Thursday, 12 September 2024

 Nick STAIKOS (Bentleigh) (18:19): (844) My adjournment matter this evening is for the attention of the Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and concerns the Allan government’s introduction of evidence-based teaching and learning practices in our schools. The action that I seek is that the minister visits Bentleigh West Primary School to see firsthand the school’s teaching of phonics, which it has pioneered for many, many years. It was in June that the Minister for Education announced an update to the Victorian teaching and learning model which will be implemented in all government schools across the state from 2025. Specifically, the minister announced that all students from prep to grade 2 will be taught using a systematic synthetic phonics approach as a part of their reading programs, with a minimum of 25 minutes daily explicit teaching of phonics and phonemic awareness. This is something that the Bentleigh West Primary School has pioneered for many, many years. It has been a centre of excellence when it comes to phonics, and that is because it has got a wonderful principal Sarah Asome. I would like to pay tribute to her leadership not just while she has been principal but before as a teacher. I know that the minister is very, very keen to visit Bentleigh West to have a look at what they do, to have a look at a school that is really best practice when it comes to phonics and phonemic awareness. He can consider this a formal invitation to visit this wonderful school, and I hope to see him there soon.