ACT public schools face more reforms to make the system more efficient and fairer. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
Time has officially run out for the ACT’s failing autonomous public school model.
An independent review into public school resourcing has effectively spelled the end for the current system. The report recommends shifting to a single, centralised model to ease administrative burdens, avoid duplication, save time and money, and achieve a fairer distribution of staff and resources.
It found that a legacy structure from the days of a much smaller ACT, combined with more complex student needs, was leading to inefficiencies and cost blowouts across the system.
This was compounded by ageing infrastructure and minimum staffing and compliance requirements, no matter how small the school or the number of enrolments.
While the report recommending increasing funding in certain areas such as managing student behaviour, students with disability, Indigenous students and early education, it found a restructuring of the system should give schools the ability to operate more effectively within the overall funding envelope.
It would also allow teachers to be deployed where they were needed most across the system.
The report again confirmed that ACT public schools are not performing as well as they should.
The findings align with views expressed in the literacy and numeracy review released in 2024, which led to the current Strong Foundations reform program.
They will come as no surprise to parents, teachers and the Canberra Liberals, who have all highlighted the dysfunction and inequities in the current system.
But the report will give Education Minister Yvette Berry the authority to embark on what she is calling a generational change in how public schools operate, under the banner Future of Education: One public education system.
“I’ve never backed away from hard work or constructive criticism, and I accept that our schools needed to change, but I needed to have the evidence to back that view in,” she told ABC radio.
Ms Berry said the report confirmed that the challenges facing schools required a system‑wide response.
“A stronger system will free up schools and teachers to do what they do best – teaching students. And a fairer system will ensure schools have what they need to deliver for all students, now and into the future,” she said.
Education Minister Yvette Berry says schools will still have their own culture. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The report made 25 recommendations, to which the ACT Government has agreed to 18 and agreed in principle to the remaining seven.
The government’s immediate response is a $9.3 million funding package in the upcoming ACT Budget, including $5.3 million for stronger system supports for schools, such as HR, financial, infrastructure and leadership support.
There is also $2 million to review the school funding model and $2 million to establish new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander governance arrangements.
The Education Directorate will establish an implementation team to deliver on these commitments over the next two years.
Ms Berry told the Legislative Assembly that the changes would take time and be phased in, but individual schools would not lose their distinctive character.
“I want to reassure everyone that, despite the system reform, each one of our schools will still have their own heartbeats, their own culture, their own vibe,” she said.
“But we will do more things consistently and centrally so that schools can focus their time and energy on what matters most: teaching and learning, student wellbeing, and supporting every learner to achieve their full potential.
“Additionally, there will be other common-sense improvements to how public schools, funding models and business processes operate.”
ACT Parents, the teachers’ union and the Canberra Liberals all said the changes were long overdue.
“For a long time, families have been told the system is well-resourced and doing fine,” ACT Parents executive officer Veronica Elliott said.
“This report makes it clear that being ‘ahead’ of other jurisdictions on some measures does not mean we have what we need to deliver a consistently high-quality education experience across every school.”
ACT Parents has repeatedly raised concerns about inequity across the system, the reality of schools “with and without” resources and the impact on student learning, inclusion and opportunity.
Canberra Liberals Shadow Minister for Education Elizabeth Lee said the report vindicated her party’s 2024 ACT election campaign policy.
“This report confirms what we have been saying for years: the system is not working the way it should,” she said.
“Teachers are overwhelmed, schools are under pressure, and resources are not reaching the areas where they are needed most.
“This government ignored the warning signs, dismissed the evidence, and attacked anyone who raised concerns.
“They can no longer ignore the evidence, ACT schools deserve better, and this report proves it.”
Original Article published by Ian Bushnell on Region Canberra.
