❓ Hon Sue Ellery questions the Minister for Education regarding the impact of the new student-centred school funding model, specifically the number of schools that will be better or worse off. The Minister acknowledges changes but cannot provide specific figures until the budget is finalised, highlighting increased overall education funding and targeted support for disadvantaged students.
AnsweredQoN 525Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
NEW SCHOOL
FUNDING MODEL
525. Hon SUE ELLERY to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the announcement of a new student-centred model of
schools funding in 2015, and the Premier's public assertion that there
will be ''winners and losers'' in Western Australian schools,
with some schools being better off and some being worse off, financially and in
resources. Given that the minister's media release of 20 August
asserted that work would begin immediately on the new model, what has that work
so far demonstrated about how many schools will in fact be better off and how
many worse off?
FUNDING MODEL
525. Hon SUE ELLERY to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the announcement of a new student-centred model of
schools funding in 2015, and the Premier's public assertion that there
will be ''winners and losers'' in Western Australian schools,
with some schools being better off and some being worse off, financially and in
resources. Given that the minister's media release of 20 August
asserted that work would begin immediately on the new model, what has that work
so far demonstrated about how many schools will in fact be better off and how
many worse off?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of this question.
The Liberal–National government has increased funding
for education by $300 million in 2013–14, taking total expenditure to a
record level of $4.4 billion. The new student-centred funding model will start
in 2015 with funding distributed to each school through a one-line budget. The
majority of funding will be provided to students through a base funding
allocation, with additional funding provided for Aboriginal students, students
facing social disadvantage, students with English as an additional language or
dialect, and students with a disability. Under the model, there will be a
redistribution of available resources so those students who need greater
investment will receive it. This means that schools will see changes, with some
schools receiving fewer resources and some schools receiving more than they do
currently. In 2014, a number of school funding areas and processes will change
in readiness for the new model. Work undertaken to date supports schools with
students in kindergarten to year 2 through a per-student education assistant
FTE allocation. This means that from 2014, every student in kindergarten to
year 2 will receive an education assistant allocation. The change will remove the
anomaly of students missing out on an allocation simply because of the
configuration of their class. Under the new formula, a class of 14 preprimary
students will receive approximately a 0.8 FTE, compared to the zero allocation
provided under the old formula. It is not possible to provide an analysis of
school funding allocations for 2015 until the Department of Education's
budget for 2014–15 is finalised. All schools will be provided with
support to implement the model.
The Liberal–National government has increased funding
for education by $300 million in 2013–14, taking total expenditure to a
record level of $4.4 billion. The new student-centred funding model will start
in 2015 with funding distributed to each school through a one-line budget. The
majority of funding will be provided to students through a base funding
allocation, with additional funding provided for Aboriginal students, students
facing social disadvantage, students with English as an additional language or
dialect, and students with a disability. Under the model, there will be a
redistribution of available resources so those students who need greater
investment will receive it. This means that schools will see changes, with some
schools receiving fewer resources and some schools receiving more than they do
currently. In 2014, a number of school funding areas and processes will change
in readiness for the new model. Work undertaken to date supports schools with
students in kindergarten to year 2 through a per-student education assistant
FTE allocation. This means that from 2014, every student in kindergarten to
year 2 will receive an education assistant allocation. The change will remove the
anomaly of students missing out on an allocation simply because of the
configuration of their class. Under the new formula, a class of 14 preprimary
students will receive approximately a 0.8 FTE, compared to the zero allocation
provided under the old formula. It is not possible to provide an analysis of
school funding allocations for 2015 until the Department of Education's
budget for 2014–15 is finalised. All schools will be provided with
support to implement the model.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.