INDEPENDENT EDUCATION UNION IEU OVERVIEW TO GONSKI REPORT When the Independent Education Union made representations on behalf of its members to the Gonski review, four key outcomes were high on our agenda:
Full funding, with portability across sectors, for students with disability The indexation of school funding, in real terms The development of a Resource Standard, designed to reflect the actual cost of meeting national educational goals Fair transition arrangements from the existing SES funding model.
The IEU is pleased to report that each of these four needs have been recognised by both the review and the Federal Government and, subject to ongoing discussions, we are confident our concerns can be adequately addressed by the proposed funding model. Funding for students with disability David Gonski’s final report to the Federal Government recommends that, in consultation with the states and territories, and the non-government sector, an entitlement should be developed in addition to the Resource Standard that fully and publicly funds the costs of educating a child with disability, regardless of the school they attend. Recognition that non-government schools cater for a significant number of students with disability or special needs is an achievement in itself. Currently, these students attract in some cases significantly less funding than they otherwise would as students in a government school. Proper resourcing for students with disability in non-government schools has been overlooked by successive governments for too long and it is gratifying to see that, after intensive lobbying by the IEU and other bodies, these concerns will finally be addressed. Going forward, the IEU will play an active role in working with the Government to a) make sure that nationally consistent data on students with disability is available to determine the allocation of funding, and b) determine the appropriate amount of additional funding necessary to adequately cater for these children. The indexation of school funding, in real terms The Federal Government has made it clear that ‘no student will lose a dollar’ as a result of new funding arrangements, and the funding provided by the new model would be properly indexed against real education costs. There is still further detail to be worked through in relation to the way in which education costs will be indexed. The IEU will work to ensure that indexation processes are clear, transparent and provide for budgeting certainty among Catholic and independent schools. The development of a resource standard The IEU welcomes the move to a proposed school resource standard, designed to calculate the full cost of funding the educational needs of a school student and distribute those funds on a needs basis. C:\Users\ecuthbertson\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\TXIWBER3\IEU Overview to Gonski Report.docx 1
Under the model proposed by Gonski, government schools would be fully funded to the resource standard and non-government schools would receive funding equivalent to anywhere from 20-90% of it, depending on the capacity of each school. There is an expectation that, as a minimum, almost every non-government school would be capable of realising a private contribution of at least 10 per cent of the resource standard. It is also important to note that additional loadings on top of the resource standard will be developed to take into account (in addition to disability) disadvantage, school size and location. These additional loading will apply equally across government and non-government schools. While there is much detail to be worked through and negotiated with the Government, these additional loadings will have positive implications for the large number of small regional schools that the IEU represents. A fair transition from SES funding In the interim, a school’s capacity to fund students to the agreed resource standard will be determined by looking at that school’s SES score and fee levels. The minimum public contribution would apply to non-government schools with SES scores in excess of around 130 and schools with lower SES scores would attract additional funding. The way in which public contributions would be scaled in relation to SES scores will be designed to ‘(preserve) reasonable incentives for an adequate private contribution towards the schooling resource standard required’. This means in effect that schools should not expect to be able to significantly lower their fees in return for additional government funding without impacting on the budget bottom line. The IEU acknowledges, as does the Government, that the existing SES funding model is flawed and will seek to work closely with the Government in the future to develop a more accurate measure of an individual school’s ability to meet the cost of educating its students. Going forward… Overall, David Gonski’s recommendations form a sound basis from which to create a fairer, simpler and more transparent funding framework, and should be welcomed by IEU members in all schools. However, the union is well aware that there is much work to be done, and negotiation to be had, before fully-formed replacement funding arrangements are arrived at. Chief among these is implementation being contingent upon an additional injection of over $5 billion to school funding, to reverse a perceived ‘slippage’ in Australia's student performance against international comparisons such as PISA. The Federal Government has made it clear that no changes will delay their timeline for bringing the budget back to surplus, and state governments indicate they may be unwilling or unable to meet their share of increased funding. Without this extra funding, the support of the states, and successful passage through Parliament, this review will remain a merely academic exercise. Clearly, there are still many hurdles to clear, but the IEU looks forward to working through the proposals with government and other stakeholders. A full copy of the Gonski review of school funding can be downloaded here: (http://www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/ReviewofFunding/Documents/Review-of-Funding-for-Schooling-Final-Report-Dec2011.pdf) C:\Users\ecuthbertson\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\TXIWBER3\IEU Overview to Gonski Report.docx 2
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