The last day of the school year (19 December) for students is to be converted into a pupil-free day to give teachers and school staff time to plan for the coming year.
Announced by the Minister for Education, Sarah Mitchell, an additional school development day is also set to take place on the last day of students’ 2023 school year.
Ms Mitchell said additional planning days and teacher release time would give teachers the opportunity to fully engage with the State’s new curriculum, on track to be delivered by 2025.
“Currently the last day of face-to-face learning for students in Term 4 in both 2022 and 2023 is a Monday, so converting these two days to a school development day is a no-brainer,” Ms Mitchell said.
“It also makes more sense for families to finish the school year on a Friday, while allowing staff more time to have an extra day of professional learning,” she said.
“We are giving additional time for planning to get this landmark new curriculum right from the beginning.”
Ms Mitchell said secondary school teachers, who currently receive five hours and 35 minutes of release time each week, would be guaranteed the equivalent of an extra 30 minutes per week for three years.
“Currently, primary school teachers receive two hours of release time every week and under these changes they will be guaranteed the equivalent of an extra 30 minutes per week in 2023, increasing to an extra 60 minutes per week in 2024 and 2025,” the Minister said.
“Primary school executive staff will also receive additional release time.”
