The Quality Teaching Branch is responsible for programme management, policy advice and research relating to:
- teacher professional learning;
- the Australian Government Quality Teacher programme; and
- Selective Schools.
The branch is comprised of four sections:
- Teacher Preparation Team
- Teaching Workforce Team
- Professional Development Team
- Teacher Quality Policy Team
The Branch works to improve the quality, status and professionalism of teachers and teaching by developing policy and providing advice on pre-service teacher education, professional standards, accreditation and teacher registration. The Branch works collaboratively with key stakeholders from the teaching profession, higher education and state/territory teacher registration and employing authorities.
The Branch is responsible for delivering the 2007 Budget initiatives to develop national teacher training and registration standards and to ensure high quality professional experiences for pre-service teacher education students. The Branch is also contributing to the development of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) initiatives for principal and teacher standards for literacy and numeracy.
The Branch also manages the Australian Government’s relationship with Teaching Australia, the national professional body for teachers and school leaders, and rewards teachers through the annual Australian Government National Awards for Quality Schooling.
The branch is comprised of three sections:
- Pre-service Teacher Education Section
- Teacher Professionalism Section
- Teacher Standards and Accreditation Section
The Schools Excellence Branch is responsible for research, policy advice and policy development relating to:
- teacher remuneration including performance based pay;
- school leadership issues including principal autonomy; and
- teacher supply and demand issues.
The Branch manages the research and development of models of performance-based pay project, Australia's involvement in the OECD School Leadership Activity, the Staff in Australia's Schools survey (SiAS) and the Australian component of the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey. The Branch's business also includes the management of ongoing Principal Seminars with the principals' associations and liaison with key teacher and principal stakeholder groups.
The branch is comprised of three teams:
- School Leadership Team
- Teacher Remuneration Team
- Teacher Workforce Team
The Student Access and Equity Branch has a focus on policies and initiatives targeted at enhancing schooling for all students and improving both access to education and learning outcomes. The Branch does this by:
- providing policy advice on access and equity and student well being issues;
- implementing national strategic initiatives to embed values education in school curricula;
- providing advice on the use of ICT in schools to assist all students improve learning outcomes;
- implementing strategic national initiatives to enhance student well being, boys education and education for gifted students; and
- implementing national targeted programmes to improve access to education for students with disability and students with English as a second language.
The branch is comprised of four sections:
- Equity and Inclusion Section
- Learning Innovation Section
- Student Wellbeing Section
- Values and Targeted Initiatives Section