Head Start apprenticeship and traineeship program
There's a new model for apprenticeships and traineeships for school students, called Head Start.
Head Start students spend more time doing important, paid, on-the-job training while completing their VCE or VCAL at school.
- Watch a video introduction to Head Start
- Watch parents of Head Start students talk about the program
- Read more on the Head Start web page
Tudge fudges school results and funding
Save Our Schools says that Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge "resorted to fudging figures to denigrate Australia’s school performance at the Age education summit last week". Mr Tudge claimed that the UK has improved student outcomes while cutting school funding. However SOS says he ignored serious flaws in the reporting of its results and fudged data on school funding and student results in Australia.
SOS has published a detailed rebuttal of Mr Tudge's claims.
School funding: PV media comment
Parents Victoria Executive Officer Gail McHardy is quoted in an article from yesterday's Age about school funding. Gail responds to Federal Education MInister Alan Tudge's recent comments rejecting the link between increased school funding and better student performance.
Gail said that public schools continued to be underfunded in comparison with non-government schools that receive significant federal funding.
“We’re dealing with the most disadvantaged, and yet we’re still behind the eight ball,” she said. “Maybe in his head it’s settled but it’s certainly not for others, because the inequity continues to be observed in the public school sector and how can that be fair?”
In its Strategy document, Parents Victoria has this to say about school funding:
We advocate for fair, simple and transparent funding of State Schools because the current funding model does not provide adequately for our most vulnerable students. We believe this must change; that resources to address inequity need to be allocated as a priority.
NAPLAN controversy
You may have noticed an article in News Corp publications a few weeks ago, claiming that:
“Parents will be kept in the dark about school NAPLAN rankings under a new ban on “league tables”. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has banned schools and the media from publishing comparisons of performance in national literacy and numeracy tests. Parents and principals can also no longer see how their school compares with other schools of a similar size and socio-economic background…”
'Pathways to Tertiary' for students with disabilities
Are you supporting a young person living with disability, chronic illness or a mental health condition who is about to transition out of secondary education into tertiary education?
Do you want to learn about the different pathways into tertiary education available?
Hear directly from University and TAFE staff, NDCOs, and other industry experts to help you develop your knowledge and skills to support a smoother transition into tertiary education for your young person with disability.
Read more: 'Pathways to Tertiary' for students with disabilities
School maintenance boost
Education Minister James Merlino has announced a $10.4 million funding package for much-needed maintenance to 230 Victorian schools.
The funding will be used for a range of maintenance work such as plumbing, painting, resurfacing floors and replacing windows, as well as external landscaping works including pathways and lighting.
- See the Minister's announcement
- Download a list of schools receiving funding
- Read the Herald-Sun report (only available if you have a subscription)
Are the "school funding wars" over?
Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge recently commented that "the school funding wars are over."
According to this article in The Guardian, "The reality of his strange declaration of victory is seven-and-a-half-years of neglect." The article details how public schools have been denied billions of needed funding over four years as the federal Coalition government systematically entrenched the underfunding of public schools.
Parent payments: PV media comment
The Age reported today that Victorian state school families spent more than $400 million last year in “parent payments” on education essentials. This is equal to $619 in parental payments per child every year. The article also points out that schools in socio-econonically advantaged areas are able to collect much more in parent payments than those in disadvantaged areas.
PV Executive Officer Gail McHardy is quoted in the article. Gail said, “It shouldn’t be about their capacity to pay. It should be about how they can give children a quality education to meet their potential, without that pressure of having capacity to pay.”
Gail also commented on the time and effort school leaders put into fundraising for educational basics. “They have got enough to do: their priority is to teach our kids," she said.
Schoolyard safety
A recent article in the Herald-Sun is a timely reminder of schools' and parents' responsibility to keep children safe on play equipment.
According to the article, more than 1,000 primary school students injure themselves in the schoolyard each year, with monkey-bars and climbing frames causing 70 per cent of injuries.
PV Executive Officer Gail McHardy is quoted in the article. Gail said everyone had a responsibility to keep children safe. “Parents need to familiarise their children where possible to play safe on equipment at home, before and after school,” she said.
Masks at school: PV media comment
The Herald-Sun reports today that students returning to school this week have been told to carry a mask at all times, but they will only be “recommended” when in class.
According to the article, Education Minister James Merlino on Thursday confirmed the controversial coverings would not be “mandatory in schools, but it’s recommended if you can’t maintain social distancing”.
PV Executive Officer Gail McHardy is quoted in the article. Gail said communication between the government, schools and parents on masks had been clear.
She said the requirements were “no different to what’s out in the wider community”.
