WA signs on to Independent Public Schools initiative

Western Australia has signed up to receive $8.05 million to participate in the Australian Government’s Independent Public Schools initiative.

Minister for Education and Training, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, welcomed the commitment from Western Australian Minister for Education, the Hon Peter Collier MLC, to giving principals, teachers and the wider school community greater responsibility and autonomy.

“Western Australia is leading the way in school autonomy with the majority of government schools already operating as Independent Public Schools,” Mr Pyne said.

“My friend and colleague Minister Collier has shown great commitment to putting students first by agreeing to implement new activities that complement and build on the state’s existing Independent Public Schools programme.”

Australian Government investment will be put towards a leadership programme for up to 441 WA Independent Public School principals and new professional development opportunities for school board members.

Mr Collier said funding will also benefit WA Independent Public School communities by maximising the impact of school board accountability functions.

“This support will ensure that schools can thrive in an autonomous environment,” Mr Collier said.

“WA Independent Public Schools will also benefit from new online professional development resources aimed at increasing the capacity of school boards.”

Mr Pyne said the Independent Public Schools initiative will directly benefit school principals, leadership teams and school communities.

“This important part of the Government’s Students First approach will assist Western Australian government schools to better meet the needs of their students and communities,” Mr Pyne said.

“With this announcement of WA’s participation, selected government schools in every state and territory across the nation will now benefit from the Independent Public Schools initiative.”

Independent Public Schools will remain a part of the government school system, continue to receive assistance from state and territory governments, and will not charge tuition fees to parents or have selective enrolments processes.

The Government’s Students First approach focuses on four key areas that will make a difference to students:

• teacher quality
• school autonomy
• parental engagement
• strengthening the curriculum

For further information, visit www.studentsfirst.gov.au.