An Analysis of Trends in Enrolment Shares in ACT Schools

Posted on Thursday August 4, 2011

Researcher Barbara Preston analyses enrolment shares by school sector in the ACT. >> Read on...

The ACT Schools System is Under-performing

Posted on Friday July 8, 2011

The ACT schools system is underperforming. It has high quality outcomes, but they have declined since 2000 and there are large achievement gaps between rich and poor. A comprehensive and well-funded education plan is needed to improve equity in education. >> Read on...

A High School Plan for the Well-Off

Posted on Friday May 27, 2011

The new plan for Canberra’s government secondary schools will provide a second class education for the less well-off. The well-off get more challenging options and pathways. The disadvantaged get more vocational education and at younger ages as well as another round of rhetoric about engaging students and parents. >> Read on...

Shameful ACT School Results are an Indictment of the Stanhope Government

Posted on Tuesday December 14, 2010

The new report of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) shows that education standards are declining and inequity is increasing in the ACT. They are an indictment of the education record of the Stanhope Government after nearly a decade in office. < >> Read on...

Flynn Welcomes Opportunity to Plan Community Hub

Posted on Thursday May 20, 2010

After a long dispute with the ACT Government over the future of the site of the closed Flynn school, the Flynn community has welcomed plans for a childcare centre and sustainable community hub on the site. >> Read on...

Flynn seeks urgent meeting after Anzac Day shock

Posted on Wednesday April 28, 2010

The Flynn school community in Canberra is left out in the cold again by the failure of the ACT Government to consult with the community on the announcement of a new child care centre for the school site. >> Read on...

My School Results Mark the Failure of the Stanhope Govt. on Education

Posted on Tuesday February 9, 2010

It is time that the Chief Minister and his Minister for Education focussed on the main challenge facing ACT education. It is to reduce the massive achievement gap between rich and poor in Canberra’s schools. >> Read on...

Great reasons to restore heritage schools at Flynn, Tharwa and Hall

Posted on Monday December 14, 2009

The ACT Government has a great opportunity this week to move to restore and open heritage-cited schools at Flynn, Tharwa and Hall in response to new information and community support. >> Read on...

Longer Student Suspensions are Ineffective

Posted on Saturday November 7, 2009

The ACT Government and the Liberal Opposition want to give principals in government and Catholic schools discretion to suspend students for longer without higher level approval, but they ignore extensive research evidence that longer suspensions are ineffective and counter-productive. >> Read on...

Save Our Schools Calls for Major Effort to Reduce the Achievement Gap in ACT Schools

Posted on Wednesday October 28, 2009

Representatives of Save Our Schools have told an inquiry into the achievement gap in ACT schools that there is a large difference in school results between students from high and low income families. >> Read on...

Broader Consultation Needed on the Future of the CIT Weston Site

Posted on Tuesday October 6, 2009

Save Our Schools has made a submission to the community consultation on the ACT Government’s proposal to re-locate the Islamic School to the CIT Weston site. >> Read on...

Proposal to Re-locate the Islamic School Involves Major Policy Contradictions

Posted on Monday August 24, 2009

It seems that the Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope, and the Minister for Education, Andrew Barr, have got their messages mixed – yet again. The ACT Government’s approach to school planning is shown once again to be riven by policy contradictions. >> Read on...

More Training and Support is Needed for Parent Participation in Schools

Posted on Thursday May 7, 2009

Parent participation in schooling is in decline in the ACT and something drastic needs to be done to renew it. >> Read on...

Towards 2020: A Public Consultation Failure

Posted on Friday April 24, 2009

Summary of the SOS submission to the inquiry into school closures being conducted by the Standing Committee on Education, Training and Youth Affairs of the ACT Legislative Assembly. < >> Read on...

Issues for the School Closure Inquiry

Posted on Tuesday February 24, 2009

There are several issues relating to the Towards 2020 consultation process that should be considered in the inquiry into school closures under the Towards 2020 plan. >> Read on...

Education Amendment Bill 2008

Posted on Tuesday December 16, 2008

The Parliamentary Convenor of the ACT Greens, Meredith Hunter, has tabled a bill in the Legislative Assembly to amend the school closure provisions of the Education Act. This posting contains the tabling statement. >> Read on...

Minister Denies Parents Access to Super School

Posted on Wednesday December 10, 2008

The ACT Minister for Education, Andrew Barr, has unilaterally denied families access to the new super school in West Belconnen. < >> Read on...

The great school sell-off: schools closed for the land

Posted on Saturday November 15, 2008

The battle over schools continues with a revelation that the Stanhope Government closed schools according to their capacity to earn a quick dollar from real estate sales. >> Read on...

League tables used in ACT school closures

Posted on Wednesday October 15, 2008

Schedules to Freedom of Information (FOI) papers and the findings of a related Administrative Appeals Tribunal hearing provide strong evidence that the results from student literacy and numeracy testing, were used in the 2006 school closures. >> Read on...

Student Outcomes Stagnate Under Stanhope Government

Posted on Sunday September 21, 2008

Save Our Schools has released a 55-page study which shows that student outcomes in the ACT have stagnated since 2001 when the Stanhope Government was first elected. SOS spokesman, Trevor Cobbold, said that the report is a damning indictment of the Government’s record in education. >> Read on...

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