Realising our potential - ensuring quality in our school system
Around 3.4 million students from over 9,600 schools and school
communities across Australia will benefit from the range of significant
education initiatives announced today as part of the Australian Government’s
2007-08 Budget package.
The Australian Government is delivering more than $843 million over four
years to schools through the Realising Our Potential package. The new
initiatives will ensure that the Australian education system better meets
the needs of students, enabling them to prosper economically and socially in
a global environment. It will improve quality, ensure consistency and assist
students falling behind in literacy and numeracy.
The Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop
MP, said today that the package of measures was carefully targeted and built
on proven policies to assist schools, principals, teachers, universities and
most importantly, students.
"The Realising Our Potential schooling package
recognises that parents are entitled to an assurance of quality education
for their children regardless of which school they choose – government or
non-government, regional or remote," Minister Bishop said.
This year’s Budget highlights include:
$457.4 million over four years for the National Literacy and
Numeracy Vouchers programme which will provide assistance to parents
of students who have not achieved minimum literacy or numeracy standards
in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
$101.7 million over four years for a new Australian Government
Summer Schools for Teachers programme to be delivered by Australia’s
best tertiary educators for our best teachers. The 10-day residential
programmes will up-skill teachers in the core subjects of Literacy and
Numeracy, English, Maths, Science and Australian History to support
their ongoing professional learning and leadership role in schools.
Teachers chosen for the Summer Schools will also receive a $5,000 bonus
on completion of the programme.
$53.2 million over four years for the Rewarding Schools for
Improving Literacy and Numeracy Outcomes initiative. Schools that
can demonstrate sustained improvements measured against student literacy
and numeracy achievement will be eligible for a grant of up to $50,000.
This is a tangible incentive for schools to improve.
$77 million over four years for the Improving the Practical
Component of Teacher Education initiative, which will boost funding
for universities to ensure the practical experience of student teachers
is of high quality and represents a substantial component of teacher
education courses.
In addition to the total funding provided by the Realising Our
Potential schooling package, the Australian Government will, from 2009,
require that government and non-government education authorities focus on
quality improvement. These measures set the foundations for future schools
funding requirements, which will ensure continual improvement in the quality
of education in Australian schools.
"The Realising Our Potential schooling package demonstrates the
Australian Government’s ongoing commitment to parents and their children’s
education," Minister Bishop said.
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Media Contacts |
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| Minister Bishop’s Office: |
Tory Vidler |
0414 228 727 |
| Dept of Education, Science & Training: |
Virginia Cook |
0412 971 323 |
| Non-media queries: |
1300 363 079 |
Supporting Information
Why is this important?
A well-educated, flexible, creative and self-confident
population is the key to achieving economic prosperity and social
and civic engagement. According to the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD), education is an important
gateway to employment. By increasing the knowledge and skills of the
future workforce, and preparing students for further education and
training, the school system contributes significantly to higher
national income and economic growth. This benefits all Australians.
Literacy and numeracy skills
- The basic skills acquired in schooling, particularly literacy
and numeracy, are the necessary foundation for developing
higher-order skills that create a more productive workforce.
Literacy and numeracy achievement is the single most influential
factor in Year 9 students staying on to complete Year 12 and the
strongest predictor of tertiary entrance performance.
- Low achievers are more likely to leave school before completing
Year 12 and more likely to drop out as early as the end of Year 10.
Students who stay on to complete Year 12 or an equivalent
qualification are:
- more likely to experience good transitions from school and
settle more quickly into productive activities;
- more likely to gain a post-school qualification than early
school leavers;
- at lower risk of experiencing unemployment throughout their
working life;
- more likely to participate in the labour force at all ages
(particularly older ages);
- more likely to be in full-time employment; and
- higher income earners.
- The teaching of literacy and numeracy in schools is therefore a
critical element in improving Australia’s participation rate, an
ongoing concern in the context of the ageing of the population.
Rewarding quality teachers
Research has shown that teacher quality is the single most
important contributor to student outcomes after the socio-economic
status and background of the student, consistent with findings based
on substantial data in the United States.
Research also points to school autonomy in staffing decisions
and allocating resources, accountability for performance, and early
intervention, particularly for disadvantaged students, as key
features of high-quality, high-performance schools across the world.
National core curricula standards
A recent study conducted by the Australian Council for
Educational Research (ACER) investigated the curriculum content and
achievement standards of five selected Year 12 subjects across
Australia, including English, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and
Australian History.
The study found that there is a huge array of arrangements
across the states and territories in mathematics (27 different
tertiary entrance courses offered across Australia), History (20
different courses offered with only two called Australian History)
and English (18 courses offered).
The study presents a compelling case for the identification of
core curricula standards that specify what all students are expected
to learn in a subject. It also calls for the development of
achievement standards so that there is a nationally-consistent
description of how well students are expected to learn the core in
each subject.
Who will benefit?
- All school students will benefit from the Realising Our
Potential schooling package.
- Every parent is entitled to expect that their children will
receive a high quality education and develop the core skills
necessary to be able to realise their potential, no matter which
school they attend. The Realising Our Potential schooling
package will drive reform in school education and help ensure that
state and territory education authorities deliver quality schooling
for all students.
- Teachers, principals and school communities will benefit from
skill improvement provisions available under the package.
- Universities will receive additional funding to improve the
provision of teacher training.
- Australia’s economy will also benefit as education builds
capacity, encourages social participation and can help individuals
and groups overcome disadvantage.
What funding is the Government committing to the initiative?
$843 million over four years.
What have we done in the past?
- The 2007-08 Budget continues the significant support for school
education provided by the Australian Government including the
following initiatives announced in the 2006-67 Budget:
- $20.6 million for the Reading Assistance Voucher programme which is providing $700 for Year 3 children not
meeting national minimum literacy standards in 2006;
- $22.9 million for the Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) Innovation to Support National Consistency
which is contributing to the provision of online content for
all students and teachers and enabling schools to gain better
access to digital resources of Australia’s cultural and
scientific institutions;
- Additional funding of $40.8 million for the English as a
Second Language programme.
