce new policy directions but aims to provide greater clarity on priorities and how they will be delivered.
Tasmanian Minister for Education Jo Palmer said the strategy built on changes already made to the state’s education system.
“Over the past decade we have upgraded schools, built new schools, changed the law to keep young people in education or training, and extended all high schools to Year 11 and 12,” Ms Palmer said.
“Education TOGETHER builds on the strong foundations our Government has laid.”
Four priorities for reform
The strategy identifies four priorities for Tasmania’s education system:
- A skilled and sustainable education workforce, supporting school leaders, teachers, teaching assistants and other school staff.
- Strong foundations in literacy and numeracy, continuing and strengthening the state’s approach to foundational learning.
- Stronger, more collaborative school structures, including school groupings and the ongoing Multi-School Organisation trial.
- A shared vision for educational success and clear pathways, supporting young people to pursue educational pathways that are meaningful to them.
The government said work was already under way across these areas, including literacy improvement measures, numeracy initiatives, the multi-school trial and stronger wellbeing supports for school staff.
For school leaders, the workforce and organisational priorities are particularly relevant. The strategy identifies collaboration between schools as one way to support staff and reduce administrative burdens, helping schools focus on teaching, learning and student wellbeing.
“The plan primarily guides government school reform, with ongoing collaboration and alignment with Catholic and Independent sectors also playing an important role in achieving the strategy’s targets,” Ms Palmer said.
The government’s approach places the four priorities within a coordinated, long-term framework, rather than treating individual initiatives as separate reform efforts.
Ms Palmer said she looked forward to working across the education sector to implement the strategy.
“This is such an exciting step forward for the future of our education system, and I look forward to working right across the sector to deliver the strong outcomes our students deserve.”
Read the strategy: Education TOGETHER: Transforming learning through collaboration