In government the NSW Liberals & Nationals’ goal is to ensure all students receive a world-class education. Part of the challenge is improving the equity of the system. Currently, our performance is less equitable than other comparable countries including Canada, Finland, Ireland, Japan, South Korea and Sweden.

Recently, the NSW Auditor General found that NSW had a high concentration of poor outcomes in certain schools and regions. Each year up to 15 per cent of students are not reaching the minimum level of achievement needed to progress.1   Likewise, a 2006 OECD study showed that 14 per cent of 15-year-old NSW students can hardly read.

Students that are over represented in terms of poor performance include Indigenous Australians, those speaking a language other than English (LOTE) and those living in rural and regional NSW.

The NSW Liberals & Nationals support greater access for parents to information on how their children are performing at their school.  This information should be presented in full context. This will allow parents to properly assess the performance of their school and of their child. We oppose the publication of simplistic league tables as they have the potential to undermine the integrity of our education system as well as damaging the reputation of schools and their students.

The NSW Liberals & Nationals also understand the importance of early childhood education. It fosters children’s cognitive, social, emotional, physical development and wellbeing, which lays the foundation for a smooth transition to school and later school success.

Better participation in early childhood education ensures children entering kindergarten and primary school are well prepared. It is also the point at which parents can begin to engage with the education system. It is estimated that every $1 spent in the early years of a child’s development, saves the community $7 in other social services.

NSW has traditionally performed worse than other Australian states in providing early childhood education. For example, NSW has the lowest per capita funding of children’s services5 and this is reflected in participation rates.

State and Territory Preschool Participation (2006/07)

In addition to a high quality early childhood education young people also deserve support throughout their transition to independence. The NSW Liberals & Nationals believe every young person should have opportunities for education, training or employment.

Vocational education is critical in achieving this goal. It is an excellent option for many students and the NSW Liberals & Nationals are committed to enhancing opportunities to study through TAFE  and accredited non-government institutions.

There is clear evidence that early school leavers experience fewer opportunities for employment and training and decreased financial security. In many situations the community bears the cost through increased social welfare, higher demand for health services and higher levels of crime.

Currently NSW is behind Victoria, Queensland and the ACT in terms of the number of young adults with Year 12 or an equivalent qualification. In Planning for Prosperity, our Economic and Fiscal Framework, the NSW Liberals & Nationals set a goal of ensuring that 90 per cent of young adults attain a Year 12 or equivalent qualification. A range of stakeholders including the Australian Industry Group and Dusseldorp Skills Forum support this goal.

Persons (%)with Year 12 or equivalent qualification, 2006

Finally the NSW Liberals & Nationals believe that our education system is a community asset and a community effort. All participants, including principals, teachers, parents and students, are entitled to be involved in decision making.

Students, parents and teachers will have a stronger voice in our education system.

“The needs of individual students can only be addressed by participation and empowerment of parents and students and by active partnership of informed parents, teachers and students.”
The Federation of P&Cs Association of NSW

“Outcomes for students are clearly maximised when there is a genuine partnership between school and home.”
Secondary Principals Council