PEF Promotes Public Schools

Public education has been one of the major headline items in the news in recent months with increasing pressure on governments to fund all schools to 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).

The SRS is an estimate of how much total public funding a school needs to meet its students’ educational needs. It is based on recommendations made in the 2011 Review of Funding for Schooling led by Mr David Gonski AC.

The Australian Education Union (AEU) Federal President Correna Haythorpe said 98% of public schools are funded below the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS), which is the minimum amount governments agreed, a decade ago, that schools require to meet the needs of all students.

“Funding public schools at 100% of the SRS is the only way to ensure every child gets every opportunity to succeed and we have the teachers we need for the future,” she said.

The recent release of the Universities Accord focussed on lifting the number of people with tertiary qualifications, Certificate III qualification or higher from the current 60% to at least 80% by 2050.

In order to achieve this target, the report recommended increasing the participation of students who historically have been under-represented in higher education, e.g. First Nations students, students experiencing financial and social disadvantage, students with a disability, students from outer metropolitan areas and regional, rural, and remote communities. These are the students in public schools whose lives are changed by scholarships from the Public Education Foundation.

Job Skills Australia anticipates that over the next decade more than 90% of new jobs will require post-school qualifications.

Greater Western Sydney

The Public Education Foundation (PEF) and the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue (WSLD) co-hosted a two-hour symposium on 29 February  in the Department of Education offices in Parramatta.

Participants represented 40 businesses based in or who service Greater Western Sydney (GWS). The theme of the event was ‘Changing Lives’ and focussed on the unique challenges students in public schools from the GWS area face. Links with businesses in the GWS are absolutely critical for PEF to gain more sponsors, donors and partners.

There were a number of high-profile speakers including:

  • The Honourable Pru Car, Deputy Premier, Minister for Education and Early Learning, Minister for Western Sydney and Member for Londonderry made a very insightful video for the event. The link to the video is  https://f.io/jC3dKVY4
  • Murat Dizdar, Secretary, NSW Department of Education
  • Baraa Omar, a previous scholarship recipient
  • Ann Caro, Principal of Chifley College Senior Campus Mt Druitt, Deputy President of the Secondary Principals Association, and previous principal scholarship recipient
  • Karen Griffiths, PEF Scholarships Manager
  • Jane Caro, PEF Board Director, Author, Social Commentator and Public School advocate
  • Adam Leto, CEO Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue (WSLD)
  • David Hetherington, Chair, PEF Board

The objectives of the event were to:

  • raise awareness of the scholarship programs and advocacy of the Public Education Foundation
  • showcase the impact of donations received through testimonials of a scholar
  • identify some of the unique challenges faced by students in public schools in Greater Western Sydney
  • demonstrate how PEF scholarships change the lives of recipients
  • stress the importance of education, and in particular public education in Greater Western Sydney
  • encourage business to partner with PEF for the benefit of students in public schools in Greater Western Sydney
  • demonstrate the importance of Greater Western Sydney to NSW and the rest of Australia

PEF will now work with all businesses who attended the symposium to develop long term and productive partnerships, resulting in more scholarships for students, educators, and principals in public schools in the GWS area.

Victorian Proudly Public Awards

The Public Education Foundation (PEF) held the first Victorian Proudly Public Awards hosted by the Australian Education Union (AEU) Victoria Branch on 6 March at their offices in Abbotsford, in Melbourne.

There were in excess of 55 attendees including scholarship recipients, their families, sponsors, donors, and Victorian Government representatives.

The key donors and sponsors who were in attendance were:

  • AEU Victoria Branch
  • Teachers Health
  • Teachers Mutual Bank
  • The parents of Lily Murphy
  • Peter Isaacson Foundation
  • Toyota
  • Drs Mrin and Prakash Nayagam
  • Individual donors

The event was really about:

  • celebrating the enduring values of public education systems across Australia
  • acknowledging our Victorian scholarship recipients
  • thanking our generous supporters and donors who provide financial support for PEF to make these scholarships possible
  • raising awareness of the national scholarship programs and advocacy of the Public Education Foundation (PEF)
  • demonstrating how PEF scholarships change the lives of the recipients
  • stressing the importance of public education in Victoria and across Australia

The keynote speakers included:

  • Erin Aulich, General Secretary of the AEU Victorian Branch
  • David Wynne, Member of the Public Education Foundation (PEF) Board
  • Karen Griffiths, PEF Scholarships Manager
  • George Allen, educator, and PEF scholarship recipient

The values of the public education system in Victoria are responsiveness, integrity, impartiality, accountability, respect, leadership and human rights, and these values are shared by the Public Education Foundation.

The public education system in Victoria has an immeasurable impact on the lives of over 653,000 children and young people in 1,566 public schools in providing them with an opportunity for a bright future, and in turn it has a positive impact on the current and future economy of Victoria and the rest of Australia.

For more information please contact:  Paul Somers, Public Education Foundation

Tel: 02 7814 2806 I Email: info@publiceducationfoundation.org.au

Further data:

Greater Western Sydney (GWS)

  • is home to 2.5 million people – 35% of whom were born overseas
  • is home to roughly 1 in every 11 Australians
  • has the third largest economy in Australia
  • has higher than average unemployment and lower than average salary levels
  • has significant areas of national parks, waterways and parklands
  • is expected to reach 3 million people by 2036 and to absorb two thirds of the population growth in the Sydney region
  • residents come from more than 170 countries and speak over 100 different languages
  • has high levels of mortgage stress as well as rental stress
  • is home to the majority of new immigrants (60%) who come to Australia
  • has 12% of its residents facing English language challenges
  • has more indigenous residents than South Australia or Victoria, making GWS the largest single indigenous community in the country

This wonderful part of NSW has a high proportion of low-income families.

Unfortunately, the proportion of students completing year 12 or equivalent is lower than the rest of Sydney.

Victoria

  • 653,976 students in public schools
  • 1566 public schools
  • 50,877 FTE teachers in public schools
  • 220,990 public school students with a language background other than English
  • 162,000 students with disabilities in public schools