A new round of education funding is set to help ensure students are happy and healthy, both inside and outside the classroom.
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Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff announced on Wednesday that more than 14 additional support staff positions would be placed in schools across the state to offer a helping hand to young people in need.
The 14.8 full-time equivalent positions will include speech pathologists, psychologists and social workers based across the state.
The $6.9 million of state budget funding will enable staff to work with children of all ages on a needs-based roster.
Commissioner for Children and Young People Mark Morrissey said it was important to equip students with the knowledge and resilience needed to face the fast-changing world.
“Putting these resources into the schools is just the natural next step in giving kids a much better start to life,” Mr Morrissey said.
“If kids aren’t getting the necessary health and well-being support they need, they’re going to struggle to get the education outcomes to do well at school.
“The world is getting more complex, but I think as we know more about child development, the needs of children, we know much more about the critical link between health and well-being and education outcomes.”
Tasmanian Principals Association president Malcolm Elliott said it was important to recognise the level of student need for the services.
“Tasmania is a place where there is significant disadvantage and those disadvantages can be well-addressed by specific skills,” he said.
“The complexities of modern life mean that many children need extra support in making their way forward.”
Mr Rockliff said the additional resources would be rolled out immediately after the budget’s release.
“Some of our kids, for whatever reason, have a challenging time at school and if we’re serious about needs-based funding, supporting our kids to learn, we have to invest more resources in key areas,” he said.
“Schools really value additional resources to support their students … there are increasingly many challenges that our kids today have to face.
“Students won’t learn unless they feel safe, inclusive and in an environment that is conducive to learning and this is providing schools with an extra resource to support our students.”
Mr Rockliff also announced on Wednesday that the budget would include $300,000 over two years to help students interested in a career in primary industries.
The funding will be put towards the Agricultural Education Framework to teach students from a young age about agriculture and its associated industries.