Page 2661 - Week 07 - Thursday, 2 August 2018
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extracurricular options, while others will thrive in a small, intimate environment. And some children will do best in a home education setting, with parents providing a more tailored education approach.
All of these are valid choices and reflect the different circumstances of ACT families. But, as this matter of public importance rightly notes, parents need to have access to sufficient information in order to be able to make these important decisions. I would also argue that those choices need to be accessible so that parent choice is not restricted by financial means.
That is why the Greens are proud supporters of our public education system, which is the default education option for many people. We recognise the importance of a diverse education system with schools that cater to a range of needs across the public and independent sectors, as well as for various religious and cultural communities. Students in all of these schools need to be supported, as do students in home education, and parents have the right to make the choice that best suits their child.
However, what should not be overlooked in this debate are the structural and financial barriers that limit parent and student choices and ultimately lead to worse education outcomes across our community. The Greens believe that all Canberrans should be free to make a choice about their education, regardless of their economic circumstances. We believe that you should not be free to choose your education provider only if you can afford it.
We should not limit the choice of parents to only public education but we must ensure that the default option of public education is a high quality one. What this means in practice is that our public education system needs to be well funded so that it provides a range of excellent education options for everyone in our community. Key to this is ensuring that we get needs-based funding right.
The national agreement on this started with David Gonski’s work a number of years ago but unfortunately it still has not landed, in that national funding agreements are still shifting and still are not quite right. This continues to have impacts on many children who are attending schools, usually public schools, which are being inequitably funded.
The Greens want to see the full implementation of government and non-government education funding based on a formula that supports equity of educational outcomes and that is allocated in a transparent, accountable and needs-based manner such as that outlined in Gonski principles. It was deeply disappointing to see the federal government back away from their commitment to the full Gonski model, and the Greens will continue to call for this to be reinstated.
As well as addressing funding needs, the Greens acknowledge the importance of recognition of teaching as a highly respected and valued profession, and of investment in quality, training and resources to enable our teachers to do their jobs. Investment in a professional and well-supported education workforce with access to innovative professional development opportunities will lead to better education outcomes for students regardless of which education provider they choose.
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