More than $3 million has been spent deploying 92 tutors into south-west government schools to stop students falling behind because of the pandemic, and it is already paying dividends.
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About $1.26m was poured into Warrnambool schools alone which has been used to hire 26 tutors to support students.
Some of the south-west's larger schools have hired up to 12 tutors, many part-time, while some of the smaller schools have received as little as $15,000 in extra funding to hire one tutor.
Up to $455,000 was directed to the region's biggest schools to help students.
Warrnambool West Primary School principal Clare Monk said it had been able to employ two tutors with the funding to help get students back on track.
Some students were receiving three one-hour sessions across the week to upskill them to ensure they didn't fall behind. Ms Monk said with the help of the tutors' tailored support, students were already displaying greater confidence with literacy and numeracy, individual needs were being met and it also complimented the classroom program.
"The impacts of COVID across everyone were vast and schools weren't alone," she said. "Despite the very best efforts of teachers throughout the year some children did not make the progress they would have made in a normal school year."
The tutoring program was rolled out by the state government as part of a $250 million package in what was touted as the single biggest boost to individual learning support in Victoria's history.
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Minister for Education James Merlino said while some students thrived during remote learning, some struggled.
"This is about ensuring that no student is left behind," he said.
"This package provides work for thousands of educators getting them back in the classroom and using their skills to help every student succeed."
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