…We are determined that every child, in every school, should receive the highest quality instruction and learning. And this is not currently the case. The pattern of recent change had created an opaque, fragmented funding system and no clear national priorities for improvement, reform or accountability.

…Australia has a serious educational equity problem. Too many students from disadvantaged backgrounds are clustered in a small number of schools, with low expectations and low rates of achievement. This has caused our participation and attainment rates at Year 12 to plateau for the last decade or more at around 75 per cent.

The upshot is that a child from a working class family is only half as likely as a child from a high income family to go on to tertiary study – and has a far lower chance still of getting into an elite institution or faculty. And, of course, that a young person who does not complete secondary education is about four times more likely than one who does complete to be unemployed in later life.

The situation is of course much worse for Indigenous students, who have massive gaps in literacy and numeracy outcomes that begin in the earliest years and suppress their year-12 graduation rates dramatically. This is a significant source of shame to a nation as wealthy as ours – and it is a form of de facto discrimination the Rudd Government has committed itself to overcoming.

This level of failure is not acceptable. We know that we live in complex and diverse societies. But I do not accept that, in these societies, disadvantage is destiny.

Read entire speech transcript: http://tinyurl.com/oeshz3

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COMPARING SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

Firth moves towards school league tables in NSW

Anna Patty, Sydney Morning Herald, June 9, 2009

THE State Government will change the Education Act to allow school league tables to be created in new national school report cards to be released later this year. The decision will raise the stakes in the teacher union's war against league tables and threaten a boycott of the national numeracy and literacy tests for students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 next year.

The Department of Education has received legal advice that NSW legislation introduced a decade ago to prevent the creation of school league tables will need to be amended to allow NSW to meet new federal school reporting requirements.

The regulation preventing publication of school league tables in NSW using exam test scores is the only one of its kind in Australia. It prevents the public release of student results "in a way that ranks or otherwise compares the results of particular schools". This has prevented the publication of school league tables using raw HSC and Basic Skill Test results and university entrance rankings for the past 10 years.

The president of the Australian Education Union, Angelo Gavrielatos, said that if NSW changes its legislation preventing league tables it would be only a matter of time before they appeared across the country. Newspapers in Tasmania and Queensland have already begun publishing school league tables using national test data.

"Measures aimed at stopping league tables are being taken away," Mr. Gavrielatos said.

Read entire article: http://tinyurl.com/mhuneg

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Possible 'misuse' of school data forcing rewrite of rules

Farrah Tomazin, the Age, June 11, 2009

THE guidelines for the Rudd Government's contentious plan to publish more information on how schools perform are being reviewed, as anger builds over the data being "misused" to create league tables.

The proposed guidelines make clear that performance data should only be collected and reported for three reasons: to make schools more accountable to parents and the community; to track whether students are achieving agreed education targets; and to ensure that funding is directed to where it is needed most.

But in a move that is likely to prove contentious, the draft protocols have omitted a crucial "ethical" clause contained in the old guidelines, which highlighted the importance of avoiding "harm to members of the community".

Read entire article: http://tinyurl.com/l3vkfx

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Ban lifted on school league tables

Anna Patty, Sydney Morning Herald, June 19, 2009

THE State Government introduced a bill yesterday to lift its 10-year ban on the creation of school league tables.

The Minister for Education, Verity Firth, said the amendment to the Education Act was necessary for NSW to qualify for $4.8 billion in recurrent Federal Government funding. Despite the Government's long-standing opposition to school league tables, Ms Firth said she would not "put billions of dollars of funding at risk".

"We make no apologies for our unequivocal stand on the transparency of school information," she said. "Why should the education minister or department have access to information about schools that ordinary mums and dads don't have?"

Read entire article: http://tinyurl.com/nlgvjc

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Firth's league table bill washes hands of damage done to schools

John Kaye MP, 19 June 2009

NSW Education Minister Verity Firth has introduced legislation that will damage education and undermine schools, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye. "Verity Firth has washed her hands of the devastating impacts that league tables will have on schools that serve disadvantaged communities.

"Her claim that this legislation is about transparency is nonsense. Ms Firth is deliberately ignoring the accountability already provided by annual school reports. Parents and the community have full access to detailed information on the performance of every school in NSW. The Minister's legislation will allow the Commonwealth government to put all that information on a single website, making school league tables inevitable”.

Read entire release: http://tinyurl.com/mo7jvj

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BUILDING THE EDUCATION REVOLUTION

Wealthy schools win cash bonanza from grants

Anna Patty, Sydney Morning Herald, June 20, 2009

SYDNEY'S wealthiest private schools are being given as much as $3 million each from the Federal Government's school building program while making annual surpluses of up to $3.6 million. The bonus is on top of the $13 million in government funding some already receive.

Grants to primary schools from the Prime Minister's $14.7 billion stimulus package take no account of wealth but are based on the number of students. Secondary schools receive bonuses under the Building the Education Revolution program based on need.

Cranbrook School generated $28.7 million from tuition fees, received $3.4 million in government funding and recorded a $1.2 million surplus in 2007, according to its latest report to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The school was also given $7.9 million in donations, the report says.

The school, which charges year 12 students $24,288 for annual tuition fees, has been given a $3 million bonus for a new hall at its Rose Bay junior school campus. It has also received $200,000 under the secondary schools' program to expand its centre for students with special needs.

Read entire article: http://tinyurl.com/mcdnlf

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Are our wealthy private schools hoarding public funds?

John Kaye MP, 20 June 2009

Massive state and federal subsidies are bloating the finances of already wealthy private schools, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.

"At a time when public schools are struggling to find resources for students with special needs, wealthy private institutions are showing very healthy financial surpluses,” Dr Kaye said. "The figures are a direct challenge to NSW Education Minister Verity Firth and her federal colleague Julia Gillard and their private school handouts.

"Schools such as Queenwood and Cranbrook can hoard government subsidies while public schools are operating hand to mouth.

"The legislation must be fixed to ensure that public money is spent where it will do the greatest good, not on bloating the treasure chests of the already wealthy institutions.

"The NSW government hands over more than $830 million a year to private schools without any controls on whether the money is spent or not.

Read entire release: http://tinyurl.com/mo7jvj

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Just twenty-four complaints roll in from twenty-two schools...

Matthew Franklin, the Australian, June 19, 2009

Twenty-two schools have complained to the Rudd government over its $14.7 billion schools infrastructure program, which the opposition savaged yesterday as a shambles and an exercise in political pork-barrelling.

Kevin Rudd has acknowledged problems with the program, urging schools and parents groups to inform the government if they have concerns about wastage or inflexibility in its guidelines.

Acting Education Minister Kim Carr told The Australian yesterday that the co-ordinator of the program had received 24 complaints regarding 22 projects.

Senator Carr, who had earlier accused The Australian of contriving reports about the program's deficiencies, said the complaints were mainly from school councils and principals, relating to the implementation of the program.

Read entire article: http://tinyurl.com/lrrjsx

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Kevin Rudd's local school gets $3m for double-ups

Justine Ferrari, the Australian, June 16, 2009

HOLLAND Park State School in Kevin Rudd's suburban Brisbane electorate just finished building a brand new multi-purpose hall for $1.3 million, but under the federal government's school infrastructure program they will receive $1.5m to build another.

The school also received $1.5m to build a resource centre - the modern word for library - even though it already has a perfectly good library.

Under the $14.7 billion Building the Education Revolution, as interpreted by the Queensland Education Department, schools must give priority to building a library before considering any other project.

P&C president Craig Mayne said the school had no choice but to check the boxes for the $3m it is entitled to under the Primary Schools for the 21st Century program, even though it would rather reconfigure its classrooms to accommodate some big classes.

Read entire article: http://preview.tinyurl.com/lhwwqq

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$400,000 shade too much: Hastings Public School principal

Matthew Clayfield, the Australian, June 16, 2009

THE Rudd government gave $400,000 to a school to build a structure that cost only a 10th of that six years ago. Hastings Public School has been allocated $400,000 as part of the latest education stimulus rollout, to build a covered outdoor learning area (COLA). The NSW mid-north coast school also received $2.6 million to build a double permanent classroom with a special purpose room.

The school's principal, Grant Heaton, said yesterday both figures seemed too high, especially given the school had built a COLA in 2003 for $40,000.

"I certainly raised my eyebrows," Mr. Heaton told The Australian. "I am intrigued as to how the figures have been arrived at and who gave them a figure of $400,000 for what is essentially a weather shelter. I'm expecting the Taj Mahal of COLAs."

Read entire article: http://tinyurl.com/lr9cyk

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RURAL & REGIONAL EDUCATION

Greens join with Coalition to move for Inquiry into rural, regional uni struggles

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Media Release, 15 June 2009

The Greens have joined forces with the Coalition to move for a Senate Inquiry into how to better support rural and regional students in the wake of changes to Youth Allowance.

Today Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and Nationals Senator Fiona Nash gave notice of motion to refer the Youth Allowance changes' impact on rural and regional students to the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee.

"The obstacles to accessing higher education for young people in rural and regional Australia deserve proper examination through a Senate Inquiry," said Senator Hanson-Young, Greens spokesperson for Education.

Read entire Release: http://tinyurl.com/mo7jvj

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INDIGENOUS EDUCATION

School is only part of an education for indigenous children

Jude Davies, THE Age, May 23, 2009

HERE we go again, thinking maybe we should take the children away — for their own good, so they can have a "proper" education and perhaps even fit nicely into mainstream Australian society.

This, despite a clear statement from the Laynhapuy Homelands Association, which represents 19 communities in north-eastern Arnhem Land: "(We) … do not wish to be assimilated or mainstreamed." They go on to say that they "strongly value their culture and law and links to country".

It was this valuing and the need to resist being mainstreamed that led to the homelands movement in the 1970s. Aboriginal people moved in small groups — with 35 or so members — to their traditional country, away from the shiny influence of big settlements such as Maningrida and Gunbalanya. It is such small group structures that have worked so well for these people for longer than anyone can remember.

Now the Northern Territory's Chief Minister's Department is suggesting in a report that children from these remote homelands in Arnhem Land should be taken by bus to large regional schools.

Read entire article: http://tinyurl.com/n4rcss

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CYBER-BULLYING

Authorities powerless against online death threats

Simon Lauder, ABC News, 20 June 2009

Anonymous abusers are apparently getting away with obscene and violent bullying tactics against teenagers in Western Australia because they are doing the cyber bullying on a US based website. Despite spurious and nasty allegations and death threats, the teenagers have been advised to get new phone numbers and a lawyer.

The website purports to be a forum for people to complain about anyone. It also seeks to make a point about internet censorship. But for 18-year-old Majella Sheppard it is just a form of abuse and harassment.

"There were some threats in there and there's just been another one made recently saying that my family's going to die one by one," she said. "I wasn't too happy about that when I read it.

There have been calls for the police to take action against those behind the website. But head of the Victoria Police E-crime squad, Inspector John Manley, says there is not much he can do. Inspector Manley says Australian authorities are powerless to act because the site is based in the United States.

Read entire article: http://tinyurl.com/lb39mo

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TEACHER EDUCATION

University of Melbourne selected to Teach for Australia

Hon Julia Gillard MP, Minister for Education, 16 June 2009

The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, today announced that the University of Melbourne has been selected to work with Teach for Australia to develop and run a national teacher education course for top graduates entering the teaching workforce.

The Rudd Government’s Teach for Australia initiative has been developed to attract the best and brightest university graduates into the nation’s classrooms. Through the initiative, high-calibre graduates from Australian universities will sign up for a unique and intensive two-year teaching placement in Australian schools.

After preliminary training at the University of Melbourne, the graduates, supported by in-school mentors, will be placed in challenging school environments to help raise student achievement.

Building on their past success in developing teacher education courses such as the recently introduced Master of Teaching program, the University of Melbourne will work closely with employers and teacher registration authorities to develop a rigorous, fully supported, employment-based, teacher education course.

Read entire release: http://tinyurl.com/oeshz3

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STUDENT RETENTION

Maybe online courses can re-engage school drop outs?

Pia Akerman, the Australian, June 18, 2009

STATE education departments are considering moves for a national pilot program of online courses for high-school dropouts, qualifying teenagers for tertiary education and improving their job chances through internet study based on a successful British format.

Jean Johnson, a former high school teacher, developed the notschool.net program, which is in its ninth year in Britain and has versions in Ireland and Detroit. This week, she is meeting with representatives from the education departments of NSW, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and the ACT to discuss the possibility of similar online programs to keep dropouts learning.

"There are lots and lots of kids out of school who need to do something different," Ms Johnson said. "It might not be face-to-face intervention, but there's a huge amount of intervention from qualified, skilled teaching people, actually making sure the kids do log on and do some work. They come out with what I would call 'hard currency' for college and employment."

Read entire article: http://tinyurl.com/nj8bsy

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EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Families set to be better informed under new child care closure requirements

The Hon Kate Ellis MP, Minister for Early Childhood Education, Child Care and Youth, 18 June, 2009

The Australian Government will tighten requirements to ensure that child care providers write to parents to inform them of a decision to close a centre.

The Federal Minister for Early Childhood Education and Child Care, Kate Ellis, said that the changes will flow from the Family Legislation Amendment (Child Care) Bill which passed the Senate today.

As a consequence, operators who are planning on closing their child care operations will have to provide 30 days notice to parents and supply evidence to the Government that they have done so.

In the unfortunate instance where a child care provider makes the decision to close a service – it is critical that families are informed immediately so they can arrange alternative means of care.

The 800,000 families who rely on child care around Australia will now be better informed when it comes to decisions regarding the future of their child care.