Turnbull schools funding plan denies learning opportunities to NSW children

A media release from The NSW Teachers Federation has slammed the Turnbull government’s announcement on school funding reforms.

“Every year that schools are not funded to the minimum resource standard students will be denied the opportunity to reach their potential,” NSW Teachers Federation Acting President Joan Lemaire said. 

The release claimed that the 10-year funding plan “would effectively prevent all schools reaching the minimum schooling resource standard”.

“If the Turnbull government fully funded its part of the [original] six-year Gonski agreements signed with several state and territory governments, all schools would reach this standard by 2019.” 

“The resource standard was identified in the original Gonski report, with the goal that funding schools to the standard would give all students the opportunity to achieve agreed national educational outcomes.”

“The Turnbull plan will mean that some schools will take 10 years to reach the minimum resource standard and some may never reach it.”

“The Turnbull government’s funding cut will mean a lot more students will miss out on the help they need, such as access to one-on-one support and specialist literacy and numeracy programs,” Ms Lemaire added. 

The NSW Teachers Federation communication expressed concern that so-called Gonski 2.0 The second review will not examine how much extra funding is needed to ensure that all schools have the resources they need for their students, it will only consider how money is spent.

Ms Lemaire said this was because the review would find the Turnbull government’s funding plan is insufficient to provide schools with the resources they need. 

The Federation has vowed to continue to campaign to ensure NSW students receive the full benefit of the NSW Gonski agreement, and welcomed continued advocacy by NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes’ NSW for students to receive full Gonski funding.