Tess Gilfedder
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Tess Gilfedder published This vote will change everything for public schools in Blog 2025-03-31 10:55:10 +1100
This vote will change everything for public schools
AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe says the choice is between Labor’s vision for fully funded public schools where teachers and students have the support they need or a Dutton government that plans to tell teachers what to teach and how to teach it and deny them the support and resources they need. Peter Dutton claims “ideologically driven advocates” have too much influence over what is taught.
“Kids are being indoctrinated from preschool where all sorts of woke agendas are part of the curriculum … it then progresses … all the way through to high school. And there are a lot of teachers there who are masquerading as teachers, but who are really either climate zealots or other social issues that they’re obsessed with,” he says.
By contrast, Minister for Education Jason Clare celebrates the work of teachers, telling Parliament:
“Everything they do helps our kids to aim higher, to work harder, to be braver and to believe in themselves.”
Prime minister Anthony Albanese too has praised teachers and educators, saying: “Hardworking, dedicated educators who have slogged hard through the terms, through the years, all of them working to make sure that holding open the doors of opportunity is not a lofty ideal, but a lived reality – and an Australian tradition.”
He describes public schools as an essential part of the fabric of Australia and recognises that “education is the single most powerful weapon we have against disadvantage. And it’s the single best investment we can make in our nation’s future”.
LABOR’S GROUNDBREAKING PLEDGE
In January, the prime minister made a landmark commitment to deliver full funding of public schools.
In agreements struck with Victoria and South Australia, he guaranteed to lift the federal share of public school funding from 20 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) to 25 per cent.
The SRS is the minimum level of funding schools require to meet the needs of all students.
State and territory governments are required to fund the remaining 75 per cent of the SRS and remove clauses in previous agreements that allow them to count non school costs of $2 billion a year as part of their share of funding.
With NSW signing on in March, the federal government is aiming to finalise agreements with every state and territory to deliver full funding to the minimum standard of 100 per cent of the SRS by 2034.
Haythorpe says full funding will mean guaranteed funding increases for schools over the next decade, allowing for the employment of additional teachers, more small group and individual support for struggling students and more support for teachers inside the classroom via additional education support workers.
It will also mean more specialist support in schools such as counsellors and speech pathologists.
“We’ve been campaigning for more than a decade for schools to be funded to 100 per cent of the SRS, which was the original recommendation of the Gonski review in 2011,” says Haythorpe. “The Albanese government’s commitment is testament to the efforts of teachers, principals, support staff and community members who have worked tirelessly to deliver it.”
The government has also made serious inroads in addressing the teacher shortage crisis, announcing teaching scholarships of up to $40,000 to new undergraduates and payments to teaching students during their practicums, in addition to tuition-free teaching degrees and HELP debt reduction.
COALITION CONSERVATIVE AGENDA TROUBLING
The Coalition has never expressed support for the full funding of public schools. It has not responded to requests for clarification on its position before this edition of Australian Educator was finalised.
“You can’t trust the Coalition on school funding,” says Haythorpe.
“The last time they were in government, they promised to honour school funding agreements but then ripped them up and cut $14 billion from public schools in 2017,” she says.
“Scott Morrison struck agreements with state and territory governments in 2018 that saw only 1.3 per cent of public schools fully funded by 2023. By contrast 98 per cent of private schools were funded at or above the SRS.”
New official data from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority highlights the disparity between public and private school funding. Private schools are receiving 27 per cent more recurrent income from all sources per student than public schools.
The capital expenditure gap is also increasing. In 2023, it was 2.1 times more than public schools, up from 1.5 times more in 2021.
STARK DIFFERENCES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
The major parties’ ideas about teaching and learning are also diametrically opposed.
Dutton has consistently attacked teachers, questioning their professionalism and claiming children are being indoctrinated in schools.
The Coalition’s plan for schools includes overhauling the national curriculum, mandating explicit/direct instruction in every classroom and introducing a behaviour curriculum for students.
The Albanese government’s schools funding plans are tied to reforms including a Year 1 phonics and numeracy check to identify students who need extra help, wellbeing programs including access to mental health professionals in schools, high-quality and evidence-based professional learning and new initiatives to improve the attraction and retention of teachers.
GREENS CALL FOR MORE PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING
The Greens have called for full funding to 100 per cent of the SRS for public schools by July this year. Their election commitments also include a capital fund for public schools and additional funding of $2.4 billion for public schools so fees can be abolished. Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt says governments are underfunding public schools and shifting the costs onto parents.
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EMAIL THE PM
We need to send a message to the Prime Minister that our children and teachers deserve fully funded public schools.
This is a once in a generation opportunity. Let's make sure we keep the pressure on governments to finally deliver full funding, for every child.
If you have time please customise and edit the email below, it will have more impact if it is customised. Changing the subject line will also increase the impact of your email.
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Tess Gilfedder published Federal Women's Conference intro text in Federal Women's Conference - Take Action! 2024-11-14 14:31:23 +1100
Federal Women's Conference intro text
FEDERAL WOMEN'S CONFERENCE
Take action for full funding!Join us in taking the below actions to put pressure on the Prime Minister to fully fund public schools now!
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Tess Gilfedder answered 2024-10-08 10:13:41 +1100Q: Select from the options below:
A: Speak to local schools
PUT YOUR HAND UP FOR EVERY CHILD
Winning full funding for public schools can only happen when people like you join together and take action.
Right now we're ramping up pressure on the Albanese Government to show leadership and increase their share of funding.
Please tell us what you can do to help by filling in the form below.
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UNITED STAND FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING
This joining of forces is a momentous milestone in the For Every Child campaign and signals the clear significance and urgency of delivering the full 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard. This investment is vital to address inequality in student outcomes, and support the high-quality teaching workforce that gives so much to public education every day.
It also marked the launch of a book of stories from the field – submissions we’ve received from teachers, students and community members sharing their experiences of public education and vision for a fully funded sector.
We're delivering a copy of the book to all Federal Parliamentarians, so that they can hear about the impact of school funding from the people it affects most.
Time is quickly running out to lock in new school funding agreements that don't leave public schools underfunded for another decade.
We won’t rest until every public school is fully funded, for every child.
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RESOURCES DELAYED ARE RESOURCES DENIED
The critical funding and support needed for Australian public school staff and students should not be compromised amidst a political spat between governments which has the potential to deny long awaited promised funding for public schools.
With only 1.3% of public schools funded at the minimum benchmark, the Schooling Resource Standard, the stark reality is that public schools have waited more than a decade for the vital resources that they need to deliver high quality education for every child.
Students on the cusp of finishing Year 12 are amongst the first cohort of students who were promised this funding but have not had the full benefits they were entitled to.
In the lead up to the last federal election, Prime Minister Albanese promised to ensure that every public school was fully funded. This current deal on the table, of an additional 2.5% or nothing, is inadequate and does not deliver on their promise.
This has the potential to entrench inequality in a way that we have not seen since the Coalition Government changed the Australian Education Act in 2017. The Government cannot expect to implement a reform agenda without resolving the public school funding negotiations first.
Delivery of full funding must be a joint commitment from both the Commonwealth and the State and Territory governments. The fact that five states and one territory are refusing to sign the current deal is a clear sign that the Albanese Government’s offer is not good enough.
Time is quickly running out on this issue with school principals, teachers, education support staff and parents calling on all governments to work together to deliver full funding for public schools now.
You can help to send a message to the Prime Minister that our children and teachers deserve fully funded public schools by emailing the PM here.
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Tess Gilfedder published NEW RESEARCH SHOWS THE URGENT NEED FOR FULL FUNDING OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS in Blog 2024-08-01 13:35:57 +1000
NEW RESEARCH SHOWS THE URGENT NEED FOR FULL FUNDING OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
In the survey of thousands of Australian public school principals and teachers, conducted in March and April:
- 75% of teachers said they work more than 41 hours per week, with the average full-time teacher working 51.8 hours per week
- Only 4% of teachers said they believe their school is well-resourced, and 89% of teacher said they do not have sufficient resources to appropriately meet the needs of students with disability.
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Nearly 40% of principals said they will not have adequate classrooms to meet enrolment demand in the next 3-5 years, with the average school requiring 4.5 additional classrooms.
- Teachers are spending an average of $963 of their own money each year on classroom supplies, amounting to approximately $243 million per year nationally.
- 94% of teachers said their school is currently have difficulty in retaining teachers in the profession, with less than 18% of teachers planning to stay until retirement.
Except in the ACT, public schools across Australia remain funded below the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS), which is the minimum level governments agreed a decade ago was required to meet the needs of students.
The challenges in schools have never been greater - more diversity and complexity in student need, increasing wellbeing and mental health issues and acute shortages of teachers due to unsustainable workloads.
Our principals, teachers and support staff are doing an extraordinary job, but they are being asked to do too much with too little and there just aren’t enough of them.
Fully funding public schools is the only way to ensure every child gets the support they need to succeed, and we can recruit and retain sufficient numbers of teachers. There needs to be additional teachers and counsellors in public schools, along with more support staff and specialist staff, such as speech therapists.
The AEU research comes after an inquiry, ordered by Education Ministers, warned in December that the underfunding of public schools is “undermining other reform efforts with real implications for student educational and wellbeing outcomes, teacher attraction and retention”. The Expert Panel that conducted the inquiry said the need for full funding was “urgent and critical” and it was a prerequisite for student learning and wellbeing improvement.
In the AEU survey, principals said the biggest beneficiaries if public schools were fully funded would be students who have fallen behind in literacy or numeracy and students with disabilities or learning difficulties.
Teachers need additional support for students with disability or behavioural issues, and more time within their paid hours for lesson planning, assessment and reporting were critical to assist them to improve student outcomes.
Principals, teachers, parents, unions, community members and state government all believe the Albanese Government should lift its SRS share from the current 20% to 25% by 2028.
This is critical if we are to address critical problems with attraction and retention of staff, and to ensure schools can provide the educational programs and supports students need.
The state governments also needs to step up and fund a genuine 75% of the SRS. That includes getting rid of the accounting loophole that inflates their SRS share by 4% via the inclusion of non-school spending.
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Tess Gilfedder published We’ve covered thousands of kilometres, for every child. 🚐 in Blog 2024-06-18 16:45:49 +1000
We’ve covered thousands of kilometres, for every child. 🚐
Over the last month we:
- Visited schools from the inner city to the outer suburbs and the regions.
- Spoke to hundreds of teachers, parents, support staff and principals.
- Had hundreds of new sign ups to the For Every Child campaign because of direct conversations about the importance of public education funding.
- Ensured public education was front and centre in the news with coverage across major media outlets in print, online, radio and television.
During our tour we stopped in Sydney for Public Education Day, where we were joined by the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, as well as Federal Education Minister Jason Clare.
Anthony Albanese is the first Prime Minister to join us on Public Education Day, a testament to the progress we’ve made during this campaign.
He spoke about the importance of Australia’s public education system, saying:
"All Australians can proudly point to public education as one of our great strengths as a nation. A quality education system that is available to everyone regardless of their postcode, their wealth, faith or ethnicity. An education system that is an intrinsic and transformative part of our social fabric...”
It’s encouraging to hear this support for public education from the Prime Minister. But we need increased investment to really change lives.
Send an email to PM Anthony Albanese urging him to back public education with full funding?
Already thousands of us have contacted the Prime Minister about this, showing that the issue of school funding is deeply felt by Australians. And he has taken notice.
Let’s keep the pressure on Anthony Albanese to be the Prime Minister our children need, by delivering full funding for public schools.
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TELL US WHY YOU ARE #PROUDTOBEPUBLIC
Millions of Australians have attended public schools, and we know first-hand the positive impact that teachers and education support staff have had on our lives.
Australia’s public education system is globally unique, it provides students with hope, opportunity, and a sense of purpose. No matter where you come from or where you live, you’re entitled to a high-quality public education.
But right now, our world-class public system needs your support. Only 1.3 % of public schools are at the minimum funding benchmark agreed to by governments. In public schools across the nation, teachers and students are giving 100% every day but they need to be backed by governments with full funding.
The 23rd of May is Public Education Day and we want to celebrate Australia’s incredible public schools as we call on the Albanese Government to fully fund public education by delivering a minimum of with 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).
This Thursday, it is time to celebrate public education. We will be sharing my photos from my school days and I’d love it if you joined me in explaining why you are #ProudToBePublic on your social media feeds. Join us me in public school pride?
So, dust off your old photo albums or scroll back through your Facebook photos and share your public school alumni pride. In doing so, you’ll be raising the public awareness of how fabulous our schools are as we continue the campaign for full funding.
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Tess Gilfedder published Federal Budget fails to deliver full funding in Blog 2024-05-22 14:01:44 +1000
FEDERAL BUDGET FAILS TO DELIVER FULL FUNDING
We were in Canberra on Budget night and there was a buzz about the cost of living measures, paid practicums, teaching scholarships, HECS debt relief and more, but for public schools, teacher, education support staff and students, the budget was strangely silent.
While we understand that school funding negotiations are continuing between the Commonwealth and state and territory governments, Tuesday’s budget provided a critical opportunity for the Albanese Government to meet their election commitment to put all schools on the path to 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).
The issue of full funding for public schools is unfinished business for the Albanese Government and must be resolved this year.
Right now, only 1.3% of public schools are funded at the 100% (SRS) needed. This is the minimum level governments agreed was required to meet the needs of students a decade ago.
The challenges are too great, and the cost of inaction too high for governments not to deliver on funding the future of our nation.
There are unacceptable achievement gaps between children from different backgrounds and locations, acute teacher shortages and alarming declines in student wellbeing and engagement. We understand the problems facing public schools today, now it is time to deliver the solutions.
Our schools need to be backed by governments with the resources needed to ensure that every child has access to a high-quality education, delivered by their amazing teachers across Australia.
Together we can achieve full funding for public schools. Click here to get involved in the campaign and help us win.
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WEEK OF ACTION: 12th - 15th March
Read moreAcross Australia, teachers and education support staff in public schools are giving 100% for their students. But they need to be backed by governments with the resources needed to provide high-quality teaching and learning for their students.
Right now, only 1.3 % of public schools are at 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) - the minimum funding level.
Fixing this is urgent, and the only way to ensure every child has the support they need to succeed.
This year the Albanese Government is negotiating new school funding agreements with each state and territory. We need your help to make sure that these agreements deliver full funding for public schools, because it’s the best investment that Australia can make for the future of public education.
So, this week, we’re turning up the pressure on the Prime Minister. Join in here.
Every day this week we will be using different online tools to call on the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to make sure that public schools are fully funded.
Whether it’s sharing your story, posting on social media, or sending an email – your voice will help convince the PM to invest in our future by fully funding public schools.
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Dunkley
VOTE TO SUPPORT FULL FUNDING FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN DUNKLEY
Use your vote to ensure no child is left behind.
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Tess Gilfedder published Inquiry says full funding of public schools is urgent in Blog 2023-12-12 16:01:00 +1100
Inquiry says full funding of public schools is urgent
An independent expert education panel has called for governments to deliver full funding of public schools, saying it is “urgent and critical”.
After a six month inquiry, the expert panel told education ministers that delivering that funding was the “first step to ensuring all students receive the supports they need”.
It said the need for the investment was especially important given private schools are almost all fully funded.
“Addressing funding inequity, coupled with targeted reforms in three priority areas of equity, wellbeing and workforce, will help level the playing field and make Australia’s schools even better and fairer,” the report summary states.
The report is a boost for the campaign and increases the pressure on the Albanese Government and State and Territory governments as they begin negotiations on new school funding agreements. Those agreements must be finalised next year.
The expert panel found 98% of public schools are resourced below the Schooling Resource Standard, (SRS) which is the minimum level governments agreed they required to meet the needs of their students over a decade ago.
Only ACT public schools are fully funded now and NSW is the only state to commit to full funding by 2029.
“All jurisdictions should fully fund schools within a comparable timeframe to ensure students and educators in all schools have access to 100 per cent of Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) funding.
“If schools are not funded to their full and fair levels, the number of students who are left behind and stay behind is likely to grow.”
Australian Education Union Federal President Correna Haythorpe welcomed the findings.
“Fully funding public schools is the best investment we could make for our future,” she said.
“This independent expert panel has made it crystal clear that our politicians must deliver for teachers and students.
“Our political leaders have a historic opportunity to finally end the underfunding of public schools and they must take it.
“Public schools can do wonders with this funding whether it is by increasing the support for children with diverse or complex needs, providing tutoring for those at risk of falling behind or giving teachers more support inside and outside the classroom.”
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World Teachers' Day
By Correna Haythorpe, Federal President, Australian Education Union
World Teachers’ Day is an important opportunity to celebrate the dedication and commitment of our teachers and to reflect on the critical role they play in our society.
But we also need to recognise that teachers need a lot more than kind words from our political leaders right now.
Three years ago, just under half of all public school principals reported teacher shortages at their school. This year, 90% of principals said they didn’t have enough teachers.
Alarming new figures from NSW show there are almost 10,000 classes a day, on average, with no dedicated teacher. Large numbers of these students are either left with minimal supervision or forced into combined classes than can have 60 students or more.
Slowing the exodus of teachers and recruiting the next generation are critical challenges. Only around 1 in 4 teachers are now planning to stay until retirement and the number completing teaching degrees decreased by 17% between 2017 and 2020.
While governments are scrambling to find headline-grabbing solutions such as increasing scholarships, reducing university fees or feel-good recruitment campaigns, they aren’t doing enough to address the real causes of this crisis.
New research released today shows teachers are working far longer hours for far less money than those in other professions.
On average, 48% of fulltime teachers worked 45 hours or more a week in 2021 compared to 31% of those working fulltime in other professions with a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification. At the same time, public school teachers earn less than those in comparable professions and the gap widens with age.
It isn’t just that teachers work longer hours for less money either. There has been a significant jump in the intensity and complexity of the work teachers do. That is directly connected to the increase in the learning, behaviour and social needs of students.
On top of that, teachers are saddled with ever-increasing administration and data collection responsibilities. Just 13% of public school teachers last year agreed their workload was manageable.
All this come down to a lack of investment in teachers and public schools. Only 1.3% of public schools are funded to the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS). That is the minimum amount governments agreed a decade they need to meet the needs of all students.
Fully funding public schools is critical if we are to reduce workloads and give teachers the time and specialist support they need to address complex student needs and lift results.
There is a real opportunity now to do this.
In the next 12 months the Albanese Government will negotiate new funding agreements with every state and territory government. Those agreements, which set out the Commonwealth and State and territory funding commitments over five years, must ensure every public school is resourced to the SRS by 2028.
That historic commitment to full funding would mean far more to teachers and their students than all the praise delivered by politicians on this or any other World Teachers Day.
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