> download submission to the Education Amendment Bill (PDF, 76.16 KB)
We applaud the stated objectives of partnership schools as attempting to address current inequalities and achievement in our education system. But we can see no real local or international evidence that partnership schools will actually address inequality and achievement issues for our children or young people.
We question whether the partnership schools policy enshrined in this Bill is actually a well thought out, evidence-based and evidence-driven policy development. We submit that such a potentially dramatic reform to our national education system should have included greater public input, and more feedback from education experts.
We urge the Government to increase support for existing public schools, and to continue to address child poverty and other relevant issues that have a direct correlation to inequalities and achievement in our schools.