Gonski report delivers for schools The Gonski Report into school funding has delivered on the four key campaign objectives of our union and recognised for the first time the legitimacy of the non-government school sector in the provision of education in Australia. IEUA-QNT welcomes the findings of the Gonski Review of Funding for Schooling of an additional $5 billion investment in schools, with the onus now on the federal government to retain its commitment for a fairer funding system for government and non-government schools with the support of the states. The IEUA submissions sought four key outcomes from the Gonski review: 1. Establishment of a School Resource Standard with Base Level - The Report recommends the establishment of a transparent school resource standard for all Australian schools. Funding beyond a minimum base would be based on the resource needs of the school as reflected in student characteristics and outcomes; 2. Education Based Indexation - The Report has recommended the establishment of an index for increases in recurrent funding which is drawn from inflationary costs in education rather than the CPI; 3. Increased Funding for Disabled Students - The Report recommends significant additional funding for disabled students. Significantly the Report also recommends that the funding follows the student wherever the student is enrolled; 4. Transition Arrangements - The Report acknowledges the need for transition arrangements to a new funding arrangement. This is especially significant for the number of current ‘funding maintained’ schools. Clearly there is still a lot of detail to be worked through to ensure the interests of students and their schools are protected under any new funding arrangement. Of greatest significance, however, is the unanswered question regarding the willingness of federal and state governments to commit to the additional $5 billion of funding which is needed to implement the Report’s recommendations. The Report itself notes the need for constructive engagement with state and federal governments to ensure the Report is actioned with the funding. Our union campaign now shifts its focus to the fundamental recommendation that both federal and state governments must increase significantly their contribution to education in Australia – both government and non-government. What you need to know about the Gonski Report The Gonski Report warns that Australian children will continue to fall academically behind the rest of the world if a new school funding scheme is not introduced. To deal with this challenge, the report recommends introducing a Schooling Resource Standard, which would entail a set investment per student, plus additional top-up funding to target disadvantage. Under the model, every student who attended a private school would receive a minimum entitlement of 20-25 per cent of the school resource standard in government funding, plus the loadings for disadvantage. Governments would contribute the entire SRS funding for government schools.
While the proposals provide insight into a funding system that would deliver appropriate resources for all schools, the report also acknowledges more work is needed to develop and test the different elements of the model before the federal government could guarantee it would deliver on its school funding goals. The federal government has stated that they will implement a school funding model if satisfied it will help Australia to achieve: a higher achievement for all students; deliver equity in access to high quality education and excellent teaching and learning outcomes; support of school choice for a diverse range of schools; provide fairness, transparency and accountability; support continuous improvement and innovation in school performance; deliver financial sustainability, to ensure that schools can be financed properly into the future; and stability and certainty for schools about their funding, ensuring that no school loses a dollar of funding per student as a result of any changes. The government has committed to the next stages in developing a new funding model for schools, including taking a set of funding principles to the next meeting of COAG for agreement and establishing a number of working groups under the COAG council system that will engage across sectors and with stakeholders in key areas to test specific elements of the recommended model, including additional funding to target disadvantage. A commitment of states and territories has also been asked for to work through the reform proposals and options for implementation. This will include detailed development and modeling of the elements of a new funding system, including costs and how they could work in practice. The government will also establish a Ministerial Reference Group to ensure there is ongoing consultation and dialogue with key stakeholders and the public through this process. The report also makes a number of other key recommendations, including a new approach to capital funding, strategies for promoting philanthropic partnerships with schools and establishment of an independent National Schools Resourcing Body to set the level of investment needed to provide a high quality education. In working on these reforms, the federal government will carry out a nation-wide consultation process with Australian families, teachers, principals and the wider community. The report also recommends the federal government assume a greater role in funding public schools and the states and territories increase their role in funding non-government schools, which would effectively group all government funding for schools. KEY POINTS
The Gonski Review of Funding for Schooling reports an additional $5 billion investment in schools is needed from the federal government The first comprehensive review of Australian school funding since 1973 details school funding should be tied to indexation with ‘transitional arrangements’ put in place while school finances were modelled. The Report recommends the establishment of a transparent school resource standard for all Australian schools. Funding beyond a minimum base would be based on the resource needs of the school as reflected in student characteristics and outcomes. The establishment of an index for increases in recurrent funding which is drawn from inflationary costs in education rather than the CPI. Significant additional funding for disabled students. Significantly the Report also recommends that the funding follows the student wherever the student is enrolled. The Report acknowledges the need for transition arrangements to a new funding arrangement. This is especially significant for the number of current ‘funding maintained’ schools.