Students and teachers in 1700 schools will benefit from an extra $240 million in Gillard Government funding, aimed at boosting teaching standards, improving literacy and numeracy results and providing extra resources for disadvantaged schools.

Minister for School Education Peter Garrett today released the 2012 progress reports for the $2.5 billion Smarter Schools National Partnerships and announced the next instalments of funding to be paid to states and territories.

“These three partnerships – Improving Teacher Quality, Low SES Schools and Literacy and Numeracy - have given teachers more access to professional development and training, and provide extra funding for schools to hire specialist staff and other resources,” he said.

“And they are leading to better results for students. For example, In Year 5 Numeracy, 80 per cent of schools funded under the NP improved their results.

“The reports released today show that school systems are achieving strong results. Hundreds of schools are reporting increased attendance rates, improvement in NAPLAN scores, and more qualifications for their principals and teachers.

“Our funding is helping schools establish homework centres so students have a dedicated place to study. They are helping Indigenous people enter the teaching profession, and paying for schools to employ literacy and numeracy coaches or develop personalised learning plans for students at risk of falling behind.

“These are the things we know work to improve results. That’s why under our National Plan for School Improvement every school in the country will be introducing similar strategies, ensuring every student gets the support they need to reach their potential.

“Under our plan, extra funding for schools to pay for more staff and better resources will be permanently locked in, so schools can plan for the future.”

Mr Garrett said the Coalition had refused to commit to the future of the National Partnerships, meaning schools across Australia could lose up to $3.3 billion in future funding unless a new funding system is introduced.

“The last thing we need is for funding to be stripped from these schools, reversing all the good work being carried out under Smarter Schools and leaving too many students at risk of falling behind,” he said.

The latest round of funding under the Smarter Schools National Partnerships includes:

• $227.1 million to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds under the Low SES School Communities National Partnership
• $13.4 million to help states and territories improve school leadership under the Improving Teacher Quality National Partnership – Principal Professional Development component.

The state and territory Smarter Schools 2012 Progress Reports, and further information about the Smarter Schools National Partnerships, are available at www.smarterschools.gov.au.

A summary of achievements in each states and territory, plus payments made, is below.

STATE ACHIEVEMENTS UNDER THE SMARTER SCHOOLS NATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

NSW

• By June 2012 there were 50 Centres of Excellence in NSW schools, focusing on teacher training and development
• New Highly Accomplished Teachers (HATs) or equivalent positions have been appointed, including 107 in government schools, 81 in Catholic and 41 in independent schools.
• NSW DEC held 562 courses involving 6351 school principles to develop their skills
• The Low SES NP has helped schools hire extra teaching and non-teaching staff, including in around 230 government schools
• Partnerships have been developed between universities and schools in all three sectors.
• 174 government schools developed mentoring programs for new teachers
• 440 government schools are now working in cluster networks to share resources and expertise
• Catholic schools have used Low SES NP funding to provide specialised support to refugee students, such as community liaison officers.
• 613 government schools are introducing literacy and numeracy programs such as Reading to Learn, Accelerated Literacy and Making up for Lost Time in Literacy (MULTILIT). 16 independent schools are also using MULTILIT
• 117 government schools are now operating homework centres, up from 85 in 2011
• 584 government schools have strategies in place to increase parental and community engagement, including 370 parent education classes, 18 drop in centres, and 75 Aboriginal elders and community members providing classroom support
• All Low SES NP schools in all three sectors have developed personalised learning plans for Aboriginal students.

VIC

• Schools taking part in the NPs have introduced new programs and resources to improve literacy and numeracy skills – like the Mathletics website which provides immediate feedback to students, parents and teachers. Other schools are using the literacy and numeracy tracking strategy to help them develop early intervention programs for students who need it.
• Schools are hiring Koorie Engagement Support Officers and Koorie Transition officers
• Extended school hubs have been established at different locations to develop stronger ties between schools, local business, local government and agencies
• 374 schools took part in professional learning for leadership programs
• 708 aspiring principals took part in principal preparation programs
• 534 principals took part in professional development programs
• 374 schools now have a literacy and numeracy specialist
• 375 schools participated in literacy and numeracy professional learning
• Seven school centres for teaching excellence have been established, covering 65 schools
• 339 schools provided early interventions in literacy or numeracy.

QLD

• Seven Turnaround Teams worked with more than 100 Low SES NP schools to help them improve their results
• 19 Low SES schools won Regional Showcase Awards and 9 were state finalists. Four Low SES NP teachers were finalists in the national teaching awards
• Independent Schools QLD launched a new Literacy and Numeracy Coaching Academy for teachers.

WA

• Catholic schools have expanded the Mentor Teacher Program which focuses on extra support for early career teachers
• 84% of low SES schools are using the funding to improve student literacy results, with 63% reporting excellent or good progress and 27% reporting fair progress
• 73% of low SES schools are using the funding to improve student numeracy results with 63% reporting excellent or good progress and 31% reporting fair progress.
• 67 government schools are designing special programs for Aboriginal students – 83% have improved literacy results for these students and 74% have improved numeracy results
• 25 of these schools have adopted the Stronger Smarter leadership model.

SA

• All schools in the low SES NP – known as Communities Making a Difference (CMAD) – have developed an action plan to improve results.
• Regional schools taking part in CMAD saw their South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) completion rates increase to close to the SA average.
• Catholic schools developed individual learning plans for all Aboriginal students in years 8-12
• A new e-mentoring program for rural and remote students was introduced, linking students in Year 9 with trained e-mentors from Flinders University
• Innovative Community Action Networks (ICANS) in government schools helped more than 11,200 students stay in school, through flexible learning programs and stronger links with NGOs and community agencies.
• Schools taking part in CMAD saw an increase in the number of Indigenous students complete SACE by 2.5%, and LBOTE students by 4.7%.
• 8353 students in CMAS schools received individualised targeted support, with tracking of their results. Senior secondary students taking part in this program increased their average attendance from 77.8% to 82.5%.

TAS

• Lead teachers in literacy and numeracy were appointed across the 11 networks of government schools.
• Catholic schools established an Early Career Mentoring Program which mentors new teachers in their first three years in the workforce
• Tasmania saw some good improvements in its 2012 NAPLAN results:
• Mean score results improved in 14 of the 20 assessments
• There were statistically significant improvements in Year 7 Grammar and Punctuation; Year 3 writing; Year 5 spelling
• There were no significant declines in any of the 20 assessment areas
• Tasmania improved its outright ranking in 5 assessments
• NP funding has helped 10 independent schools establish MULTILIT teaching programs to improve literacy teaching and results
• A NAPLAN toolkit was introduced in government schools to help improve literacy and numeracy results, inform new staff of individual student strengths and needs, and identify trends within classrooms, grades and schools.
• Funding for Low SES NP schools has helped hire extra staff so that teachers can work one-on-one with students who need extra help
• Attendance case managers have been hired to work closely with students at risk of disengaging.

ACT

• Four scholarships were awarded to indigenous students enrolled in teaching courses
• Four schools received extra funding from the Low SES NP. Charnwood Dunlop introduced a new Homework Club and a Children’s Opportunity for Resilience program; Florey Primary school developed a partnership with Therapy ACT.
• Kingsford Smith and Richardson schools took part in a Skills for Everyday Life program for parents and carers to help them support their children’s education, covering things like helping with learning, basic computer skills, reading, writing and maths.
• Schools taking part in the Literacy and Numeracy NP have introduced new collection and tracking mechanisms to help analyse student performance and provide extra support.
• Personalised learning plans were developed for all indigenous students in public and Catholic Literacy and Numeracy schools.

NT

• Aspiring principals took part in a 12 month ‘School Leaders in the Making’ course to help them prepare to become school principals
• 60 indigenous Territorians are studying teacher education to help boost the number of indigenous teachers in remote schools
• 116 schools received extra support under the Low SES NP – 60.4% of schools and 38% of students
• Flexible school year trials were implemented to encourage greater attendance at Gunbalanya School during the wet season.
• Home Liaison officers, Aboriginal and Islander Education Workers and Indigenous workers were hired to build better links between schools and families
• Every school taking part in the Low SES NP published a school improvement plan.

SUMMARY OF PAYMENTS TO STATES AND TERRITORIES

NSW: 
Teacher Quality – Principal Professional Development - $4,272,155 
Low SES School Communities - $107,897,344
NSW Total - $112,169,499

VIC: 
Teacher Quality - Principal Professional Development - $3,412,456   
Low SES School Communities - $33,374,063
VIC Total - $36,786,519

QLD:  
Teacher Quality - Principal Professional Development - $2,702,434 
Low SES School Communities - $27,678,788
QLD Total - $30,381,222

WA:   
Teacher Quality - Principal Professional Development - $1,396,152 
Low SES School Communities - $11,730,938
WA Total  - $13,127,090

SA:   
Teacher Quality - Principal Professional Development - $976,941    
Low SES School Communities - $29,054,531 
SA Total - $30,031,472

TAS:  
Teacher Quality - Principal Professional Development - $321,611    
Low SES School Communities - $8,502,656
TAS Total - $8,824,267 

ACT:  
Teacher Quality - Principal Professional Development - $240,339    
Low SES School Communities - $363,750    
ACT Total - $604,089    

NT:   
Teacher Quality - Principal Professional Development - $118,609    
Low SES School Communities - $8,502,656 
NT Total - $8,621,265

TOTAL – TQ PRINCIPAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT - $13,440,697
TOTAL – LOW SES NP - $227,104,726
TOTAL FUNDING - $240,545,423