EREA National Business Managers Forum 2018

Australian Government School funding Australian Government Recurrent funding Capital assistance  State Government Recurrent funding  Capital assistance  Australian Government is the major funder of non-government schools, reflecting support of parental choice and diversity Australian Government announced a new recurrent funding model in May 2017 – Quality Schools

Quality Schools – an overview Total Commonwealth recurrent funding will increase by 77 per cent over the next 10 years. Funding per student will grow at an average rate of 4.2 per cent per year.    Funding for non-government schools will grow by an average of 65.3 per cent between 2018-2027.  The average annual per student growth will be 5.1 per cent for government schools, 3.5 per cent for Catholic schools and 4.1 per cent for independent schools. 

Funding will be needs-based, with the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) providing the base amount per student plus six loadings for disadvantage. Students with greater needs will attract higher levels of Commonwealth funding regardless of the state they live. The SRS for non-government schools is discounted by the anticipated capacity of the school community to contribute to the school's operating costs.

By 2027 all schools will be funded on a consistent basis, across all states with the Commonwealth funding 80 per cent of SRS for  non-government schools (discounted by the school community’s capacity to contribute) and 20 per cent for government schools. It is  forecast that all Catholic systems (except ACT)  will receive 80 per cent of its SRS by 2023.

Currently under-funded schools and systems will transition to the new shares in 6 years.  This means their funding will grow faster than the SRS indexation rate over 2018-2023 and then grow at the indexation rate from 2024-2027. Over-funded schools and systems will transition over 10 years. Schools that are part of the Queensland Catholic system will all transition over 6 years as the system overall is under-funded.

Commonwealth recurrent funding is subject to the States delivering their share of a total funding level of at least 95 per cent of the SRS for all schools by 2023.  States must contribute at least 75 per cent of the SRS for government schools (unless otherwise agreed with the Commonwealth) and 15 per cent of the SRS for non-government schools. The Commonwealth Government established the National School Resourcing Board (NSRB) to provide greater independent oversight of funding arrangements.

 National  Average Avg. annual per student increase over 10 years 2017 per student funding ($) 2027 per student funding ($) 2017-2027 per student increases ($) Avg. 2017 CW share of needs based funding Government 5.1% $2,724 $4,500 $1,776 17.0% Catholic 3.7% $8,855 $12,746 $3,892 78.1% Independent 4.3% $7,328 $11,118 $3,790 73.5%  Queensland  Average Avg. annual per student increase over 10 years 2017 per student funding ($) 2027 per student funding ($) 2017-2027 per student increases ($) Avg. 2017 CW share of needs based funding Government 4.8% $2,871 $4,587 $1,716 17.7% Catholic 3.5% $8,854 $12,524 $3,671 79.3% Independent 4.5% $7,848 $12,165 $4,316 72.4%

Benefits & challenges of the new funding arrangements Funding certainty Needs-based funding Consistent funding methodology Systems retain the autonomy to redistribute government funding  Shift from government to private funding for some schools Cost savings to offset income reductions Increased accountability, transparency and reporting

Possible risks to recurrent funding for Catholic schools The outcomes of three NSRB reviews: SES  NCCD Approved authorities Changes in State contributions to SRS  Change in federal government 

Capital grants to Catholic BGAs State Australian Government ($m) State/Territory Government ($m) Total ACT 4 NSW 30 20 50 NT 1 2 3 QLD 16 68 84 SA 6 TAS VIC 33 34 67 WA 8 38

SES Review The NSRB will review The strengths and limitations of the current SES measure in determining the capacity of a school community to contribute to the recurrent costs of the school Possible alternative methodologies for calculating the SES  and the frequency for updating the SES The timeframe for possible implementation of its recommendations for  the 2019 school year The report is due to Government at the end of June.

Review of loadings for disability The NSRB will review the level of resources currently used within schools and systems to support students with disability at each level of adjustment under the NCCD the adequacy of current resource levels in ensuring students with disability can access and participate in education on the same basis as other students the funding attracted by approved system authorities for students with disability and allocated under each system’s needs-based funding arrangements.

Supplementary, substantial & extensive Substantial & extensive NCCD state analysis All sectors All adjustments (%) Category 1-3 (%) Supplementary, substantial & extensive Category 2-3 (%) Substantial & extensive New South Wales 19.2 15.0 4.2 Victoria 19.1 11.6 5.0 Queensland 16.8 10.7 4.6 Western Australia 20.5 11.5 3.3 South Australia 21.0 13.6 4.4 Tasmania 12.7 8.3 ACT 13.7 10.1 3.5 Northern Territory 26.8 20.1 9.4 National  18.8 12.6 In 2017, 18.8% of all Australian students were classified as needing some level of adjustment. Queensland was the only State to record a decline in NCCD adjustments during that time.

NCCD sector analysis Category 0 (%) QDTP Category 1 (%) Supplementary Substantial Category 3 (%) Extensive Government 6.2 7.8 3.3 1.9 Catholic 4.2 9.9 2.3 0.5 Independent 9.0 7.7 2.5 0.7 National  8.2 3.0 1.5 In 2017 the Catholic sector reported the lowest percentage overall and in the substantial and extensive categories

Review of approved system authorities obligations Approved system authorities are responsible for distributing funding based on their own needs-based funding arrangements which complies with section 78(5) of the Australian Education Act 2013. The NSRB will review whether approved system authorities  have needs-based funding arrangements in place which meet the requirements of section 78(5) of the Act to distribute Commonwealth financial assistance to their member schools. for more than one school, including system authorities, have distributed funding in accordance with an arrangement which complies with either subsection 78(4) or 78(5) of the Act.

State contributions to SRS Under the Australian Education Act 2013 the States must contribute a prescribed share to recurrent funding as a condition of financial assistance from the Commonwealth. Section 22A outlines the funding formula for State contributions as they transition to the new levels.

Australian Education Act 2013; Section 22A Unless the State or Territory’s school education reform agreement specifies otherwise, the State-Territory share for the State or Territory for a year after 2023: (b) for non-government schools is: If the starting State-Territory share for the State or Territory for non- government schools is 15% or less – 15%; if the starting State-Territory share for the State or Territory for non- government schools is more than 15% but less than 20% - the starting State or Territory share; or if the starting State-Territory share for the State or Territory for non- government schools is 20% or more – 20%.

With some states currently making contributions above the Quality Schools rates, there is a risk that they will adjust their rates downward.  The Queensland Government currently contributes around 23 per cent to the recurrent funding to Catholic Schools. This commitment was made by the former Minister for Education for the life of the Government.

Change of government If there is a change in government at the next federal election (between August 2018 – May 2019), a Labor Government may seek  to reinstate past funding promises to the Catholic sector (subject to Senate approval). At this time, there is only a commitment to additional funds for two years. There has been no detail provided of the model Labor may use for funding. The additional funding was detailed in Bill Shorten's recent letter to the Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart, offering an additional $250m to Catholic schools in the first two years of a Labor Government (2020 & 2021), thereby effectively reinstating SWA funding levels.      

If there was a return to Gonski 1.0, then we would see a return to  System weighted average SES  Readjustment of capacity to contribute   Indexation of 3.6%  State definition of SWD (instead of NCCD)  Old transition approach

Through Growth to Achievement Report to the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools

The Review was established in July 2017 to examine evidence and make recommendations to the Australian Government on how school funding should be used to improve school performance and student outcomes. The Review Panel presented its report (the Report) to the Prime Minister and Commonwealth Minister for Education on 28 March 2018.

The Report states that although Australia has a strong educational heritage, academic performance has, since 2002, declined when compared to other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.  The Report identifies three priorities and makes 23 recommendations across five areas to improve student outcomes.  The Australian Government supports all the recommendations in the report in-principle and has referred it to the Education Council of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) for action

Initial mapping of the recommendations to other national reforms Alignment with other national reforms Embed a focus on individual student achievement through continuous learning progress in the policies and practices of all schools and systems, with the expectation that each student should achieve at least one year’s growth throughout each year of schooling. Broadly aligns with many of the recommendations made in other reviews which are intended to better support all students to each achieve their best educational outcomes. 2. Develop and disseminate evidence-based tools and resources to assist early childhood education providers, primary, and secondary schools to implement best practice approaches to supporting parents and carers to engage in their children’s learning throughout their education. Aligns with the Independent Review into Regional, Rural and Remote Education (IRRRRE) recommendation 4: Ensure regional, rural and remote children start schooling with a strong foundation for learning. Aligns with the Lifting our Game recommendations 11 and 13: - 11. Australian governments to agree a new national early childhood education and care workforce strategy that should consider, at a minimum, opportunities to improve (k.) engagement with parents. - 13. Australian governments to develop and invest in strategies to support early learning in the home environment, including programs to support parents in their educative role. 3. Ensure all students have the opportunity within schools to be partners in their own learning. 4. Introduce new reporting arrangements with a focus on both learning attainment and learning gain, to provide meaningful information to students and their parents and carers about individual achievement and learning growth. Broadly aligns with the Innovation and Science Australia 2030 recommendation 3: Raising the ambition of the national minimum standards in NAPLAN.

Alignment with other national reforms Recommendation Alignment with other national reforms 5. Revise the structure of the Australian Curriculum progressively over the next five years to present the learning areas and general capabilities as learning progressions Aligns with the IRRRRE recommendations 1 and 8: - 1. Establish and/or refine processes for ensuring the relevance of the Australian Curriculum and state/territory assessment processes for RRR students and communities. - 8. Improve opportunities for RRR schools to implement entrepreneurship in education through curriculum, teaching, system and cultural changes and building on good practice. Aligns with elements of the Innovation and Science Australia 2030 recommendation 1: Ensuring future reviews of the Australian Curriculum for STEM subjects will continue to meet Australia’s innovation, science and research education needs and be informed of industry expectations through consultation with Industry. 6. Prioritise the implementation of learning progressions for literacy and numeracy in curriculum delivery during the early years of schooling to ensure the core foundations for learning are developed by age eight. Broadly aligns with the Lifting our Game recommendation 3: Australian Government to review the Melbourne Declarations on Education Goals for Young Australians to embed the importance of the early years as the foundation for learning in core education frameworks and policies, including articulating governments’ objectives for child outcomes. 7. Strengthen the development of the general capabilities, and raise their status within curriculum delivery, by using learning progressions to support clear and structured approaches to their teaching, assessment, reporting and integration with learning areas. Aligns with elements of the Innovation and Science Australia 2030 recommendations 1 and 2: - 1. Providing tailored support to teachers in the form of regular tracking of student improvement, enabling rapid and evidence based iteration of teaching practice’ - 2. Optimising the interaction of industry with schools through the work of the STEM Partnerships Forum.

Alignment with other national reforms Recommendation Alignment with other national reforms 8. Strengthen school–community engagement to enrich student learning through the establishment of mechanisms to facilitate quality partnerships between schools, employers, members of the community, community organisations and tertiary institutions. Aligns with the IRRRRE recommendations 5 and 7: - 5. Expand the availability, affordability and accessibility of high quality work experience placements, VET dual VET/University options and two year associate degree programs for RRR students - 7. Encourage the philanthropic sector to play a greater role in raising achievements and improving opportunities for RRR students. Aligns with the STEM Partnerships Forum recommendation 7: Best practice approaches to school-industry partnerships 9. Establish a comprehensive, national and independent inquiry to investigate and review the objectives, curriculum, assessment provisions and delivery structures for senior secondary schooling, to report within twelve months. Aligns with the IRRRRE recommendation 5: Expand the availability, affordability and accessibility of high quality work experience placements, VET dual VET/University options and 2 year associate degree programs for RRR students. Aligns with the STEM Partnerships Forum recommendation 2: To review the senior secondary system, including whether the ATAR and university pre-requisites are impacting students and their study choices. 10. Accelerate the development of contemporary pedagogy through the use of collaboration, mentoring, observation, and feedback, including from colleagues and students, by incorporating these practices into the core role of teachers and creating the conditions to enable teachers to engage in them. 11. Develop a new online and on demand student learning assessment tool based on the Australian Curriculum learning progressions. 12. Create the conditions necessary to enable teachers to effectively engage and benefit from professional learning in the use of the Australian Curriculum learning progressions, the new online formative assessment tool and tailored teaching practices to maximise student learning growth.

Alignment with other national reforms Recommendation Alignment with other national reforms 13. Create a continuously improving profession through the provision of high-quality professional learning for teachers appropriate to their career stage, development needs and the changes rapidly occurring in society. Aligns with the IRRRRE recommendations 2 and 3: - 2. Ensure RRR contexts, challenges and opportunities are explicitly included in the selection and pre- service education of teachers, initial appointment processes and their on-going professional support - 3. Ensure RRR contexts, challenges and opportunities are explicitly included in the selection, preparation, appointments and on-going professional support of educational leaders. Aligns with Innovation and Science Australia 2030 recommendation 1: Invest in the quality and content of professional development with a focus on discipline specific training, teaching of 21st century skills. Broad alignment with the STEM Partnerships Forum recommendation 3: Introduce minimum national requirements for discipline-specific professional development for teachers to maintain registration. Aligns with the Lifting out Game recommendation 11: Australian governments to agree a new national early childhood education and care workforce strategy that should consider, at a minimum, opportunities to improve (c.) ongoing professional development of the workforce and (d.) responsiveness of pre-service training and ongoing professional development providers to the sector. 14. Develop a comprehensive national teacher workforce strategy to better match supply with workforce demands including skill and capability requirements. Aligns with the IRRRRE recommendations 2 and 3, as above. Aligns with elements of Innovation and Science Australia 2030 recommendation 2 to improve the measurement of the scope of out of field teaching in STEM. Aligns with the Lifting out Game recommendation 11: Australian governments to agree a new national early childhood education and care workforce strategy that should consider, at a minimum, opportunities to improve (j.) responses to localized issues, including in regional and remote areas.

Alignment with other national reforms Recommendation Alignment with other national reforms 15. Create the conditions to enable teachers to engage in effective induction practices aligned with the nationally endorsed Graduate to Proficient: Australian guidelines for teacher induction and monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the practices implemented by schools. Aligns with the IRRRRE recommendations 2 and 3, as above. Aligns with elements of Innovation and Science Australia 2030 recommendation 1 to select, develop and effectively resource high-performing teachers and school leaders to act as mentors and instructional leaders in their school or area. 16. Create and provide opportunities for implementation of structured career pathways for teachers with clearly defined roles and development streams that allow for accelerated progression and provide the opportunity for remuneration, recognition and allocation of responsibilities based on expertise. Aligns with the IRRRRE recommendations 2 and 3: - 2. Ensure RRR contexts, challenges and opportunities are explicitly included in the selection and pre- service education of teachers, initial appointment processes and their on-going professional support - 3. Ensure RRR contexts, challenges and opportunities are explicitly included in the selection, preparation, appointments and on-going professional support of educational leaders. Aligns with Innovation and Science Australia 2030 recommendation 1: Invest in the quality and content of professional development with a focus on discipline specific training, teaching of 21st century skills. Aligns with the Lifting out Game recommendation 11: Australian governments to agree a new national early childhood education and care workforce strategy that should consider, at a minimum, opportunities to improve (f.) workforce attraction, stability and retention, including medium and long-term career paths and (g.) the impact of renumeration and conditions on workforce stability and retention, and quality of practice. 17. Review and revise the Australian Professional Standard for Principals to priorities leadership of learning and make maximising the learning growth of every student every year their key focus. Aligns with the IRRRRE recommendation 3, as above. 18. Ensure principals have the professional autonomy and accountability required to lead their school on the improvement journey most relevant to their starting point.

Alignment with other national reforms Recommendation Alignment with other national reforms 19. Create and provide opportunities to implement a structured career pathway for school leaders which articulates clearly defined roles and development streams for middle leaders through to experienced principals and provides the opportunity for remuneration, recognition and allocation of responsibilities appropriate to the role. Aligns with the IRRRRE recommendation 3, as above. 20. Provide school leaders with access to a variety of professional learning opportunities appropriate to their career stage and development needs and recognise and harness the skills and experience of high-performing principals by enabling them to share their expertise across schools and throughout the system. Aligns with elements of the Innovation and Science Australia 2030 recommendation 1: Ensuring future reviews of the Australian Curriculum for STEM subjects will continue to meet Australia’s innovation, science and research education needs and be informed of industry expectations through consultation with Industry. 21. Enhance school and system internal self-review and external quality assurance process for the purposes of monitoring and reviewing student learning gain. 22. Accelerate the introduction of a national Unique Student Identifier for all students to be used throughout their schooling. Aligns with the STEM Partnerships Forum Recommendation 9: to introduce a Unique Student Identifier. 23. Establish an independent institution to coordinate the strategic development of a national research and evidence base through the sourcing and generating of research and the synthesising and promotion of educational evidence that can be easily accessed and implemented to improve student outcomes. Aligns with IRRRRE recommendation 10: support RRR communities to implement innovative approaches to education delivery designed to improve education access and outcomes for students living in remote communities.