Page 894 - Week 03 - Thursday, 7 April 2022
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The bill proposes amendments to require the reporting of transfers, the newly created category of expulsion, exclusions, unenrolments and contract terminations by all schools within five days of occurrence, through the directorate’s student movement register. Oversight and monitoring of the student movement register will be the responsibility of the Education Directorate, which includes following up on students who have not re-enrolled at a new school or education provider or registered for home education.
This is a critical expansion of the directorate’s role to ensure all children and young people in the ACT are connected with education and the protective factors that education brings. The amendments to non-government school registration and review acknowledge that the majority of non-government schools already consistently deliver high quality educational services and are compliant with their legislative requirements.
The current requirements for these schools to obtain registration renewal every five years can provide an administrative burden and detract their focus from their core business, which is educating children and young people.
In addition to the need to streamline processes for non-government school registration, the Education Directorate’s need to respond to recommendations from the ACT Human Rights Commission has also partly shaped the focus of the non-government schools section of bill. Amendments to the bill include the introduction of non-government school registration standards, which will replace the existing registration criteria currently in the act. They cover four key areas of governance, educational courses and educational programs, safety and welfare, and other operational requirements.
To oversee these new registration standards and processes to support compliance, the amendments propose to reorganise the oversight mechanisms for non-government schools. Registration for non-government schools is currently administered by a registrar of non-government schools, the registrar, who I appoint. To support the introduction of registration standards, it is proposed to create a registration standards advisory board, with the day-to-day administrative functions remaining with the Education Directorate, through the registrar. Members of the board will have appropriate experience and expertise to provide advice on matters relating to, and compliance with, the registration standards.
To acknowledge that the majority of non-government schools are compliant with their legislative requirements and to reduce the administrative burden for non-government schools, it is proposed to move away from five-year registration, instead enabling ongoing registration with risk-based review cycles that consider compliance with the registration standards administered by the registrar and supported by authorised persons.
Before the end of each calendar year, the registrar, in consultation with the board, will prepare a program for registration reviews of registered schools that the registrar intends to conduct in the next calendar year. The program for the reviews will outline the registered schools to be reviewed during the year and the areas of focus for registration reviews.
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