INQUIRY INTO RURAL AND REMOTE SCHOOL EDUCATION
HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUALOPPORTUNITY COMMISSIONINQUIRY INTO RURALAND REMOTE SCHOOLEDUCATION INAUSTRALIASubmission prepared by:NSW DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ANDTRAINING35 BRIDGE STREETSYDNEY
CONTENTSSECTION 1. INTRODUCTIONThe statutory obligations of the Department of Education and Training. The statewidestructure for planning and delivering educational services.SECTION 2. THE AVAILABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OFPRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLING IN NSWRefers to the Commission’s Term of Reference 1.SECTION 3. THE QUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL SERVICES ANDTECHNOLOGICAL SUPPORT SERVICESRefers to the Commission’s Term of Reference 2.SECTION 4. EDUCATION OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDSRefers to the Commission’s Term of Reference 3, namely whether the educationavailable to children with disabilities, Indigenous children and children from diversecultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds complies with their human rights.SECTION 5. EXAMPLES OF PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS,TEACHERS AND THE COMMUNITY OPERATING IN RURAL AREASOF NEW SOUTH WALESSECTION 6. REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
ATTACHMENTS (not included in this electronic version)Section 1: Introduction1.2.Profile of Students and Schools in Rural Districts, 1998Agenda 99Section 2: The Availability and Accessibility of Primary and SecondarySchooling in NSW3.4.Schools Attracting Incentive BenefitsRural Schools in the DSP Program by DistrictSection 3: The Quality of Educational Services and TechnologicalSupport Services5.6.7.8.9.Access ProgramBourke High School 1997 Annual ReportReport on the Satellite Trial in Open Line, 14 May 1999Aboriginal Identified Positions in Schools and District Offices in Rural andRemote NSWSchool AttendanceSection 4: Education of Students with Special Needs10.11.12.Special SchoolsSpecial Transport ServicesForster Public Aboriginal ProgramsAdditional Information13.14.15.16.Country Areas Program – Overcoming Geographical IsolationSchool Retention StatisticsInform 25 June 1999 (Journal for Schools)NSW Department of Education and Training Annual Report 1998
SYNOPSISThe Department of Education and Training is committed to providing highquality education for students in New South Wales no matter where in the statethey reside and regardless of sex, race, religion, socio-economic circumstancesor physical and intellectual ability.This submission explains the structure in which schools operate outlines the ways in which education is made available and accessible to allstudents describes the range of programs operating in rural and remote schools andhow they are adapted to the needs of targeted groups considers the support provided by technology in delivering quality educationto students across the state, and particularly to those in the most isolatedlocalities. provides information on some programs operating in rural areas.
INFORMATION REQUESTED BY THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUALOPPORTUNITY COMMISSIONSubjectLocation of Information in SubmissionDemographic Data List of schools coveredSubmission page 2 and Attachment 1 Student population breakdownAttachment 1. Figures on breakdown by sexnot available in this context Primary and secondary attendanceAttachment 5 Retention ratesAttachment 14Staffing Issues Staffing formulaeSee page 8 for material included in thesubmission Formula for the provision ofAboriginal Education WorkersSee page 39 for material included in thesubmission Terms and conditions ofemployment for AboriginalEducation WorkersSee Attachment 8 Career Structure for AboriginalEducation WorkersSee Attachment 8 Professional development programsand funding for rural and remoteteaching staff and support staffSee page 26 for material included in thesubmission. As the training and developmentprogram is available to personnel across thestate, separate funding figures for rural areasare not established for every program. Someexamples of the participation of rural teachersare included in Section 5 program details Rural and remote staffing incentivesSee page 9 of the submission and Attachment3Learning and Support Funding formulae and actualprogram provision forsupport/resources for children withdisabilitiesSee Section 4 of the submission, pages 34-37
SubjectLocation of Information in Submission Information technology plans andchallengesConsidered throughout the document,including pages 11-13, 23-29 and in someprograms in Section 5 Income support and subsidies forstudentsSee page 10 of submission Home school transportarrangements, including those forchildren with disabilitiesSee page 14, page 36 and Attachment 11 Details of specific programsSee Section 5 and some attachments
SECTION 1. INTRODUCTIONOrganisation of the Submission from the NSW Department of Education andTrainingThis submission to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission’s inquiry intorural and remote education will indicate the ways in which the policy of the NSWGovernment is put into practice by the Department of Education and Training (DET) and,in particular, the ways in which this policy is applied to ensure equity for students in therural and remote areas of the state.Consistent with the definitions used in the Human Rights and Equal OpportunityCommission’s Rural and Remote Education Issues Paper and the structure of theDepartment of Education and Training, and for the purposes of this submission, ‘ruraland remote’areas are considered to be those outside the metropolitan districts in Sydney,Wollongong and Newcastle. Particular examples will be drawn from some of the 20 ruraldistricts covering 1 057 schools providing education for 264 737 students. Details ofthese districts and their student population are provided in Attachment 1 (not included inthis electronic version).In responding to the inquiry’s terms of reference, the submission will focus on thegeneral provisions for education in New South Wales, the particular issues faced bystudents, their families and their schools in rural and remote areas, and the generalplanning and resourcing of the Department of Education and Training to ensure that allstudents in the state have access to a high quality education. Consideration will be givento particular examples of programs which operate across the state and ways in which theyare delivered at the local level, with special attention being given to the quality oftechnological support and to training and development support.Throughout this submission and in Section 4, special attention is given to the provisionsfor students with special needs in line with the commitment of the department as outlinedin the NSW Department of Education and Training Annual Report 1998.‘The department has a strong commitment to creating a fairer and moreequitable education and training system for the people of NSW. Thisinvolves ensuring the equitable distribution of resources and meeting thespecific needs of learners in target groups. These groups includeAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from non-Englishspeaking backgrounds, women, people with disabilities, people in ruraland isolated areas, people who are socio-economically disadvantaged,youth, and unemployed people.’
Section 5 will outline examples of local school and district initiatives in rural areas andexamples of state programs applied at the local level. The Moree and Dubbo districts area particular focus because of their high proportion of Aboriginal students and theremoteness of many of the communities. The final section will consider the department’srural education plan for the period 1998-2000, the extent to which the plan has becomereality and the vision for the future.Legislative FrameworkThe Department of Education and Training operates under a number of Acts of Parliamentand is responsible to the Minister for Education and Training for the provision of publiceducation to students in government schools. In the NSW Charter of Principles for Equityin Education and Training (1997), the Government has acknowledged the entitlement of allyoung people to school education to Year 12 or a vocational education equivalent.The legislative and policy framework of the Department of Education and Trainingacknowledges particular responsibilities relating to equity. The Education Act 1990requires education and training authorities, amongst other things, to assist each student toachieve his or her potential; to mitigate educational disadvantage arising from geographic,economic, social, cultural, lingual and other causes; to provide a curriculum whichencourages students to complete secondary education. The Technical and FurtherEducation Commission Act 1990 makes particular provision for access to technical andfurther education services for educationally or vocationally disadvantaged groups. Allpolicy statements of the department are formulated in the light of these requirements and ofthose in the Anti-Discrimination Act 1997 (NSW) and the Disability Services Act 1993.In April 1999, these responsibilities were further acknowledged in the AdelaideDeclaration National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-First Century. The goals adoptedby State, Territory and Commonwealth Ministers of Education include the following: schooling should develop fully the talents and capacities of all students students should, by the time they leave school, have attained high standards ofknowledge, skills and understanding through comprehensive and balanced curriculumin the compulsory years of schooling schooling should be socially just so that students’outcomes from schooling are freefrom the effects of negative forms of discrimination and of differences arising fromstudents’socio-economic background or geographic location.In fulfilling these responsibilities, the department provides education in regular primary,central and secondary schools for students across NSW, but in addition it has establishedschools, programs and services for students with particular needs as well as facilities forvocational, adult and further education. For students remote from centres of population andfor those whose personal circumstances require it, the department provides alternativeaccess to schooling through distance education.
Statewide Structure for Planning and Delivering Educational ServicesIn late 1997, the former Department of School Education, the former Department ofTraining and Education Co-ordination, and NSW TAFE Commission were amalgamated toform the Department of Education and Training (DET). The new department provides asingle management structure for the provision of pre-school and school education,vocational education and training including TAFE NSW courses, adult and communityeducation and an adult migrant English service. This structure allows the delivery of anintegrated education and training service and the creation of a smoother transition fromschool to further education and training. State Office has responsibility for policyimplementation, planning and resource allocation, school and curriculum support servicesand is accountable for the education system.For the purposes of administration, the state is divided into 40 school education districts inwhich district superintendents and support staff provide educational leadership and aframework for planning, co-ordination and delivery of programs and services tocommunities. Twenty of these districts provide for rural and remote schools.In NSW, DET provides pre-school, primary and secondary education for 765 375 studentsin 2 222 schools (mid-1998 figures) which range in size from small remote primary schoolswith fewer than ten students, to multi-campus facilities with in excess of 1 200 primary andsecondary age students, to very large secondary schools with 1 400 - 1 500 students. Fora small number of students, education is provided in schools for specific purposes, whichare better able to meet their special needs than are regular schools.New South Wales Public SchoolsGovernment SchoolsPrimary and Infant SchoolsCentral SchoolsHigh SchoolsSchools for Specific PurposesField Studies CentresStudentsPrimarySecondarySchools for Specific PurposesAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studentsStudents from non-English speaking backgroundGovernment students sitting the HSCStudent teacher ratiosPrimaryYears 7-10Years 06839,82917.613.510.417.613.510.217.612.4(Years 7-12)Programs are provided through 19 Distance Education Centres catering for in excess of 6500 students enrolled in full-time and single courses at pre-school, primary andsecondary levels.
Education and Training PrioritiesEach year, the Department of Education and Training publishes a key-planning documentfor the public school system Agenda, which identifies the strategic initiatives for the yearand provides a basis for statewide planning, monitoring and reporting. The focus areasfor schools have statewide application and all schools participate in their implementation.In 1999 these focus areas include: improving literacy and numeracy skills new technologies in learning, teaching, training and administration vocational education and training greater participation for students in fitness and physical activities as well ascreative and performing arts quality teaching parent and community involvement in schools, including making school facilitiesmore accessible to the community.Support structures at state and district level assist schools in fulfilling their obligations totheir communities. Further details of the contents of Agenda 99 will be found inAttachment 2 (not included in this electronic version).Equitable OutcomesA major priority area in 1998 and 1999 has been the provision of a “fair go for all”. Thispriority recognises that in a period in which rural communities are feeling the pressure ofdeclining populations and diminishing resources, it is vital that we progress towards thegoal that no region in the state is any less likely to produce outstanding results than anyother. In 1999, the specific goals in this area are to be achieved by: developing strategies to provide quality comprehensive education in conjunction withlocal communities involving school communities in ensuring good discipline and effective learning assisting positive participation by students from all backgrounds extending programs for students with special education and training needs using technology to assist students in remote and isolated parts of the State allocating resources to assist schools to achieve equitable outcomes for students.The following table indicates the educational programs available for students in rural andremote government schools.
OPTIONS – Educational Programs available to Studentsin Rural and Remote Government Schools in NSW Special Schools/SupportClassesEarly Intervention ServicesOtherFull program available forisolated and other eligiblechildrenDE Support Unit providesprograms for isolatedstudents with disabilitiesLimited number of schoolsfor special purposes*Support classes in regularschools related to a range ofdisabilitiesSupport from specialistItinerant teachersFull time enrolmentSingle subjectLanguagesAccess program(11-12) –applicable to CentralSchools and small highschools in rural and remotelocationsAs for K-6Curriculum andcredentialling options forSchool Certificate and HSCGovernment fundedtransport for eligiblestudents P-12Support in regularschools available forstudents with specialneeds; e.g. NESB,Aboriginal, learningdifficulties, readingrecoveryAccelerationprogramsAs for K-6Vocational Educationand Training inschools - part-timetraineeshipsLevelRegular SchoolDistance EducationPreSchoolLimited number ofDET pre-schools Pre-schools andtransition programs inaboriginal communities#Available where child willbe enrolled for all primaryschool yearsAvailable for eligiblestudents with disabilitiesfrom the age of 3.5 yearsK-6Neighbourhood ral SchoolsHigh SchoolsAgricultural HighSchoolsSpecialist High SchoolsGovernment-subsidisedtransportSeveral pre-schoolsfunded by AboriginalProgramsPre-schools attached to rural schools: Hume (Albury), Narrabri West,# Pre-schools to serve rural Aboriginal communities: Alma (Alma-Bugdlie), Casino (Djanenam), Enngonia,Moama (Cummeragunja), Mungindi Central, Nowra East (Wayeela Cooinda), Walgett (Term 4, 1999)*Schools for Special Purposes to provide education for some children with disabilities in rural areas: Albury (2),Bathurst, Cowra, Goulburn, Griffith, Gunnedah, Inverell, Leeton, Lismore, Nowra, Orange, Tamworth, Tumut,Ulladulla, Unanderra, Telarah, Wagga Wagga (2), Warilla
SECTION 2. THE AVAILABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF PRIMARYAND SECONDARY SCHOOLING IN NSWThis section includes an outline of: the availability of education in government schools in NSW the provision of school education for students in rural and remote schools in relationto curriculum allocation of personnel incentive programs for principals and teachers in isolated schools financial support physical facilities technology provisions the use of technology to make education more accessible through distance education the provision of financial support for families to make education more accessible fortheir children the ways in which DET informs the community about school education to improve itsaccessibility.Availability of Education in Government Schools in NSWIn NSW schooling is compulsory from the age of 6 to 15 years and is available free to allstudent, in accordance with the department’s statutory responsibilities and in keepingwith the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), Article 28. Secondary education,too, is both available and accessible to every student in NSW up to the age of 18.There are primary schools in each community in NSW where sufficient students requireenrolment. There are secondary schools or central schools in the communities where acritical number of students can be efficiently brought together for schooling.The department also operates 77 pre-schools attached to primary or central schools. Preschools were originally established by the Department of Education and Training in areasof disadvantage to provide for families with little or no access to pre-school education.The major responsibility for planning, regulation and the administration of funding forchildren’s services in NSW rests with the Department of Community Services.Special provisions are made for students with disabilities through support programs intheir local community school, enrolment in special classes or enrolment in a specialschool (SSP).Finally, for those students whose special circumstances do not allow them to takeadvantage of the provisions outlined above or for whom the program offered in
mainstream schools is not suitable, Distance Education Centres provide a full program ofeducation from pre-school to Year 12.To ensure that students have access to an education that is of the highest quality, thedepartment provides schools with trained staff, physical facilities, technological andfinancial support. Special consideration is given to the particular needs of rural andremote schools in the allocation of staff and resources and in the application of equityprograms. This is outlined below.Provision of School Education for Students in Rural and Remote SchoolsThe principal objective of public schools is to offer the students of NSW high qualityeducation that is: relevant to their needs and aspirations responsive to community expectations through a comprehensive and balancedcurriculum effective in its implementation efficient in the use of available resources based on good discipline and effective learning.CURRICULUMThe NSW school curriculum is organised into the key learning areas as required by theEducation Act 1990. There are six key learning areas
Training and Education Co-ordination, and NSW TAFE Commission were amalgamated to form the Department of Education and Training (DET). The new department provides a single management structure for the provision of pre-school and school education, vocational education and training including TAFE NSW courses,
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Prior reviews suggested that health professional edu-cation delivered in rural areas is positively associated with rural retention, although participating in rural training may reflect pre-existing intention and moti-vation for rural practice rather than the intervention itself increasing rural retention [11]. Many of the 10,
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into rural, rural-mixed, and urban categories, see Ayres, Waldorf, and McKendree, 2012.) Rural Indiana has the worst educational deprivation. Only 13.4% of rural residents had a college degree in 2010 (Table 2). The share of rural residents without a high school degree had decreased substantially since 1970, but it was still higher than the .
the brain module responsible for morality was shaped by millions of years of evolution. Based on this line of inquiry, many philosophers argue that, over time, as this line of descriptive inquiry unfolds, it will gradually replace prescriptive inquiry. That is to say, prescriptive inquiry will someday be absorbed by descriptive inquiry in the form of brain science. I don‟t believe it .
