Every child reading well. Help for every adult who missed out.
Your taxes paid for every one of those years. A child who falls behind this early tends to fall further behind.
What's going on
NSW has started teaching reading the right way, with phonics from day one. Year 1 results are improving, but Year 3 hasn't moved yet. Mississippi took four steps and NSW has taken one. Parents often don't hear there's a problem until Year 3, and there's no right to a plan. Adult reading help is run mostly as a jobs program.
By the numbers
Who pays
The parent who finds out in Year 3 that their child is behind, when catching up is already harder.
The kid in a remote town, where most Year 3 students aren't reading at the expected level.
The adult who can't check what a lease, a consent form or a note from school says, and has to take someone else's word for it.
The retiree or carer who goes looking for help and finds none nearby.
What I'll do
- 01
Tell parents three times a year.
From Kindergarten to Year 3, every child's reading is checked the same way in every school, and parents get a written report three times a year.
- 02
A reading plan, by law.
Every child who falls behind gets a written plan, updated every term, with the support spelled out and parents told.
- 03
Specialists in the classroom.
Literacy coaches in the 300 schools that need them most, and 500 specialist literacy teachers, with at least 150 in regional and remote schools.
- 04
Reading help for every adult.
Help through libraries, neighbourhood centres, Aboriginal Medical Services and multicultural organisations, open to anyone who needs it, close to home. Backed by 200 more adult literacy teachers at TAFE.
What it costs
I haven't put a price on this yet. The biggest pieces are people: 500 specialist teachers in schools and 200 adult literacy teachers at TAFE. How fast NSW pays for them decides how fast we get to 85 per cent.
Proof it works
Mississippi went from 49th for Year 4 reading in 2013 to ninth in 2024, and first against students from similar backgrounds. It checked young children's reading three times a year, put coaches in struggling schools and checked they followed through. States that only changed the curriculum mostly haven't matched it.
What changes for you
My goal: 85 per cent of kids reading well at every year level by 2035. If your child slips, you'll know early and there's a plan. For adults, I'm aiming for about 70 per cent by 2035.