Historic day for WA education as pre-primary Bill passes

• Legislation to make pre-primary compulsory in WA passes through Parliament

• WA students to attend 13 years of compulsory schooling

In a bid to ensure all children access early years' education, pre-primary will be compulsory for every child in Western Australia from 2013.

Legislation introduced by Education Minister Peter Collier to make pre-primary schooling compulsory in this State has passed both houses of State Parliament.

Mr Collier said the School Education Amendment Bill 2012 would come into effect on January 1, 2013.

"Every Western Australian child of pre-primary age will be guaranteed a place at their local public school from the first day of the 2013 school year," he said.

The Minister said pre-primary was a vital step in children's learning where they acquired foundation skills and became used to the routine of school life.

"Pre-primary is also the year when every public school student is assessed on literacy and numeracy so their teachers can plan the best learning programs for them," he said.

"This on-entry assessment includes aspects of oral language, vocabulary, comprehension, writing, counting, ordering, early spatial awareness and simple measurement comparisons."

Mr Collier said the passage of the pre-primary legislation meant WA children would attend 13 years of compulsory schooling and be well-placed to take advantage of the Australian Curriculum as it continued to be rolled out ahead of 2015.

      Fact File

• School Education Amendment Bill amends section 5 of the School Education Act 1999 to reduce the pre-compulsory education period from two years to one

• 'Kindergarten' becomes the only pre-compulsory year of education

• Compulsory pre-primary one of the most significant education reforms in WA's recent history

• In another major reform, from 2015 all year 7s will be moved to secondary schools

Minister's office - 6552 6300