Building on strong foundations

Past investments have laid the groundwork for further reform

The Government has a strong record of investing in education. The targeted National Partnerships have worked to address student need and drive school improvement. My School gives parents and communities new insight into how well their schools are performing. As it reaches full implementation, the Australian Curriculum will deliver consistent, high quality learning experiences for all students.

Targeted National Partnerships have delivered direct benefits for the students and schools involved — but just as importantly, they have contributed to the evidence base on what works to improve education, and the resources needed to do so.

The National Plan for School Improvement builds on the Government's past investments in education, by incorporating this evidence base into five key reform directions with specific actions under each, aiming to make the lessons learned a part of everyday practice in schools across the country.

The new Schooling Resource Standard will provide the additional resources needed to make these changes permanent and ongoing, helping schools to make the right investments to support every child.

National Partnerships — 2008‑09 to 2013‑14

Investment in schooling

The Government has introduced a SchoolKids Bonus providing eligible families with $410 for each primary and $820 for each secondary school child.
The Building the Education Revolution program provided $16 billion from 2007‑08 to 2012‑13 to improve learning facilities for thousands of Australian schools through new infrastructure projects and refurbishments.
The Digital Education Revolution program provided $2 billion from 2007‑08 to 2012‑13, delivering more than 967,000 computers and achieving a one computer per student ratio for students in Years 9 to 12.
The Low SES School communities National Partnership has improved student engagement, educational outcomes and wellbeing in participating schools and made inroads into entrenched disadvantage.
The Literacy and Numeracy National Partnership has driven improved reading scores for year 3 students in 70 per cent of participating schools. At the same time, year 5 maths scores have improved in 75 per cent of participating schools.