By Correna Haythorpe, Federal President, Australian Education Union
Every child deserves every opportunity to succeed at school.
This is the simple reason why we are running the For Every Child campaign.
It is all about ensuring that there are well resourced public schools in every community that can meet the needs of every child.
Our goal is to secure full funding of every public school by 2028.
We have produced a comprehensive plan setting out the reasons why we need full funding and the benefits it will have for children and our country.
Full funding means smaller class sizes and more individual support for children. It means more teachers and more support staff in the classroom to help meet the needs of every child.
It also means more time for teachers to prepare high quality lessons and collaborate on the best ways to meet students’ needs.
Ending the under-resourcing of public schools
Public school principals, teachers and education support personnel are doing an extraordinary job, delivering a high quality education for their students.
It’s a testament to their skills and expertise and their determination to make a difference in their student’s lives every day.
But for too long they have been asked to do too much with too little.
A decade after governments adopted a Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) as a way of measuring what schools need to meet the needs of their students, 98% of public schools remain funded below that standard.
As a result, there is effectively no funding for 1 in 10 students in public schools. In the Northern Territory, where student needs are highest, there is no funding for 1 in 5.
There is no agreement between governments to close the resources gap and bring every school to 100% of the SRS.
This must change.
Unsustainable workloads are impacting on the health and wellbeing of the teaching profession and contributing to rising attrition rates and a worsening teacher shortage across the nation.
Only 1 in 8 teachers believe their workload is manageable.
Our teachers are at the heart of our education system and giving them the time and support to help every child achieve their best is essential.
Full funding means funding all public schools at 100% of the SRS. Right now, only the 1.3% of public schools that are in the ACT are funded at that standard.
Why now?
In the next 12 months, the future funding of every public school in Australia will be decided.
The Albanese Government and state and territory governments are due to negotiate new funding agreements which set out the contribution each level of government will make over a five year period.
We are calling for these agreements to include a commitment to fund public schools in every state and territory at 100% of the SRS by 2028.
As part of that, the Albanese Government needs to lift its contribution from 20% of the SRS this year to a minimum of 25% by 2028.
In the Northern Territory where the proportion of the SRS that is funded is the lowest in the nation, the Albanese Government needs to deliver 40% of the SRS.
Our children and teachers are giving 100%. Now we need politicians to do the same.
How you can get involved
With one click you can help.
Join teachers, principals, parents, carers and community members and sign up to show your support for full funding.
