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Pathways to Post-School Success Review

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 06:32:18 +0000

The Department of Education, in conjunction with Catholic Education Western Australia and the Association of Independent Schools Western Australia, is conducting a review of pathways for senior secondary students. Read the SSTUWA's submission to the review and response to the review recommendations.

SOS: WA public schools defrauded by new funding agreement

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 10:12:50 +0000

The public education advocacy group Save Our Schools has accused the Prime Minister of lying about the future funding of Western Australian public schools. “It is a blatant lie to claim that WA public schools will be fully funded under the new schools agreement”, said SOS National Convenor Trevor Cobbold.

SOS: The State of School Funding in Australia

Mon, 27 May 2024 03:08:04 +0000

SOS: The State of School Funding in Australia

SOS: Groundbreaking study confirms positive impacts of increased school funding

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 02:36:46 +0000

At a time when the future funding of public schools is being determined by negotiations between the Commonwealth and state/territory governments, a groundbreaking new research paper shows that increasing funding for public schools has positive impacts on student achievement and attainment.

SOS: Over one billion of taxpayer funding squandered on over-funding the richest families and schools

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 00:52:45 +0000

New figures reveal a scandalous squandering of $1.3-1.4 billion in Commonwealth Government over-funding private schools that enrol children of the richest families in Australia. The over- funding estimate is based on never before published data provided to Senate Estimates on the median income of families with children in private schools.

SOS: Nearly 4 in 5 Australian students didn’t fully try in PISA tests

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 02:22:00 +0000

Unpublished data provided to Save Our Schools by the OECD shows that nearly 4 in 5 Australian students did not fully try in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The figures show wide differences in student effort between countries, which call into question the validity of country rankings of PISA results.

SOS: Productivity Commission should recommend ending tax deductibility for all donations to private schools

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 02:28:22 +0000

The Productivity Commission has recommended that school building funds no longer be eligible for tax deductible donations. It should go further and end tax deductibility for all donations to private schools which are primarily benefiting the richest schools in the nation.

SOS: PISA results intensify pressure on governments to fully fund public schools

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 01:21:04 +0000

The OECD’s 2022 PISA results reveal Australia has one of the most unequal school systems in the OECD and that inequality is increasing. There are large achievement gaps in reading, mathematics and science of five or more years of learning at age 15 and the gaps have widened since 2006. As well, a large and growing proportion of disadvantaged students do not achieve international standards.

SOS: Close the achievement gaps between rich and poor

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 02:51:00 +0000

New analysis of the latest NAPLAN results reveals large achievement gaps in literacy and numeracy between rich and poor students at all Year levels tested. The gaps are up to five and more years of learning by Year 9. Very high proportions of disadvantaged students need of extra help at school to make expected progress through school. The vast inequities harm individual lives, restrict economic growth and foment an unequal and divided society.

SOS: Private school funding model is increasingly incoherent, irrational and wasteful

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:48:05 +0000

The private school funding model introduced by the Morrison Government is becoming more and more incoherent and irrational. It purports to assess the financial need of private schools by the income of families with children in private schools. However, it ignores a growing source of income and assets of better-off families – the Bank of Mum and Dad. As a result, the Commonwealth Government is increasingly over-estimating the financial need of schools and, consequently, increasing their over-funding.

SOS: Expert panel on school reform must support closing the gap between rich and poor

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 00:44:53 +0000

Save Our Schools (SOS) today called on the Expert Panel reviewing the National Schools Reform Agreement to address the shocking gaps in school outcomes between rich and poor. Trevor Cobbold, National Convenor of SOS, said that there are massive achievement gaps between highly advantaged and highly disadvantaged students that must be closed.

The Next Schools Agreement Must Embrace Key Principles for School Funding

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 08:17:00 +0000

Save Our Schools (SOS) has called on the Expert Panel reviewing the National Schools Reform Agreement to recommend some key principles to guide the future funding of schools.

Achieving equity in education is contingent on clearly defining it

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 00:34:55 +0000

When I arrived in Australia four years ago from Finland, I was inspired by this question: How can we make Australian school education more equitable?

SOS: School Autonomy and Social Justice

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 01:28:00 +0000

The Report seeks to examine the social justice implications of school autonomy. This is a critically important project. Achieving social justice in education is the most fundamental challenge facing Australia’s education system.

SOS: The School Funding System is Heavily Biased Against Public Schools

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 07:13:00 +0000

Ten years ago, the Gonski funding model promised much to reduce the vast inequity in school funding and outcomes. What we got was the reverse, courtesy of sabotage by successive Coalition governments, which have always favoured choice over equity, and because of the failure of state governments to deliver adequate funding for public schools.

SOS: 50 Wealthy Private Schools Raked In Over $600 Million in Donations and Investment Income

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 07:25:25 +0000

The wealthiest, most exclusive private schools in Australia are raking in millions of dollars in donations and investment income. These millions are ignored in assessing the need for government funding. This is a major flaw in how private schools are funded. The flaw means the schools are massively over-funded by the taxpayer. Funding of private schools must be overhauled.

SOS: Wealthy WA private schools rake in millions in donations

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 01:50:36 +0000

The wealthiest most exclusive private schools in Western Australia are raking in millions of dollars in donations and investment income. These millions are ignored in assessing the need for government funding. It exposes a major flaw in how private schools are funded. The flaw means the schools are massively over-funded by the taxpayer. Funding of private schools must be overhauled.

SOS: Private schools had the biggest funding increases and the biggest falls in school results

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 22:47:00 +0000

Some of the commentary on the Productivity Commission report on the National Schools Reform Agreement drew a simplistic and highly misleading link between increased school funding and results. It ignored the key facts that Catholic and Independent schools had the largest funding increases since 2009 and the largest declines in international test results. The figures suggest that private schools are much less efficient that public schools, especially given that public schools enrol the vast majority of disadvantaged students.

SOS: Labor Kicks the Public School Funding Can Down the Road

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 23:36:00 +0000

Prior to Christmas, the Federal Education Minister, Jason Clare, announced that the current National Schools Reform Agreement (NSRA) will be extended for another year to 2024. It has major funding implications public schools. It stops any funding increases for public schools which enrol the large majority of disadvantaged students and it continues an absurd arrangement that defrauds public schools of funding. Private schools will also get a small windfall funding gain.

Waiting for Gonski - A Review Essay

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 03:10:00 +0000

Waiting for Gonski by Tom Greenwell and Chris Bonner is a well-researched and well-written account of the history of the Gonski funding inquiry, the flawed implementation of the new funding model by the Labor Government and its destruction by successive Coalition governments. It reveals new information about the implementation of the Gonski model and should be read by anyone concerned about the state of school funding in Australia and inequity in education outcomes.