Beyond the Poll

1. Beyond the Poll AISWA Council Meeting November 2007

2. Australian School Enrolments 2006 SchoolsStudents Enrolment share TOTAL SECONDARY SENIOR SEC Independent* 1,007 440,399 13.1% 16.8% 18.3% Catholic 1,703 679,408 20.1% 21.6% 21.5% Government 6,902 2,248,229 66.8% 61.6% 60.2% TOTAL 9,612 3,368,036 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% SOURCE: ABS Schools Australia 2006 *Including independent Catholic schools: 1078 schools educating 490,772 students

3. Enrolment Share by Sector 1970-2006

4. Enrolment Change by Sector 1985-2006

5. Schools Recurrent Funding 2004-05 SOURCE: Productivity Commission Report on Government Services 2007 and DEST Financial Questionnaire Data 2004 and 2005 (latest available data)

6. Total Government Recurrent Funding Per Student SOURCE: Productivity Commission Report on Government Services 2007 and DEST Financial Questionnaire Data 2005 (latest available data)

7. 2007 Federal Election and Education Policy • What we know • What we don’t know • What we believe

8. 2008 • Business as usual • Possibility of extra dollars for specific purposes, eg drought relief, students with disability, targeted programs

9. 2009-2012: Funding

10. 2009-2012: Accountability

11. A Tax Plan for Australia’s Future-an Education Tax Refund • a 50% refund every year for up to $750 of education expenses for each child attending primary school to a maximum of $375 per child per year. • a 50% refund every year for up to $1500 of education expenses for each child attending secondary school to a maximum of $750 per child per year • eligible education expenses will be defined as; laptops, home computers and associated costs, home internet connection, printers, education software and text books. • school fees are not an eligible item of expenditure Eligible parents [in receipt of Family Tax Benefit (Part A) or with children at school receiving the Youth Allowance] will be able to claim:

12. ALP Solar Schools Plan • This plan announced on 26th October has two schools focused initiatives: • A grant of up to $20,000 to install 2kW solar panels (average greenhouse gas saving 2.8 tonnes per year) • A grant of up to $30,000 to install efficiency improvements including rainwater tanks, solar hot water systems and lighting upgrades. This is very similar to the existing ‘Green Vouchers for Schools Program’ a Department of the Environment and Water Resources project.

13. What We Don’t Know • Coalition arrangements yet to be confirmed • Details of ALP schools funding policy • Effect of a Labor government on federal state funding balance • Effect of minor parties holding balance of power in the Senate

14. The Balance of Power • If the government does not have a majority in the senate then the policies of the minor parties become an issue. • Of most concern is the policy of the Greens which includes the following: • The abolition of the SES model and funding maintenance • The capping of the total funding available for private schools at 2003/04 levels indexed for inflation • The reintroduction of a new schools policy • The introduction of accountability frameworks to create the same minimum level of public accountability and transparency that applies to public schools • The extension to private schools of the anti-discrimination measures that apply to public schools. • End the public ranking of schools in league tables.

15. The Balance of Power (cont..) • The Australian Democrats policy says little about a funding model for independent schools. Its main thrust is to improve the funding for primary schools stating including increasing the Commonwealth per capita funding for (state) primary schools to the same level as that for (state) secondary schools. • Redirect the funding for the $700 literacy and numeracy tutoring scheme to schools to be used for specialist literacy and numeracy trained mentors to work with staff in classrooms.

16. The Balance of Power (cont…) • Family First focuses on the right of parents to choose schools that support their family’s values and of independent schools to employ staff who uphold the values of their school community. The policy also advocates funding equity between public and private schools and increased accountability to parents and community with national standards for all schools.

17. ALP Verbal Commitments Stephen Smith to Parliament, 7 May “Labor will not cut funding to any government or non-government schools. We are about supporting schools rather than taking money away from them. We will invest in our schools. As a consequence, no school will be worse off and no school will have its funding cut.” Stephen Smith and Kevin Rudd, 17 May media release “Labor will not disturb the current indexation arrangements.” Stephen Smith to AISNSW, 25 September [In regard to the possible reintroduction of a New Schools Policy] “We have no plans to introduce any new such policies or restrictions. The status quo in this area will remain.”

18. ALP and the SES model Stephen Smith to ABC Radio, 13 June “There is a particular provision in the Platform which makes reference to income from private sources and people are worried about that. My reading of that is that it simply reflects a measure of the capacity of parents to contribute to their children’s education, which includes their occupation, their income, etcetera. That’s already taken into account by the current SES funding model. So, that particular provision doesn’t stand in the way of what Kevin Rudd and I and Labor will do in Government. In a sense, it facilitates it. So, that should not be of concern to people.”

19. What is all this likely to mean? • Continuing moves to a national curriculum • Uncertainty of funding structures after the 2009/12 quadrennium • Rewards for ‘good’ teachers-merit pay? • League tables of student performance data • Publication of school performance data • Increasing inroads into schools autonomy

20. From Federal to State Legislative Impact • Mandatory Reporting • The Education Standards Authority • Review of the Education Act Policy Impact on Schools • The changes to the DET entry salary for beginning teachers • The outcome of DET EBA Negotiations • The syllabus for WA Schools