Boronia Heights Primary School received a special visit from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and a number of other politicians on Thursday 30 January.
Education announcements were the theme of the visit as public schools became part of an agreement to increase funding across Victoria.
“We were excited to welcome the Hon. Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon. Jason Clare, Minister for Education of Australia, the Hon. Jacinta Allan, Premier of Victoria, the Hon. Ben Carroll, Minister for Education of Victoria to our school today as they signed the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement,” read the Boronia Heights social media post.
“We are so proud of our Student Leaders who greeted our visitors upon arrival. Great job kids!”
The Federal and State Governments have come to an agreement that will put all public schools in Victoria on a path to full and fair funding.
As part of the agreement, the Commonwealth will provide an additional five per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) to Victorian public schools
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Labor knows that education opens the doors of opportunity and we want to make sure we widen them.
“Building Australia’s Future means investing in the next generation, which is why every dollar of this funding will go into helping children learn,” he said.
“This gives certainty to parents and teachers, while setting our children up for the future.”
The agreement is set to increase the Commonwealth’s contribution from 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the SRS by 2034.
An estimated $2.5 billion in additional Commonwealth funding will be directed towards Victorian public schools over the next 10 years.
Premier Jacinta Allan said her priority is – and has always been – that every child, no matter where they live, has access to a world-class education in a Victorian government school.
“By investing in our schools, we’re investing in our kids’ future – that’s why we have the largest school building program in the country and that’s why we’ve advocated for this deal,” she said.
Minister for Education, Jason Clare said this is real funding tied to real reforms to help students catch up, keep up and finish school.
“It’s not a blank cheque. I want this money to get results,” he said.
The funding includes more individualised support for students, mandating evidenced-based teaching practices and more mental health support in schools.
Victoria will remove the provision put in by the former Liberal Government allowing the state to claim four per cent of public school funding for indirect school costs such as capital depreciation and replace it with four per cent of recurrent funding on eligible expenses, while also maintaining a share of 75 per cent of the SRS for public schools.
The agreement signed at Boronia Heights Primary will be followed by a Victorian bilateral agreement, attaching funding to reforms already being delivered in Victorian schools that will help students catch up, keep up and finish school.
“That’s why funding will be directly tied to reforms that we know work –It will help make sure every child gets a great start in life. What every parent wants. And what every Australian child deserves,” Mr Clare said.
The states and territories that have signed the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement (BFSA) – Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) – will also be offered additional funding from the Commonwealth, as per the no-disadvantage clause included in their respective bilateral agreements.
This will include similar requirements to no longer account for indirect expenditure on schools.
Victorian Minister for Education Ben Carroll said they have been unrelenting in their advocacy to the Commonwealth to increase its funding to 25 per cent of the SRS for Victorian Government schools to ensure that all schools in Victoria are fairly and fully funded.
“This is a win for Victorian students and teachers, and we are pleased to have reached agreement with the Albanese Labor Government,” he said.
Labor member for Bayswater Jackson Taylor said that nothing is more important than setting our kids up for life with a great education and this huge news means every kid, local and across the State will get the education funding they deserve.
“I’m so proud that Labor governments are getting this done,” he said.
The agreement means more help for students and more support for teachers.
The federal government will continue to work with remaining states to get all public schools on a path to full and fair funding.
