Barry Maggie: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBarry Maggie: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 21 May 2014. Volume:699;Page:18164. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]5.MAGGIE BARRY (National—North Shore) to theMinister of Education: How will Budget 2014 continue to support the education system?Hon HEKIA PARATA (Minister of Education):Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. The Government will invest $857.8 million over the next 4 years and the remainder of this year for new education initiatives and sector support. Despite the tight fiscal environment this will take total spending on early childhood primary and secondary education to $10.1 billion in 2014-15. This is a significant investment in our childrenand New Zealand’s future and is part of a comprehensive range of practical measures in Budget 2014 to help families and children. Raising student achievement continues to be one of the Government’s top priorities and this is recognised by a further substantial boost to funding for early childhood education and schools.Maggie Barry: What initiatives does the Government have under way to support the profession to raise achievement?Hon HEKIA PARATA: Work is well under way on setting up the flagship $359 million Investing in Educational Success programme which was announced by the Prime Minister in January. The initiative creates four new career roles to support the education profession and to build quality and consistency of teaching and leadership across the system. This is the largest single investment in teachers and school leaders that they will have seen in their careers. It sits alongside the review of professional learning and development the transformation of the Teachers Council and the work we have done to recognise strengthen and value the profession. The Government has made a major commitment to raise student achievement by backing the teaching profession to win.Chris Hipkins: Why has the first round of charter schools been given an extra $9 million over the next 4 years which equates to around $6000 per student per year in addition to the up to $40000 per student per year they are already getting while State schools in the local areas receive only around $6000 to $7000 per year in total and have received a funding increase in this year’s Budget that only barely covers their increasing costs?Hon HEKIA PARATA: Because that covers the shortfall of the investment in these five schools which cater for 340 students who have been failed by the system. Our Government is an “and-and” Government and we are focusing on both the mainstream public system which is getting $10.1 billion and providing for five schools out of 2500 to raise achievement for five out of five kids.Maggie Barry: What other Vote Education initiatives were included in Budget 2014?Hon HEKIA PARATA: We are also putting substantial extra funding into day-to-day operations and modern infrastructure for schools and early childhood education centres. This includes $85.3 million more for schools’ operational grants. That is $600 million more in the last six Budgets. The continual increase in schools’ operational grants over successive Budgets has equalled or exceeded inflation. We are also investing a further $155.7 million over 4 years for early childhood education including an increase in funding rates to help keep fees affordable as well as forecast growth in the number of kids attending early childhood education. Government spending on early childhood education has almost—[Interruption]—listen up—doubled over the last 6 years from over $800 million in 2007-08 to $1.5 billion this year. That is how much this Government cares about education.Te Ururoa Flavell:Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. Kia oratātou. How will Budget 2014 develop and improve literacy for our most vulnerable communities andwhānau and what achievements have been made to date?Hon HEKIA PARATA: An extra $2.4 million of operating funding over the next 4 years will go to the Reading Together programme so that it can expand to include more than 140 decile 4 and 5 schools. Reading Together is a research-based programme that helps parents to support their children’s reading at home. The extra money will cover the extension of the programme into all decile 4 schools and up to half of all decile 5 English-medium schools. The programme will be available to students in years 1 to 8 and their families. Research has identified Reading Together as a low-cost high-impactprogramme with strong evidence of effectiveness. For example—[Interruption] Sorry to bore the Opposition about—Mr SPEAKER: Order! It is not only the Opposition you are boring. The answer is long enough.