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Smarter Schools National Partnerships

Through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) all states and territories and the Australian Government have agreed to work together on the Smarter Schools National Partnerships (NPs) that aim to improve the quality of Australian schooling and student outcomes.

Smarter Schools National Partnerships in Victoria

In Victoria, the NPs are a partnership between the Australian Government, the State Government and the government, Catholic and independent school sectors. 

Three partnerships make up the Smarter Schools NPs:

Literacy and Numeracy National Partnership

The Literacy and Numeracy National Partnership aims to deliver sustained improvement in literacy and numeracy outcomes for all students, especially those who are falling behind.

The Literacy and Numeracy NP includes:

  • building teacher and school leadership capacity through support from literacy and numeracy coaches and professional learning programs focusing on literacy and numeracy
  • advice for parents on how they can support their child’s literacy and numeracy development
  • improving the monitoring and use of literacy and numeracy performance information at student, classroom, school and regional levels to identify where support is needed.

Low Socio-economic Status (SES) School Communities National Partnership

The Low Socio-economic Status (SES) School Communities National Partnership addresses educational disadvantage resulting from low socio-economic status through a range of initiatives to assist students most in need, and to provide additional support to achieve sustained improvement in their educational outcomes.

The Low SES Status School Communities NP supports reforms that lift the quality of education for students including:

  • supporting the educational and wellbeing needs of students and schools
  • supporting school partnerships with the community and support agencies to provide extra services to students and the school community
  • supporting and achieving innovation at the school level.

 

Improving Teacher Quality National Partnership

The Improving Teacher Quality National Partnership supports quality teaching and school leadership for all Victorian schools: to attract, recruit and retain the best people, to further improve the knowledge, skills and practice of our teachers, and to reward good teaching.

In Victoria, some of the initiatives that support this partnership include:

  • establishing specialist centres such as the Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership, the Centre for Leadership & Professional Learning, and the Teacher Education and Leadership Centre, to provide professional development for aspiring and current school leaders
  • further developing and enhancing performance and development and improvement frameworks, including specific professional learning in improving school performance, and in particular, the effective use of data to lift outcomes. 

Together the Smarter Schools NPs seek to:

  • improve student outcomes
  • maximise cross-sectoral collaboration
  • support Victoria’s reform agenda
  • strengthen public confidence in a world class school education system
  • integrate services for children and young people
  • improve outcomes for disadvantaged young Victorians.

The Smarter Schools NPs are aligned with the Early Childhood Development and Youth Attainment and Transitions NPs, consistent with Victoria’s approach to learning and development from within a birth to adulthood framework.

 

Bilateral Agreement and Victorian Implementation Plan

The Bilateral Agreement and Victorian Implementation Plan (VIP) for the Smarter Schools National Partnerships Agreements were endorsed by the the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard MP on 11 February 2010.

The VIP outlines plans for engagement and implementation, performance monitoring and evaluation, reform priorities and Smarter Schools initiatives under the NPs. The VIP is part of a broad strategy designed to implement significant reforms across a range of Victorian schools which have been identified as requiring improvement. This strategy involves the integration of Commonwealth and State funding to create a Statewide Improvement Strategy.

The government, Catholic and independent school sectors worked together on the development of the VIP and have committed to continuing to work collaboratively on agreed projects throughout the life of the NPs.

Our Approach

Over 500 primary and secondary schools and their communities will participate in the NPs. Schools have been selected on the basis of their need for additional support to improve student outcomes and their ability to drive significant reform in partnership with their community and with support from the Victorian and Australian Governments. For more information of the schools that are participating in the NPs see the link below.

Victoria’s approach to the NPs:

  • aims to maximise opportunities for the government, Catholic and independent school sectors to work together and collaborate on reforms under the NPs, and particularly to share information, best practice and learning
  • brings together multiple levels of activity, including at State, sector, region/diocesan, network and school levels
  • provides flexibility for regions/dioceses, networks, and schools to tailor their participation based on the local context and their needs
  • seeks to support specific cohorts of students that face additional challenges in improving educational outcomes, including Koorie students and students from ESL/refugee backgrounds, among others
  • seeks to draw on support and resources from outside the school gate including from government agencies and non-government organisations, and partnerships with parents, communities and businesses, and
  • draws on existing accountability arrangements for planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting to minimise additional burden on schools.

 

Funding

In Victoria, the NPs are supported by significant investment from both the Australian and State Governments and close collaboration across Victoria’s Catholic, independent and government school sectors. The NPs will direct investment and resources to where they are needed most, to improve student performance in all Victorian schools and to improve the quality of education.

The Australian Government will provide over $327 million in investment over seven years to fund Smarter Schools NP activities. This funding is provided across the three school sectors.

The Victorian Government is making a similar investment over this period through a combination of new funding, reprioritisation of existing funding for schools, and State and system-wide initiatives and support.

Victoria is also eligible for additional ‘reward’ funding from the Australian Government if attainment targets are achieved.

Initiatives

As far as possible, Victoria has sought to integrate initiatives across the Smarter Schools NPs to ensure a comprehensive approach to school improvement. To achieve this Victoria has focused on three key reform priorities, with a range of initiatives in each:

  • Leadership and teacher capacity - Ensuring success in delivering improved outcomes across schools is reliant on the involvement of people with expertise. The delivery of leadership and teacher capacity initiatives across the Smarter Schools NPs will engage specialist skills and knowledge, ranging from literacy and numeracy experts, to leadership, mentoring and coaching expertise, assessment and data managers, community engagement experts and others. This reform priority includes a significant emphasis on workforce capability strategies at State and sector levels to ensure quality delivery at the network and school level.
  • Recognition and response to individual learning needs - By recognising and responding to individual learning needs, student outcomes can be improved across the participating NP schools. Enabling students to be active participants in their learning, and creating learning that is connected to the wider community, is critical in improving student outcomes across the Smarter Schools NPs.
  • School-community engagement and extended schools - While many of the factors that impact on student improvement are outside the school gate, there is a growing body of evidence on the positive effects of collaborative approaches between schools and their communities. The Smarter Schools NPs will have a particular focus on engaging parents, community and business in schools and students’ learning. The Victorian government is trialling four extended school hubs across Victoria. For more information on extended school hubs trials see the fact sheet below.
  • School Centres for Teaching Excellence - The School Centres for Teaching Excellence (SCTE) initiative is an innovative pilot program developed to reconceptualise the manner in which pre-service teacher education is delivered and experienced. The Centres are based on a strong school-university partnership, effective integration of theory and practice and a strong research focus. This unique Improving Teacher Quality National Partnership is currently being piloted across metropolitan and rural Victoria.

More information

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