I am pleased to share with you the department’s Strategic Plan for 2024–28. Our Strategic Plan outlines our overarching direction and planned outcomes, as well as the strategies we will use to achieve them over the next 4 years.
Our vision is a great education for every child and young person – so that they can thrive now, and in the future, for a fairer, smarter and more prosperous state. Making this vision a reality for every student and child in every school and early childhood education and care setting is what the department, along with teachers, educators and support staff strive to achieve every day.
The Best Start, Best Life reforms represent a significant step-change in terms of access and equity – they are transforming early childhood education and helping Victorian kids to get the best possible start in life. The reforms are progressively rolling out, with Free Kinder reaching more children and benefiting their families. The roll-out of the Three‑Year‑Old Kindergarten reform is progressing successfully with more than 80% of services across the state now offering 15 hours per week. Once fully implemented, Pre-Prep will give children across Victoria access to up to 30 hours a week of kindergarten in the year before school.
Early Learning Victoria has been created to lead the establishment and operationalisation of 50 new Victorian government-owned and operated early learning and childcare centres in areas of greatest need across Victoria. This will make it easier for families to access affordable, high-quality early education and care.
We have included child safety as one of the department’s key outcomes in this Strategic Plan. While child safety is front and centre in all our policies and practices, more can and must be done as identified in the government’s response to the Board of Inquiry into historical child sexual abuse in Beaumaris Primary School and certain other government schools.
The department is committed to improving outcomes for First Peoples children and young people across our early childhood and school education portfolios. We have established a new First Nations Strategy, Policy and Programs Group that will lead efforts to strengthen a whole of department approach to embedding self-determination and cultural safety in schools and work with First Nations people and communities.
Victoria is a leading jurisdiction for school education outcomes, with strong primary years National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results, the best school attendance rates, and the highest proportion of young people engaged in education, training or work.
Reforms to our teaching and learning model, with an emphasis on explicit teaching, will ensure Victoria continues to drive improvement in education outcomes. The use of systematic synthetic phonics to teach reading in the early years will be universally adopted across the state.
Victoria's senior secondary pathway reforms will continue to cultivate and fulfil each student's potential, by providing young Victorians with an education that suits their goals and sets them up for success in school, work and life.
Our teachers, leaders, educators and education support staff are critical to the success of our education system. We are committed to growing teacher supply and lifting teaching and learning supports, as well as recognising the many contributions and achievements of our school workforce. Reducing administrative burdens, prioritising health and wellbeing, and providing impactful professional development will all contribute to a stronger workforce.
Work continues on our ambitious plan to deliver new and upgraded Victorian school and kindergarten infrastructure, so that children and students across the state have access to modern, fit-for-purpose learning environments.
Finally, the department is taking steps to further strengthen our integrity culture. Building and nurturing integrity as a core value informs all our work and underpins every action in this plan.
Aligning our values and efforts will bring this Strategic Plan to fruition over the next 4 years. I thank every person working in our sector for their continuing commitment and care in educating and supporting Victorian children and young people to learn, be safe and well, and fulfil their potential.
Jenny Atta
Secretary
Department of Education
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