Labor Outlines National School Reform Plan

Media Release: The Hon. Julia Gillard, MP and The Hon. Simon Crean, MP, 9 August 2010; Media Release: The Hon. Julia Gillard, MP and The Hon. Simon Crean, MP, 9 August 2010; Media Release: The Hon. Julia Gillard, MP and The Hon. Simon Crean, MP, 9 August 2010; Media Release: The Hon. Julia Gillard, MP and The Hon. Simon Crean, MP, 10 August 2010; Media Release: The Hon. Julia Gillard, MP and The Hon. Simon Crean, MP, 9 August 2010; The Age, 9 August 2010; The Australian, 9 August 2010; The Age, 10 August 2010; The Australian, 10 August 2010; The Age, 11 August 2010; The Australian, 11 August 2010

The Prime Minister, Ms Julia Gillard, has announced a series of election promises, based around the Australian Labor Party’s (ALP) National School Reform Plan. Go to http://alp.org.au/agenda/school-reform/ to access the full details of the ALP’s announcements in each of these areas.

Rewards for School Improvement

Ms Gillard has promised to allocate $388 million over five years to provide Australian schools with rewards for improving their literacy, numeracy and attendance results. Starting in 2012-13, the Reward for School Improvement Program would provide primary schools with up to $75,000 if their students’ attendance rates and reading and numeracy results improved, while secondary schools would be eligible to receive up to $100,000 for increased attendance and retention rates, improved Year 12 results and improved post-school destinations for their students. In order to continue to receive funding, schools would be required to demonstrate annual improvements. Ms Gillard indicated that decision about how schools would use the funding would be made by school principals and parents.

Australian Baccalaureate

If elected, as part of the National School Reform Plan, the ALP will allocate $2.5 million over four years to develop an Australian Baccalaureate qualification for senior secondary students that would sit alongside existing state and territory qualifications. The Prime Minister indicated that the qualification would be designed for ‘high performing students who want an internationally recognised qualification that benchmarks their attainment nationally and that measures a wide range their achievements’. The qualification would be developed by ACARA in conjunction with Australasian Committee of Chief Executive Officers of Curriculum, Assessment and Certification Authorities and would be expected to commence in 2015, following the introduction of the Phase One Australian Curriculum subjects in the senior secondary years.

Performance Pay for Teachers

Another element of the ALP’s National School Reform Plan is to provide $1.25 billion over five years from 2014 to introduce a national system of performance bonus payments for teachers. The scheme would be introduced from 2012 and would provide a ten per cent salary bonus to the top ten per cent of teachers. Teachers would receive the bonus payments in the year after their performance had been assessed. The first payments under this program would be made in 2014. The assessment process would be based on a series of Australian Teacher Performance Management Principles and Procedures, which would be developed by the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership. Ms Gillard indicated that the assessment process would focus on student achievement, teacher contribution to the school community, including support for other teachers, and teacher contribution to extra-curricular activities and student support.

Teach Next

In an effort to address concerns about shortages of specialist mathematics and science teachers, the ALP has promised to allocate $16.1 million to implement a plan to encourage professionals to take up teaching. The Teach Next Program would build on the current Teach for Australia Program, by offering professionals with an intensive, eight-week training course to move into teaching. The Australian Government would pay for 50 per cent of the course fees and would also provide participants with up to $10,000 to support their transition into the classroom. Interested professionals would be selected on the basis of their aptitude for teaching and on the extent to which their technical skills and expertise matched teacher shortages in mathematics and science. The participants would be matched with school vacancies prior to the commencement of their training, to ensure that a position was available for them. Once the professionals had completed their training, they would receive mentoring from a ‘highly-experienced’ teacher. The Prime Minister stated that the program would commence in 2012.

 

 

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