The updated COVID-19 social distancing guidelines for schools announced today by Prime Minister Scott Morrison provide little clarity about how governments are going to ensure a safe working environment for teachers, principals and support staff.

The Morrison Government’s $1.6 billion package providing free childcare for parents is welcome news for the Early Childhood Education (ECE) sector but still leaves urgent questions which must be clarified for the preschool sector.

Last night’s statement by Prime Minister Scott Morrison has caused major confusion for principals, teachers, education support staff and parents.

​ Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan will meet with the leadership of the Australian Education Union (AEU) on Tuesday 24th March 2020.

Changes to the way NAPLAN data is presented on the My School website do nothing to address the concerns held by the teaching profession about the fundamental problems with NAPLAN itself.

The national report into the debacle behind the 2019 NAPLAN online testing regime has shown that after a decade of NAPLAN it is time for it to go, and be replaced by an assessment mechanism that puts teaching and learning at its heart.

Early analysis of the Australian Education Union’s (AEU) ‘State of Our TAFE 2020’ survey has revealed that, on average, TAFE teachers are working an additional day per week over and above their paid work, resulting in soaring teacher workloads at all levels.

The Australian Education Union (AEU) is holding its annual Federal Conference this weekend, starting today in Melbourne. Speakers will include Labor leader Anthony Albanese, Labor Education spokesperson Tanya Plibersek, Greens leader Adam Bandt and AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe.

The lack of commitment by the Morrison Government to address the serious issues of inequality apparent between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians has been highlighted yet again by today’s Closing the Gap report.

The Morrison Government’s policy objectives which strip funding from TAFE and privatise vocational education is causing lasting damage to the Australian economy which will take decades to fix.

The Morrison Government’s education reform agenda resembles Groundhog Day, where education is stuck in a time loop of bad policy, no consultation and an underfunded school system.

A new report revealing that the Morrison Government cut $325 million in funding from TAFE budgets last year is yet more evidence Prime Minister Scott Morrison does not value TAFE’s crucial role in the provision of high quality vocational education.

PISA highlights Morrison Govt’s equity funding gaps for low-SES schools

The Morrison Government continues to preference funding to Catholic schools despite falling enrolments and in the face of booming student enrolments in the public system, according to new analysis of ACARA finance and enrolment data.

Labor’s continued commitment to address Australia’s skills crisis and strengthen the -vocational education and training sector is welcome news to a sector currently suffering from huge budget cuts and lack of investment from the Morrison Government.

The Morrison Government’s admission yesterday that Australia’s richest private schools can access additional funding from the $1.2 billion Choice and Affordability Fund while public schools cannot is yet further proof of their blatant disregard for public schools and preference for private schools.

Today is World Teachers’ Day in Australia - an ideal opportunity to recognise and acknowledge the immense contribution that teachers make to students, families, schools and communities around Australia.

The Federal Coalition government’s failure to spend almost $1 billion budgeted for TAFE and training programs over the past five years, despite the skills shortage gripping the Australian economy, is more evidence of its plan to deliberately starve the TAFE sector into oblivion.

The Morrison Government’s decision to fund its natural disaster relief package with money originally meant for investment into education infrastructure is a short-term decision that will hurt the education prospects for young people in drought, fire and flood-affected areas for decades to come.

The Australian Education Union has welcomed Senator Jacqui Lambie’s call for more investment into TAFE in Tasmania, saying it is a timely reminder of the $3 billion in funding cuts that the Federal Coalition Government has inflicted on the TAFE sector across the country since 2013.

The decision by Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan to push ahead with a review of the Melbourne Declaration while ignoring widespread calls for a review of NAPLAN is yet another example of the Morrison Government’s lack of understanding about the general issues of concern to the teaching profession.

The dire effect of the Morrison Government’s cuts to public school funding has again been highlighted, with an international report revealing that total expenditure on schools and non-tertiary post-secondary education in Australia has fallen from 10.4 per cent of total government expenditure in 2010, to 8.9 per cent in 2016.

The Morrison Government’s refusal to guarantee ongoing funding beyond 2020 for two years of preschool for all Australian children means that our Early Childhood Education (ECE) sector receives little more than half the funding provided by other OECD countries to their preschools.

The plummeting numbers of students enrolled with nationally-recognised Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers is yet another pointer to the funding crisis facing Australia’s TAFE network.