Education and Health Standing Committee IPS Report Card

Education and Health Standing Committee

IPS Report Card

The Report of the Inquiry into the Independent Public Schools initiative

Report No. 8 August 2016

Legislative Assembly Parliament of Western Australia

Committee Members

Chair

Deputy Chair

Members

Dr G.G. Jacobs, MLA Member for Eyre

Ms R. Saffioti, MLA Member for West Swan

Ms J.M. Freeman, MLA Member for Mirrabooka

Hon. R.F. Johnson, MLA Member for Hillarys

Mr M.J. Cowper, MLA Member for Murray Wellington

Committee Staff

Principal Research Officer

Ms Alison Sharpe

Research Officers

Legislative Assembly Parliament House Harvest Terrace PERTH WA 6000

Mrs Alice Jones Ms Catherine Parsons

Tel: (08) 9222 7494 Fax: (08) 9222 7804 Email: laehsc@parliament..au Website: parliament..au/ehsc

Published by the Parliament of Western Australia, Perth. August 2016. ISBN: 978-1-925116-73-1

(Series: Western Australia. Parliament. Legislative Assembly. Committees. Education and Health Standing Committee. Report 8)

328.365

Education and Health Standing Committee

IPS Report Card

The Report of the Inquiry into the Independent Public Schools initiative

Report No. 8

Presented by

Dr G.G. Jacobs, MLA Presented to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and deemed tabled on

Monday, 15 August 2016

Chairman's Foreword

On behalf of the Education and Health Standing Committee, I present this Report of the Inquiry into the Independent Public School initiative, the new organisational system of education which has been operating in Western Australia since 2010.

This initiative has been lauded as a success by the Department of Education, pointing to support from school principals and communities alike. The Committee thought it important to inquire into this system to determine what drove its introduction, what the notion of greater autonomy looks like in practice and what are its consequences, both realised and potential. Most importantly, the Committee wanted to determine what effect the initiative is having on student learning outcomes.

For decades now there has been a school of thought, both nationally and internationally, that local communities should be empowered to have greater control over decision making about important issues which affect their lives--be it education, health or any number of other matters--as a way to deliver better outcomes.

The Independent Public Schools initiative embodies this concept for the Western Australian public education system, following the lead of education systems with greater autonomy found in Victoria, England, and the United States of America. The concept of allowing schools to manage a one-line budget, allocate resources as needed, and recruit their own staff, with strong community input and governance is an admirable aim.

However, in any devolved system, and particularly in education, local decision makers need to be supported by central office guidance and be subject to appropriate levels of accountability. Support and accountability must balance autonomy so it does not become abandonment.

The strength of any new initiative in public education must be measured by the effect it has on student outcomes. As a community, we need to know whether students are learning. This is particularly important now as Australia's international rankings in numeracy and literacy are falling. In line with national and international research, there is no evidence that the Independent Public Schools initiative has had a positive effect on student outcomes. Indeed, the Department of Education points to teacher quality as the most important component in improving student outcomes.

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download