Excellence in education

We're responding to changing needs after the pandemic, increasing mental health support in schools, and reforming VCE and VCAL pathways.

This Budget invests in the tools our schools need to give young Victorians a great education and a bright future.

Key initiatives include:

• $131 million for extra literacy and numeracy support for students who need it most, including individualised support for those in middle years who need help catching up
• $37 million to continue the Student Excellence Program, supporting high-ability students to reach their full potential through more challenging study and opportunities
• $24 million to support the English as an Additional Language program, giving students who do not speak English at home more English language support at school so they don’t fall behind
• $17 million to extend the Primary Mathematics and Science Specialists initiative to train an additional 100 government primary school teachers as mathematics specialists
• $5.2 million to establish the Regional Blended Learning Hub, so regional students can study subjects their school previously couldn’t provide.

As kids spend more time online, this Budget is also investing $3.7 million to support students to be cyber safe and secure learners.

Transforming Victoria’s senior secondary system

And in 2023, we will be undertaking the biggest reform to the VCE since its inception.

With the new VCE Vocational Major and Victorian Pathways Certificate replacing VCAL, we’re creating one certificate to give every senior secondary student more choice, and ensure they have the skills they need for post- school education or work.

This Budget is investing $277 million to deliver this transformation of Victoria’s senior secondary system.

This transformation includes:

• $88 million to increase the teaching workforce and support schools to hire more vocational teachers and support staff, to help students access vocational and applied learning.
• $86 million to introduce an expanded offering of vocational and applied learning pathways and certificates in government secondary schools, to ensure that every senior secondary student has access to quality vocational and applied learning, no matter which government school they go to.
• $69 million to expand statewide the Head Start school-based apprenticeship and traineeship model to support students to complete their senior secondary certificate while progressing towards a qualification.
• $34 million to deliver professional learning for government school teachers to implement the new curriculum and support for non-school senior secondary providers to transition to the new framework.

Supporting our teachers

Victoria’s teachers have gone above and beyond during the pandemic.

They ran classes online, supported students from home, and innovated to keep kids engaged and learning.

We heard from teachers that if they have more time to prepare lessons, plan, and mark work, their teaching will improve – that’s why this budget will invest $779 million to recruit around 1,900 teachers. That means more time for each teacher to prepare and focus on each student and their needs.

To further support our school workforce, this Budget provides additional investment of $173 million. This funding will help grow the supply of teachers, encourage them to work in remote and challenging locations, and give them access to the best training and resources.

This includes:

• $104 million to upgrade school software so students, staff and administrators can connect better and faster
• $33 million to continue and expand the delivery of employment-based teacher education degrees for postgraduate students
• $14 million to expand the teacher financial incentives program and extend international teacher incentives and supports
• $10 million to continue the Secondary Mathematics and Science Initiative including to train 50 mathematics and 25 science out-of-field teachers in priority curriculum areas.