Continued from Saturday's Royal Gazette

Schools that are "inviting" to students do not happen by accident, Education Minister Paula Cox told the House of Assembly.

"They are the products of intentional effort, sound thinking and regular assessment - based on a first commitment to basic values," she said.

"So, we focus on the places, the people, the policies and the programmes. Those are the key ingredients that are the heart and soul of our education system.

"We all have a stake in seeing that our public education system is equipped to deal with the challenges of this learning age.

"All of our students may not have equal talent, but they all must have an equal opportunity to develop their talent."

Ms Cox was responding to calls by Shadow Education Minister Tim Smith that Government should do more to keep and attract teachers, and said more action should be taken to ensure parents were actively involved in their children's education.

Ms Cox said her plan was to raise standards in schools, develop teaching skills, make parents more accountable and ensure that all children were catered for, regardless of their needs and abilities.

She said that would mean developing alternative education programmes and schools, including for special needs, and ensuring that teachers had the facilities and finances within which to work.

As part of that, she said every teacher was to be given $75 to assist them with supplies they buy for their classrooms each year.

She added: "I have heard what I suppose is meant to be a rallying call from some quarters, that this Government has failed in it efforts to improve public education in Bermuda.

"We have not failed. We have taken the proverbial bull solidly by the horns and have set about taking action on matters about which others have talked about and thought about for years.

"We have not failed to reduce class sizes at the pre-school and lower primary levels. We have not failed to implement a single set of instructional materials at the primary school level. We have not failed to address concerns regarding equity in schools for all children."

And the Minister went on with her examples.

She added: "I have identified some of the principal areas in which we have not failed. Let it be know than I mean, without a shadow of any doubt, that we have succeeded, and when we succeed, our children succeed."