Education Ministers meeting in Perth today must make real progress on public school funding with new research revealing the urgent need for the additional investment to lift results and combat debilitating teacher shortages and declining student and teacher wellbeing. An Australian Education Union survey of 1,255 principals and teachers in WA in March and April this year shows: • Teacher shortages affected 70% of public schools in the last year and 83% of principals said it had become harder to fill vacant positions. Two thirds of teachers taught merged classes due to the shortages. • Only 4% of WA teachers said their school is well-resourced. • Over 70% of teachers reported a decline or significant decline in student wellbeing and engagement in the last 18 months. Nine out of 10 teachers reported a decline or significant decline in teacher wellbeing and morale over the same period. • Only 13% of teachers think the level of school counsellor support at their school is adequate and 18% said there was none. • Less than one in five WA teachers are committed to staying until retirement, raising the possibility acute teacher shortages will worsen without real action by governments. AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe said only 1.3% of public schools are fully funded and none of them are in Western Australia. WA public schools would have an additional $549 million to spend this year if they were fully funded. “The challenges are too great and the cost of inaction too high for governments to continue to fail on public school funding,” Ms Haythorpe said. “We have seen plenty of talk but not enough action. This is despite the national inquiry instigated by Education Ministers, warning in December, that there is an “urgent and critical” need to fully fund public schools and it is a prerequisite for learning and wellbeing improvement. “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,” Ms Haythorpe said. “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. In the AEU survey, over 90% of WA teachers said additional support for students with disability or behavioural issues would be very helpful for them in improving student outcomes. Other top priorities were more time for lesson planning, assessment and reporting within their paid hours and smaller class sizes. Ms Haythorpe said the statement of intent between WA and the Albanese Government, announced in January, needed to be the first draft not the final deal because it would still leave public schools significantly underfunded. “Fully funded means reaching 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) which is the minimum level of funding governments agreed a decade ago was required to meet the needs of all students,” she said. “WA public schools are only funded at 91% of the SRS now. “The WA statement of intent ignores the fact that WA’s SRS funding share is artificially inflated by 4% via the inclusion of non-school spending such as capital depreciation, pre-school and transport costs. “That ‘additional allowance’ is denying public schools $244 million this year and if it is not removed would deny public schools $1.3 billion over five years. “Public schools need full not fake funding. “Principals, teachers, parents, unions and community groups all believe the Albanese Government needs to lift its share of the SRS from 20 to 25%. WA must get rid of this 4% rort and fund a true 75% of the SRS. “Short-changing our schools is short-changing our students and it is time for it to end.” MEDIA CONTACT: Melissa van der Haak, 0484 674 958

The Australian Education Union today used skywriting above Parliament House in Canberra to deliver a message to the Prime Minister about the need to keep his promise to fully fund public schools.

The Australian Education Union today welcomed news that the NT and Federal Governments are committing to full funding of public schools and said the investment was urgently needed.

Teachers and principals are calling for urgent action on school funding with new figures showing government funding for South Australian private schools has increased at twice the rate of funding for public schools.

Teachers and principals are calling for action on school funding with new figures showing government funding for Tasmanian private schools has increased at 1.7 times the rate of funding for public schools.

Five private schools spent more on lavish new facilities in 2021 than governments spent on over half the public schools in the nation, according to a new report which reveals the full extent of the $30 billion capital divide in Australian schools.

The union movement is calling for the Albanese Government to increase its funding offer to states and territories and ensure full funding of public schools is delivered by 2028.

Principal, teacher and parent representatives are joining together in Canberra today for the first time to call for the Prime Minister to keep his promise and deliver full funding of public schools.

The Australian Education Union (AEU) welcomes the Albanese Government’s introduction of legislation today to deal with unscrupulous VET providers, address deceptive conduct and restore integrity and confidence in Australia’s Vocational Education sector.

New figures showing private school funding increasing at almost twice the rate of public school funding underline the urgent need for a fairer system where all public schools are fully funded.

The Australian Education Union today called on all governments to commit to ending the underfunding of public schools as a matter of urgency saying the future of the teaching profession is at stake along with the quality of education delivered across the nation.

Governments will make little or no progress towards ending the underfunding of public schools in 2024 despite being warned by their own Expert Panel that it is “urgent and critical” and the first step towards ensuring all students receive the support they need.

An independent expert education panel has made clear to governments the full funding of public schools is “urgent and critical” and a precondition for improving results, equity and student wellbeing.

Education ministers meeting today in Sydney must make ending the underfunding of public schools their top priority so teachers can increase the support and opportunities students receive.

The Australian Education Union strongly supports a push by State and Territory governments to get the Albanese Government to substantially increase its investment in public schools saying the future of children across the nation is at stake.

Australia has defied a global trend of declining scores in the international PISA test but an alarming increase in teacher shortages and entrenched achievement gaps between students from different backgrounds and locations make clear the critical importance of full funding of public schools.

The Australian Education Union says the interim report of the Senate Inquiry into increasing disruption in Australian school classrooms has failed to capture and address the complex issues that impact on teaching and learning in schools.

An open letter to the Prime Minister calling for the full funding of public schools by 2028 at the latest has been signed by more than fifty organisations including principal, parent, disability, community groups and unions.

A new report calls for an end to the school funding crisis that has left public schools in every state and the NT underfunded while private schools are overfunded by hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

Several of Australia’s prominent community leaders will join the Australian Education Union at Parliament House today for a meeting with the Minister for Education, The Hon Jason Clare, to discuss the urgent need for the Federal Government to commit to their election promise to fully fund public schools.

The Australian Education Union today welcomed the recruitment campaign launched by the Prime Minister but said a far greater investment in the teaching profession and public schools was needed to end chronic shortages and ensure teachers have the time and support to meet the needs of every child.

A national road trip involving principals, teachers, parents and community members is being launched on World Teachers’ Day today in Adelaide to help secure full funding for public schools.

The Australian Education Union says the new National Skills Agreement, including an additional $3.7 billion in Commonwealth investment, brings to life the Albanese Government’s promise to rebuild the capacity of TAFE.

The voices and expertise of early childhood teachers and educators must be central to the development of the Preschool Outcomes Measure, says the Australian Education Union.

The Federal Government’s ambitious plans to boost Australian’s skills and knowledge, outlined in the employment white paper today, will require a properly supported TAFE teaching workforce.