Summer school intensive teaching encourages confidence

1 December 2010

The Department of Education and Training is gearing up for its next round of Summer Schools in January, with parents and teachers singing the praises of past programs and lining up to be involved again.

More than 1485 students attended Queensland Summer Schools over the recent September holidays with students rating the experience as 'awesome'.

Delivered across 72 school locations around the state, the intensive teaching program has received positive feedback from parents and students.

Assistant Director General, Teaching and Learning Branch, Yvana Jones said the post-Summer Schools survey showed the majority of students enjoyed the experience and parents felt their students benefited from the small group environment.

'Summer Schools are ideal for Years 5, 6 and 7 students requiring additional support in literacy and numeracy as they provide students with small classes, high quality resources, and immediate feedback on learning,' Ms Jones said.

'Our recent Summer School program has been hailed a great success with many students enjoying the fun computer-based activities, which helped greatly with reinforcing their learning.

'Many parents and teachers were impressed with the results from the explicit teaching used, invaluable in helping students learn about decimals in numeracy, and in literacy learning about elements required to create mood and atmosphere when writing.'

Ms Jones said many parents also credited their children's increased confidence to Summer Schools attendance and praised the commitment and skills of the teachers involved.

'We are already getting enquiries from the same parents about our next round of Summer Schools in the new year,' she said.

Teachers interested in becoming involved in the 2011 Summer Schools program are invited to contact Anne Schafer on 07 3234 1757 or email anne.schafer@deta.qld.gov.au .

The first 2011 Summer Schools are scheduled for 72 locations around Queensland from January 10-19.

For details, including locations, visit the 2011 Summer Schools website.