QCPCA

The Federal Government's budget for 2011-2012 was released yesterday.

QCPCA reaction to the announcements is mixed.  State President, Margaret Leary said "We are pleased to see increased support for school students with disability and the national school chaplaincy program. However the government's insistence to continue with the National Rewards for Great Teachers program is disappointing.  We would urge the government to reconsider investing in a program that has such obvious flaws."

The major announcements for education included:

• $200 million to support school students with disability ($147million to help families with early intervention services for eligible children with disability through grants of up to $12,000 per family, capped at $6,000 a year. A one‑off payment of $2,000 will also be available to children living in rural and remote areas to help meet the additional costs of accessing services. The Government will provide an additional $29 million for the Helping Children with Autism program to meet increased demand for early intervention services provided through the initiative, bringing funding to $131million over four years. The Government is also providing $200million over three years to support students with disability. The measure will assist schools and teachers to meet student needs by offering coordinated support and connecting students with services.)
• $222million to extend the National School Chaplaincy program
• The National Rewards for Great Teachers program will provide $425million program to reward top performing teachers (over the next four years, with $125 million each semester from 2014, to reward top performing teachers with a bonus of up to 10 per cent of their salary.)
• $872million to be invested in our schools and delivers on two election commitments to continue the Government's support for high quality teaching.
• Enhancing the Education Tax Refund. The ETR provides valuable help by assisting parents and carers with expenses such as computers, stationery and textbooks. The Government is extending the ETR to cover school uniform expenses at an estimated cost of $460 million over four years. From 1 July 2011 the extension will cover expenditure on uniforms which are required or otherwise approved by a school, including optional school uniforms, and sports or physical education uniforms.
• The $51 million Indigenous Youth Career Pathways Program will provide for school‑based traineeships and other support to assist Indigenous students to complete high school and move into work or further education.
• The Teach Next initiative will invest $18.1 million to provide a new pathway into a teaching career for professionals with specialist qualifications or relevant experience to enhance the diversity of the teaching workforce and to promote 'real‑world' links in the classroom.
• $772million over five years to increase Family Tax Benefit Part A for dependent 16 to 19 year olds in full time secondary study. This will increase the level of support by up to $4,208 a year for 16 and 17 year olds, and by up to $3,741 a year for 18 and 19year olds, helping families to meet costs and support their teenagers to stay in school.
• The Government will provide $67.6million over four years (including capital funding of $0.3million in 2011‑12) to deliver transitional activities for early school leavers aged15‑21 years of age who do not have a year 12 certificate or equivalent qualification. Early School Leavers Transition Support (ETS) will commence from 1July2012 and be delivered through Job Services Australia. ETS will assist early school leavers in developing foundation skills to transition into further study, training or employment. This measure will credit an additional $500 per early school leaver to the Employment Pathway Fund that will assist the Job Services Australia service provider with the costs associated with delivering ETS activities. The measure will also fund additional pathway and outcome payments to Job Services Australia service providers who assist early school leavers with low levels of literacy and numeracy to complete the first block of the Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program upon completion of ETS.
• The Government will provide $29.7million over five years (including $6.5million in 2015‑16) to improve the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) and ensure the ongoing collection of data every three years. The AEDI collects information on all children in the first year of school across five domains: physical health and wellbeing; social competence, emotional maturity; language and cognitive skills; and communication skills and general knowledge. This provides population level information on how children are faring before they start school. The dataset includes nationally comparable information on young children's mental health and social and emotional development for the benefit of families, communities and the Government.
• Social Engagement and Emotional Development survey for Children aged 8 to 14 years. The survey will focus on the social and emotional development of young people and the impact this has on their resilience and wellbeing. Up to 100 children in at least three states and territories would participate in the developmental stage of the survey. The survey will then be trialled with a representative sample of 5,500 school‑going children across Australia in 2012.
• The Government will provide $7.3million over two years to develop a new voluntary recognised senior school qualification, the Australian Baccalaureate. The Australian Baccalaureate is intended to complement existing senior secondary school qualifications. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) will lead the development of the qualification, which will follow the introduction of phase one of the national curriculum for senior secondary school students.
• The Government will redirect $132.5million over four years from the Digital Education Revolution (DER) project pool. This measure does not impact on the Government's support for the National Secondary Schools Student Computer Fund, which is on track to support schools in meeting a one‑to‑one ratio of computers to students in Year 9 and above by 31December2011.

The full budget can be found at http://www.budget.gov.au/2011-12/index.htm

11 May 2011

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