School Management

National Partnerships in Victorian Government Schools

National Partnership

The Victorian Government, in partnership with the Australian Government, is providing approximately $320 million to support further improvement in government schools. This funding along with other available resources is being integrated to support a state-wide improvement strategy that is seamless at the school level.

The Smarter Schools National Partnerships offers an opportunity for schools to participate in one or more of the National Partnership initiatives in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy, Low Socio-economic Status School Communities and Improving Teacher Quality.

Selection of schools

Government schools have been selected for participation in the partnerships where they have a significant number of students performing at or below the national minimum standard in literacy and/or numeracy or a high Student Family Occupation index (low socio-economic status).  Their need for additional support and readiness to utilise this support is confirmed by Department of Education and Early Childhood Development regional offices.

Schools not selected to participate in the National Partnerships have access to a range of other Departmental support, including system, regional and network improvement initiatives.

National Partnership initiatives

Participating schools will engage in initiatives such as building teacher and leadership capacity, improving the monitoring and use of student performance information, school partnerships with the community and support agencies, and advice for parents on how to support their child’s learning.

Reporting and accountability

Consistent with existing accountability and reporting arrangements, government schools will include National Partnership initiatives as part of their school strategic plan and annual implementation plan and report on progress in their annual report. 

In 2009, Annual Activity and Accountability Statements were prepared for participating schools. For further information and access to the 2009 Annual Activity and Accountability Statements, see: Smarter Schools National Partnerships Funding in Victorian Government Schools

From 2010, the Annual Activity and Accountability Statement forms part of participating schools' annual reports, which are available on the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) website. For access to the 2010 annual reports, see: VRQA

Additional information

For further details on Victoria's approach to the National Partnerships, incorporating government, Catholic and independent sectors, see: Smarter Schools National Partnerships

The School Improvement and National Partnerships resources website has been established to facilitate the sharing of documentation and information with regions and participating government schools in Victoria. This site is open to Department central and regional office staff and schools participating in the National Partnerships, see: School Improvement and National Partnerships Resources (password required). 

For further information, email: schoolaccountability@edumail.vic.gov.au

More information