17 October 2005
State Government given 7 out of 10 for its Education White Paper – but it could do better!
Melbourne Citymission today offered broad support to the Victorian Government and Minister Lynne Kosky for the proposed changes to education legislation announced in the recent White Paper.
Chief Executive, Anne Turley in a new publication, Policy Bites, welcomed the Government’s affirmation of free instruction to Year 12, the raising of the school leaving age to 16 years and for the planned stronger accountability framework and performance reporting for schools.
Anne Turley stated “The Minister should be congratulated for her commitment to universal access to secular education that promotes democratic principles and maximises transparency through an enhanced school reporting framework.”
However, Melbourne Citymission is concerned that the White Paper is a lost opportunity. The proposed changes will do little to reduce the significant level of disengagement and poor learning outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The new legislation should take into account the modern social context that influences educational attendance and achievement. Anne Turley calls for a stronger legislative framework that will drive the education system to be more inclusive and outward focussed.
“A modern learning system needs to better integrate formal education with family support services. Too many families with children are struggling and need proactive support to maintain attendance and learning at school.”
“A broader definition of ‘free’ education is needed that goes beyond the government’s proposed limit of ‘free instruction’, to enable all children to take part in school organised camps, sporting events and developmental outings.”
Melbourne Citymission calls for a range of measures to be mandated through legislation that proactively focuses on the 10-15% of kids likely to disengage from learning or achieve poor education outcomes in the future.
“The education system must be encouraged to work in a seamless way with community support services through policies to identify children at risk, to provide a Learning Credit to enable such children to catch up for missing attendance, to ensure schools implement a pro-active approach to strengthening parental commitment to learning and resolve barriers to school attendance.”
Anne Turley stated, “Whilst the White Paper measures are very welcome and important, they do not go far enough.”
“We urge the Government to be more visionary in framing its new legislation if it is serious about driving change to address educational disadvantage in Victoria.”
More detailed information can be found in Policy Bites, Issue 1 (October 2005) and in MCM’s recent Submission to the Review of Education and Training Legislation, ‘Learning for all Victorian children and young people’ (May 2005).
For more information, please contact Michael Horn, Research & Social Policy Manager on 03 8625 4468 or 0407 324 360.
