September 2011     The next phase of the Gillard Government’s school funding review is underway with the release of four new, independent research reports, School Education Minister Peter Garrett has stated.

Mr Garrett said the reports were released for public consultation by the Review of Funding for Schooling panel, chaired by David Gonski. Together with other work and consultation carried out by the panel, the reports will help the panel develop its final recommendations to Government by the end of the year.

“The Gillard Government is determined to put in place a fairer and more transparent way of funding our schools, which is why we commissioned the first comprehensive, independent review of school funding in more than 30 years,” he said.

“Today is an important milestone on our road to reform. Together, these reports point to current challenges and opportunities in the education system and look at potential future funding approaches.

“It should be stressed that these are independent reports – they do not represent the views of the panel and are not indicative of the Government’s intentions,” Mr Garrett said.

The four reports released are:

• An Allen Consulting Group report which considered the feasibility of a schooling resource standard – the baseline amount of money per student needed to achieve good educational results including loadings for disadvantaged students. The report found a schooling resource standard was feasible.
• An Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) report on the existing processes for targeting funding to disadvantaged students. The report highlighted the current disjointed and complex nature of these arrangements.
• A Deloitte Access Economics report into existing funding models for schooling in Australia. The report says that teacher quality, school autonomy and targeted funding for disadvantaged students are the most significant influences on results.
• A Nous Group consortium report into schooling challenges and opportunities in Australia, which confirmed that while Australian schools perform well by international standards, there is variable performance between schools and within schooling sectors.

“These reports are important in continuing the conversation about Australian schooling. I encourage the community to have a say during the panel’s consultation process over the next month,” Mr Garrett said.

“I look forward to seeing the Gonski Review’s report to Government due by the end of the year. The Government will wait to receive that advice from the expert panel before making any decisions on future directions.”

No school will lose a dollar per student under any new funding arrangement. Current funding arrangements have been extended to the end of 2013 (2014 for capital funding) and the review panel will provide advice on any transition arrangements considered necessary.

Submissions on the four reports will close on September 30.

Link:  www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/ReviewofFunding/Pages/PaperCommissionedResearch.aspx.

From information provided by the Minister for School Education, 31 August 2011.

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