Thousands more public school students are mastering essential literacy skills as the Minns Labor Government’s education reforms deliver improved academic outcomes for students across NSW.

The Minns Labor Government has overseen a nine-percentage point improvement in NSW public schools' phonics results, with nearly two-thirds of Year 1 students meeting the benchmark in 2025 compared with only around half of Year 1 students in 2022.

Targeted phonics instruction equips our youngest students with the foundational literacy skills required for reading, spelling, and writing during a crucial stage in their development while allowing teachers to identify strengths and learning gaps to provide targeted teaching and interventions.

The academic success extends beyond phonics, with NSW public schools outperforming on NAPLAN outcomes when compared with other states and territories in 2025.

NSW now leads the nation, ranking first or equal first across multiple year levels in writing, reading, grammar, and numeracy.

These improved results follow the delivery of major election commitments made by the Minns Labor Government aimed at getting more teachers in front of students and delivering much needed school infrastructure in communities that were left behind by the former Liberal National Government.

This includes halving the number of merged and cancelled classes in NSW since being elected by slashing teacher vacancies to a 12-year low through measures including abolishing the Liberals and Nationals wages cap, taking NSW teachers from the worst paid to the best paid in the country.

The Minns Labor Government is also delivering the largest school infrastructure investment in NSW history, including a record $9 billion in new schools and upgrades delivering 230 new and upgraded school projects, as well as delivering 100 new public preschools with 75 already under construction.

This is in stark contrast to the Liberals and Nationals who failed to build and upgrade schools for growing communities, including failing to build a single public preschool in 12 years.

The delivery of these commitments has been further supported by our updated primary school curriculum and a deliberate shift toward explicit teaching in NSW public schools, giving teachers a stronger, more consistent understanding of what every student needs to learn effectively.

It is also supported by an historic $10.4 billion deal to fully fund NSW public schools, the largest ever Commonwealth investment in NSW public schools, with this record funding leading to improved outcomes in NSW classrooms.

We know there is much more to do, but the steady academic progress in NSW shows the Minns Labor Government’s plan to rebuild public education and boost student outcomes after a decade of neglect under the Liberals and Nationals is working.

Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns said:

“These results show that our plan to deliver a better education for kids by investing in teachers and building classrooms and schools for growing communities is working.

“We inherited a school system under pressure - teacher shortages were spiralling and schools weren’t being built, and we are turning that around.

“There is no replacement for a qualified teacher in front of a classroom. As a result of the tough decisions our government has made to lift the wages cap, we’re delivering more teachers and better schools, leading to better results for our students.”

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 academic outcomes for students after the Liberals and Nationals presided over years of declining results amid a teacher shortage crisis they denied and ignored.

“A test in isolation can’t get the job done, which is why we’ve introduced targeted phonics support to ensure students learn to read, setting them up for future success.

“We’re getting on with the job of rebuilding public education in New South Wales to ensure our students reach their full potential.”

Federal Minister for Education Jason Clare said:

“This is a big jump.

“From about half to nearly two thirds of students hitting the benchmark - in just three years.

“This shows the importance of the reforms happening in NSW and that we are now rolling out across the country.

“This year for the first time, every state and territory will roll out the Year 1 phonics checks.”