Minister for Education Adrian Piccoli visited the Campus on Wednesday to meet Year 11 and 12 students and to see how needs-based funding is working in the school.

“Dubbo College is targeting funding specifically to meet local needs,” Minister Piccoli said.

“Students can’t learn if they’re not at school, so increasing attendance rates is a good start.”

Minister Piccoli has spent the week touring schools in regional NSW, including Walgett, Boggabilla and Moree.

“I’ve visited schools facing different challenges. The common theme...is that needs-based funding is working,” he said.

“At Dubbo College you can see needs-based funding in action.

“More funding than ever is going directly to schools so principals are able to target resources and better meet the needs of their students.”

Some of the Campus’ needs-based initiatives include: a specialist Learning Centre with three fulltime staff providing individual tutoring, group tutoring and support for students undertaking assessments; participation in the Clontarf program which has been instrumental in raising attendance rates, and; targeting Year 11 and 12 students who might not otherwise have completed school, through a skills-based curriculum with specialised courses in English, Maths, Tech and Trade, Construction/Metals, Engineering/Textiles and Hospitality.

Improved student outcomes at Dubbo College, Senior Campus include improved year 12 retention rates and record graduating rates for Aboriginal students. Attendance rates have also risen since 2013, with the school recording an average attendance of 88 per cent in 2015.

Minister Piccoli’s visit comes just over a week after the state government announced a record $219 million in additional needs-based education funding for public schools in 2017.

Schools in the Dubbo electorate will receive an additional $4,816,348 in needs-based funding, including $1,394,893 for Buninyong Public School ($277,731 more than in 2016), $1,122,308 for Wellington Publiuc School ($109,049 more), $1,130,360 for Narromine Public School ($205,077 more) and $1,046,593 for Mudgee High School ($286,594 more).