Dozens of public schools across New South Wales are being recognised for leading the statewide turnaround in essential literacy skills as the Minns Labor Government’s education reforms deliver improved academic outcomes.
As thousands of Year 1 students sit the 2026 phonics screening check this week, more than 60 public schools are being commended for their improvement and high achievement in phonics results.
The explicit teaching of phonics in NSW public schools is equipping our youngest learners with the core reading skills essential during this critical stage in their development.
Across NSW, targeted phonics instruction in public schools has driven a nine-percentage point improvement in the phonics screening check results under the Minns Labor Government. Nearly two-thirds of Year 1 students met the foundational literacy benchmark in 2025 compared with only around half of Year 1 students in 2022.
To complement the phonics screening check, and to assess essential mathematics skills, the Minns Labor Government rolled out the nation-leading number screening check for every Year 1 public school student earlier this year.
Together, the phonics and number screening checks provide teachers with an immediate and comprehensive view of every child’s progress. This allows teachers to identify students’ strengths and learning gaps instantly, ensuring they can provide targeted teaching to strengthen literacy and numeracy outcomes.
Students requiring extra support can also access intensive, targeted teaching through the small group tuition program. The Small Group Tuition Program has been rolled out to every NSW public school, to deliver targeted literacy and numeracy support for small groups of students to improve outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics.
The Minns Labor Government has made a sustained and targeted investment in teaching quality, curriculum reforms and tailored student support, to drive meaningful improvements in literacy and numeracy across NSW schools after years of decline under the Liberals and Nationals.
Recent NAPLAN results show NSW continues to exceed the national averages in all year groups and domains, with more than two thirds of results either strong or exceeding for most year groups and domains.
These academic improvements reflect major workforce reforms that put qualified teachers back at the front of NSW classrooms. With the abolition of the Liberals and Nationals wages cap, making NSW teachers amongst the best paid in the country, and converting more than 25,000 temporary staff into permanent roles, the Minns Labor Government has slashed teacher vacancies to a 12-year low and halved the number of merged or cancelled classes.
Alongside academic improvements, the Minns Labor Government is undertaking the largest school infrastructure build in the state’s history. A record $9.2 billion investment is delivering new and upgraded schools, ensuring every student across the state can access a high-quality public education, close to home.
Deputy Premier of New South Wales and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:
“Students’ early years of schooling are critical as they develop the foundational skills to set them up for long-term academic success.
“The Minns Labor Government is lifting students’ academic outcomes after the Liberals and Nationals presided over years of declining results and a teacher shortage crisis they ignored and denied.
“Alongside this assessment, we’ve introduced targeted support including small group tuition to ensure students have the necessary skills in reading, writing and maths, setting them up for future success.
“We are proud to recognise the efforts of schools across the state in evidenced-based phonics instruction, which is leading to improved outcomes for children across NSW.”
