1. Excellence and Innovation
NSW DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Introduction to the
Futures Report
Report of the consultation on future directions for public education and training

2. Excellence and Innovation
Consultation with the people of NSW
28,586 people participated in the consultation process
1342 personal submissions
66 submissions from organisations, businesses and agencies
1303 responses from meetings
2711 total responses received
9,787 pages of text in database

3. Number of Responses to Questions in Each Theme Paper

4. Percentage of Respondents By Type

5. Key Findings
Key Findings

6. What the people are telling us:
There is pride in the many achievements of the public education and training system.
From this pride, there is deep desire for the DET to improve its operations.

7. The Big Messages
By far the majority of respondents felt that with a more flexible, more adaptive, more responsive and more innovative system we can better meet present and future challenges.
The individual needs of students are the number one priority for the system and its schools.
Every school community has its own needs - one size doesn’t fit all.

8. The Big Messages (cont.)
There was strong support for clear and explicit frameworks within which schools must operate.
Within these frameworks, schools should be given greater capacity to grow and develop, to innovate and shape themselves, with their communities, to better meet local needs.

9. 21 Elements Good teaching Community partnerships Early childhood
Primary school years
Middle years
Secondary school
15 to 19 year olds
ICT
The principal
Authority of principal
Developing leadership
Organisational culture
Community partnerships
Meeting local needs
Quality teachers
Learning environments
TAFE teachers
TAFE services - industry
Skills shortages
TAFE services - students
Promoting TAFE
A robust and sustainable TAFE

10. 1. Good Teaching
Quality learning outcomes are dependent on quality teachers.
All staff share the responsibility for career-long professional learning.
There is a need for flexible models of delivery to meet many and varied school and staff needs.
Teachers need to develop professional learning plans in consultation with managers.

11. 1. Good Teaching What some people said about Good Teaching:
Great teachers are those who
can turn around difficult
classes. (Parent)
Great teachers use classroom, school and community data to monitor student progress, identify specific issues and create teaching strategies and flexible programs to support learning.
(Secondary Principals’ Council)
Develop a culture of reflection, discussions of classroom practice, learning new strategies to support the learning needs of students. (School staff meeting)
Teachers must become autonomous learners – willing to embrace change. (School staff meeting)

12. 2. Early Childhood Years
There are benefits for children who attend a quality prior to school program in the year before school.
DET preschools have the greatest benefit for children in disadvantaged areas.
Coordinating transition to school programs across prior to school and school settings assists children on entry to school.
There is a great difference in the ages of children on entry to school. Raising the minimum starting age would help close the gap.

13. 2. Early Childhood Years (cont.)
Greater coordination of DoCS and DET would assist in preparing children for school.
Aligning the curriculum for preschool with the curriculum for the early years of school would help to make learning continuous.
There are benefits for children and their families if the school is the focus of the community – the centre for a range of local government and non-government services.
An interagency approach to children’s services before school and within schools supports children and their families

14. 2. Early Childhood Years
What some people said about Early Childhood Years:
Access for every child to have good quality preschool year for free in accredited preschools/childcare centres.
(School staff meeting)
Children should not be institutionalised at 0-5 years. Students need to be with their parents in learning situations. This should be encouraged more through incentives to keep parents home with their kids. (P&C meeting)
The NSW Department of Community Services supports initiatives that promote schools as community centres and which endeavour to incorporate children and families into the wider community.
(Department of Community Services)

15. What some people said about Early Childhood Years:
The successful support of children and families as they enter into a formal educational environment is linked to an effective Transition to School program. (Primary Principals’ Association)
We don’t need more preschools, but affordable education with current established & recognised community based centres. (Preschool provider)
The establishment of preschools within the grounds of their departmental school would support a far smoother transition for school starters. Although communication between school & preschool is encouraged & the benefits appreciated not all preschools/schools have easy access. (School community group)

16. 3. Primary School Years
Teachers need greater stability in syllabus implementation:
need time to build familiarity with syllabus requirements.
need time to develop successful programs.
Teachers need support to uncrowd the curriculum:
Suggestions included:
clarify curriculum requirements in government schools
support for integrating the key learning areas
use some specialist curriculum teachers in primary schools.

17. 3. Primary School Years (cont.)
Many parents want to better understand the curriculum, how their child is assessed and what is being reported.
The purpose, value and amount of homework needs to be considered.
Being able to track student achievement, particularly at transition points, helps to provide a continuum of learning.
Generally people are satisfied with the quality of education and structure of primary schools.

18. 3. Primary School Years
What some people said about Primary School Years:
…. the first eight years of a child’s life is the most important in determining a child’s development. It is encouraging to see this view reflected in this document’s (Excellence and Innovation) identification of the primary years as important for laying a positive foundation for learning throughout life. (P&C Association)
K-6 schools have proved very effective both academically and socially
– don’t change. (School staff meeting)
In general I have confidence in the primary education that my children have received over the years. The only exception being when my children have had a poor teacher. (Parent)

19. 3. Primary School Years
What some people said about Primary School Years:
It is impossible to meet the current curriculum expectations
as they exist now, added together with the ever
increasing expectations. (School staff meeting)
We do need to have more integrated curriculum with overlapping outcomes of manageable proportions. (School staff meeting)
The whole experience is too rushed, nothing is completed,
the children do not have any reflection or inquiring time.
(Personal submission)

20. 3. Primary School Years
What some people said about Primary School Years:
Reporting is too vague and uses too many ‘eduspeak’
words. Parents often don’t know where their child is at and
therefore cannot give them the support they may need.…….
I’m not an advocate of pitting young children against each
other but I think parents have a right to know how their kids are
doing in relation to the curriculum/benchmark/general
expectation right from Grade 1. (Parent)
After 5 years at school I have very little idea what level my son
is supposed to have reached. I know he is bright but for all I
know he may be under achieving at the bottom of the
class. I don’t think he is but no one will tell me for sure. (Parent)

21. 4. Middle Years
A strategy is needed to ensure that all primary and secondary schools establish effective middle years programs.
Schools need effective programs in place for students’ transition from primary to secondary school.
Being able to track student achievement from primary to secondary school assists students’ transition and continuum of learning.

22. 4. Middle Years (cont.)
Students in middle years need to be engaged through practical and relevant learning experiences.
Targeted professional learning activities would support teachers in better meeting the learning needs of middle years students.
Divergent views exist about the establishment of separate middle years schools and specialist middle years teachers.
There may be benefits for middle years students if teachers can teach across Years 5 to 8.

23. 4. Middle Years What some people said about Middle Years:
Middle school years are difficult years for many reasons – changing and emotional years in students’ personal lives … where their ‘identity’ is often lost.
(Personal submission)
Need to adapt to the students’ needs and have a good
understanding of what is happening in the child’s brain at
that time. (Regional principals’ meeting)
The notion of ‘belonging’ becomes increasingly important to middle and high school students and without active support
and an inclusive culture, students who are different in some way are vulnerable to marginalisation and exclusion. (Institute
for Family Advocacy and Leadership Development)

24. 4. Middle Years What some people said about Middle Years:
Student learning intentions need to be negotiated with students’ involvement … Each student requires their own learning plan. (Primary Principals’ Association)
Students “switch off” due to an enforced curriculum. Some
freedom of choice – electives, choice of learning activities –
should be introduced. (School staff member)
From discussion with early school leavers, the reason most disengage from school during the middle years is primarily because students are required to fit into the learning environment rather than the learning environment being sympathetic to their needs, interests and learning styles of the individual. The general feeling of these young people is that they just “don’t fit in”. (Community member)

25. 5. Secondary School Years
With greater flexibility, schools would be better able to meet the learning needs of secondary school students.
Students in Years 7-10 may benefit from a curriculum that provides more choice to pursue their interests, including vocational courses.
The nature, purpose and timing of the School Certificate are issues for further consideration.

26. 5. Secondary School Years (cont.)
Students who want pathways other than university would benefit from a broader senior curriculum that better meets their needs.
Schools need some flexibility to better meet local needs.
Parents would like clearer information about their child’s progress including student-parent-teacher dialogue.

27. 5. Secondary School Years
What some people said about the Secondary School Years:
… there are two broad areas requiring action in the junior secondary school curriculum – curriculum requirements associated with DET schools and usefulness of the School Certificate itself.
(Secondary Principals’ Council)
The curriculum should be
changed to meet students’
needs and future choices.
(School student meeting)
Elective subjects should be
offered as early as possible.
(Parent)
Too much boredom in years 8-
10 – not enough challenge.
(Regional parent meeting)

28. 5. Secondary School Years
What some people said about the Secondary School Years:
Local school communities, in conjunction with the Principal, need greater freedom to develop policies and school organisational structures that better address the needs, interests and aspirations of their students and the local community. (Secondary Principals’ Council)
Curriculum does need to be more flexible but schools are pretty inflexible places in terms of staff allocation, timetables, resourcing, hours of attendance and all the extras (like welfare/sporting/literacy - numeracy) that have to be fitted together. (School staff member)

29. 6. Students 15 to 19 Year Olds
Young people benefit when schools and TAFE work together to improve student outcomes and their engagement in work and study.
Greater flexibility may provide easier and more equitable access to school and TAFE.
Students who find learning purposeful are more likely to stay on at school.

30. 6. Students 15 to 19 Year Olds (cont.)
Educational pathways should range from academic to vocational within a single HSC.
High quality career counselling is a priority for students as they navigate their way through school and beyond.
Partnerships involving schools, TAFE, other government agencies, industry and community organisations are effective in meeting the needs of young people.

31. What some people said about 15-19 Year Olds:
6. Students 15 to 19 Year Olds
What some people said about Year Olds:
To keep students in schools we need education that is relevant to their needs, is accessible and flexible. While academic courses must be maintained in senior schooling, better access to a wider range of VET courses is also required. (School principal)
There is a need to review the issue of a more flexible, relevant credential…. The concept of an exit credential such as the current School Certificate is inconsistent with our commitment to life long learning. (Secondary Principals’ Council)
…career counselling is an enormously underutilised tool. We should be asking students what sort of path they have laid out for themselves and then help them achieve this. (Community member)

32. 6. Students 15 to 19 Year Olds
What some people said about Year Olds:
Young people want schools to be more flexible and provide for the diversity of interests and skills that they have … there is a need to develop more practical, job related subject choices for students whose career goals do not include further academic studies. (Youth Action and Policy Association)
There needs to be a closer relationship between TAFE &
Schools, with the involvement of School Counsellors & Careers Advisors so that 15 to 19 year olds, and their parents are better informed about the opportunities to engage in vocational education and training. (TAFE staff meeting)
If young people are forced to
remain in school we MUST have
options for them that will allow
them to succeed. Year 11
students drop out in droves.
(School community group)

33. 7. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
ICT is seen as a vital tool in the learning and teaching process.
The DET needs a clearly defined plan for the future development and use of ICT in schools.
In order to assist students and teachers, technology must be accessible and appropriate.

34. 7. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) (cont.)
ICT infrastructure and systems need to support students and teachers in the learning and teaching process.
An anytime anywhere approach is needed to the delivery of on-line learning materials for students, teachers, support staff and leaders.
Teachers and leaders need to be confident and competent in the use of ICT in teaching and learning.

35. 7. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
What some people said about ICT:
The best integration of technology and education is driven by teachers and students looking for ways to be more efficient, more productive and more effective. They are about systematically and reliably connecting people, information and knowledge to create possibilities for better learning and smarter management that weren’t there before. (Cisco/Microsoft)
Leadership is vital in ensuring IT is utilised. (School P&C)
Huge benefits for engagement in learning with use of IT. …Future education should use IT in a seamless manner. (School staff meeting)
In most situations, ICT would be a wonderful way for parents and teachers to communicate. (Parent)

36. 8. The Principal as Expert Educational Leader
Responsibility for the delivery of quality education requires highly capable leadership.
The principal’s role is complex, requiring effective systems for administrative support so that they can focus on educational leadership.
The level of skills, knowledge and professionalism of leaders needs to be encouraged and recognised in a variety of ways including increased levels of autonomy.

37. 8. The Principal as Expert Educational Leader (cont.)
A multi-layered leadership strategy needs to be implemented to ensure continued development and expert leadership across the system.
Performance standards for principals should be developed as a basis for recognition of levels of leadership performance.
Consideration needs to be given to the system for appointment of school leaders, including a workplace assessment component.

38. 8. The Principal as Expert Educational Leader
What some people said about Educational Leaders:
At a school level it is the principal who determines the effectiveness of any change. They determine the allocation of resources (human or material), the morale of the staff and shape the culture of the school. They determine the climate for interactions between and amongst students, staff and parents and they may actively encourage or passively resist any initiative as they choose. (Federation of P&Cs’ Association of NSW)
Principals occupy a unique place in the education system. They link the broader system and society with the effective ongoing delivery of quality learning for students. It is they who, more than any others, mediate between any call for change and what actually happens in response to that call in the classroom. It is principals who must lead the processes of improvement and innovation and who are primarily accountable for the outcomes of these processes. (Secondary Principals’ Council)

39. 8. The Principal as Expert Educational Leader
What some people said about Educational Leaders:
I am amazed at the constant striving for perfection at our
school but I have to wonder what many other innovative
ideas our principal would find if she were a little freer to move. I think it comes down to more incentives for outstanding leaders so we can trust in their initiatives. (School P&C meeting)
Innovative schools and communities require the space and
trust to take calculated risks and to experiment with new approaches and systems. (Vocational Education in Schools Directorate)

40. 9. What Should be the Legitimate Authority of Principals?
There needs to be alignment between the level of authority and degree of accountability of principals.
With increased flexibility and more local decision-making principals are better able to meet the needs of their school communities.
Increased flexibility and local decision-making should occur within statewide frameworks.

41. 9. What Should be the Legitimate Authority of Principals? (cont.)
There is support for principals to have more flexibility and discretion over staffing and resources.
An accountability model needs to reflect the increased authority of principals.
There is a need for improved procedures for dealing with inefficient staff.
Accountability needs to demonstrate the quality of the school to parents and the community.

42. 9. What Should be the Legitimate Authority of Principals?
What some people said about the Legitimate Authority of Principals:
One of the most frustrating issues for principals is to be on the one hand totally accountable for everything related to his or her school while on the other hand not being given the responsibility or control over what is the most vital element – staffing. (School staff member)
Leaders need flexibility to meet the needs of their local school communities and should have greater responsibility for making decisions about staffing needs, hiring staff and determining how resources are allocated to programs within the school. (School staff member)

43. 10. Developing Leadership Capabilities At All Levels
The principal must develop an inclusive, team approach to leadership and decision-making at all levels.
There is a need for innovative strategies to encourage broader participation in leadership development at all levels.
Leadership needs to be enhanced by a collaborative effort between schools, regions and state.

44. 10. Developing Leadership Capabilities At All Levels (cont.)
Ongoing funding for professional learning will ensure that a range of effective strategies can be employed in an integrated approach to improving leadership capabilities.
Mentoring is highly valued for its personalised approach to leadership development.
Succession planning is a responsibility at school, region and state levels.

45. 10. Developing Leadership Capabilities At All Levels
What some people said about Developing Leadership Capabilities:
It should be recognised that school leaders are not restricted to persons employed by the Department of Education and Training.
(P&C Association of NSW)
Leadership is sitting within the walls of schools. My current school has many! The fun for me is opening the door for them and letting in a little light. We cannot assume that only a few will aspire. (School principal)
A large majority of administrative staff currently feel undervalued and unappreciated in their roles.
(School staff member)

46. 11. Organisational Culture
Schools need the capacity to shape themselves within a statewide policy framework supported by a clear vision and statement of purpose for public education.
The system is currently seen as too rule bound and not encouraging of innovation.
Stronger connections need to be developed between schools and their communities, regions and state.

47. 11. Organisational Culture (cont.)
Administrators need to have a high level understanding of the needs of schools and how they operate.
Decisions must be made with the good of students as central.
Using new technologies can improve communication throughout the system.

48. 11. Organisational Culture
What some people said about Organisational Culture:
The Department needs to ensure, from the top down that the organisation’s culture is focused on their core business of providing quality education for kids … (School Education Area community)
All teachers and all students are not the same, all boys and all girls are not the same, and so generalisations about the nature of schools, staff and students need to be tempered by the realisation that one size does not fit all. However, it is important to have a standardised set of minimum expectations. (P&C Association of NSW)

49. 12. Community Partnerships Enhancing Learning
Parent and community participation in the education of their children enhances students’ learning outcomes.
Parents want unambiguous and regular communication about their child’s progress with minimal education jargon.
Many parents would like the use of modern communication technologies incorporated into communication.

50. 12. Community Partnerships Enhancing Learning (cont.)
Parents and students want a greater say in school decision-making and increased opportunities to provide feedback.
Schools need to become the ‘hub’ of their community, incorporating government and community agencies.
Schools need to work with universities and local business and industry to develop schools of the future.

51. 12. Community Partnerships Enhancing Learning
What some people said about Community Partnerships:
Parent and student participation in genuine decision making can only occur when partnerships are recognised as complementary activities to the ‘real work of schools’, rather than as a set of competing interests. (Federation of P&Cs’ Association of NSW)
Need to see school as community especially [in] small country towns – schools seen as hubs! … Schools need to extend themselves towards communities … support for family … Have school premises [and] resources … open … after school … so students and community can use … (Community meeting)

52. 12. Community Partnerships Enhancing Learning
What some people said about Community Partnerships:
If you had a good father and a good mother, then you’d be laughin’.
(Young person quoted by NSW Commission for Children and Young People)
We … need to capture the intellectual capital of our community … [which has] a large ageing population. Many such people want to be involved and contribute, use as mentors for our schools/TAFE and utilise this resource more effectively. (Joint schools TAFE meeting)

53. 12. Community Partnerships Enhancing Learning
What some people said about Community Partnerships:
We believe that there should be open and transparent communications between classroom teachers, students and parents, so problems and
issues are addressed quickly. … The goal is to ensure that parents, students and teachers regularly communicate so they all have a good understanding of the learning outcomes, progress, difficulties or areas of concern in a timely manner. (P&C meeting)

54. 13. Meeting Local Needs
The ‘one size fits all’ approach to school staffing does not allow the flexibility for schools to meet their individual needs.
Schools can better meet their needs through greater control over the staffing profile of their school and the selection and employment of staff.
An innovative incentive scheme will ensure experienced teachers and leaders remain in hard to staff schools.

55. 13. Meeting Local Needs (cont.)
Schools need to be responsive and flexible and able to configure and allocate available resources to best meet their needs, including:
the types of schools
the relationship between and among schools and TAFE
the hours of operation, and
the role of other government and community agencies.

56. What some people said about Meeting Local Needs:
Principals should be in a position to employ the people most suited to their school … . To continue to consider the entire workforce of teachers to be equally skilled and suited to any school type is nonsense. Teachers would then have greater encouragement to continue to update their skills. (Parent)
Want ability to choose a teacher that meshes with the direction that the school is taking and complements the strengths and weaknesses of the staff. (School staff meeting)
All schools are different and thus need to be given the flexibility to staff according to individual needs. (School staff member)

57. What some people said about Meeting Local Needs:
The statewide staffing system and its centrepiece, a system of transfers, is the essential element in ensuring the appointment of teachers in every school across the state and therefore a curriculum guarantee for all students. (School meeting group)
That DET negotiate with the NSWTF … and in consultation with the SPC, that enable the local selection of a proportion of the school’s staffing entitlement in both teaching and support roles. (Secondary Principals’ Council)
Principals know their local needs … principals should have more of a say regarding use of staff and resources. They know who the best person for a job is, not a computer system in Blacktown! (Personal submission)

58. 14. Developing, Supporting and Rewarding Quality Teachers
Pre-service teacher education programs need to better reflect the current role of teachers in schools.
There is a need for longer periods of professional experience, practicums and internships.
Stronger links between the Department and universities will help ensure that teacher education is relevant and well connected to public schools.

59. 14. Developing, Supporting and Rewarding Quality Teachers (cont.)
Beginning and developing teachers need to be supported through strategies such as mentoring schemes.
Quality teachers should be recognised through appropriate incentives and rewards.
Ineffective teachers need to be identified early and dealt with promptly through simple procedures.

60. 14. Developing, Supporting and Rewarding Quality Teachers
What some people said about Developing, Supporting and Rewarding Quality Teachers:
I want my teacher to be like batman and teach me how to fly (Preschool child quoted by NSW Commission for Children and Young People)
Teachers and students and parents need to realise that an enquiry based approach – learning how to learn – is the way to go!
(School community meeting)
Teachers need to become facilitators of knowledge acquisition for students and to teach them the skills to critically evaluate
information and to develop the skills to apply their knowledge to new situations and to use it to solve problems. (School staff member)

61. 14. Developing, Supporting and Rewarding Quality Teachers
What some people said about Developing, Supporting and Rewarding Quality Teachers:
Have a realistic, fair and manageable program that can identify teachers that are not coping. A better selection process would greatly reduce the need for this. (Personal submission)
The problem is simply that those who make the initial decision [of selection for employment] are in no way accountable for the consequences of their decision. The problem is simply
transferred to the school which receives the appointed teacher.
(Secondary Principals’ Council)
Ineffective teachers need to be identified and removed from the system – they are discouraging to teachers that try hard to be good teachers and lower the professional profile of teachers. (School staff member)

62. 15. Environments for Learning
The physical presentation of a school is critical in attracting enrolments and maintaining school morale and image in the wider community.
The design of modern facilities and the Department’s efforts to refurbish facilities of historic and heritage value were applauded.
There was concern that much of the building stock is outdated and does not meet current and future needs.

63. 15. Environments for Learning (cont.)
Present infrastructure modeling standards have limited capacity for adaptation to local circumstances.
There is a need for greater local discretion in the management of school infrastructure.
Economies in capital works costs and more creative and efficient use of existing facilities are needed.

64. 15. Environments for Learning
What some people said about Environments for Learning:
All students and staff within the public education system are entitled to learn and work in an attractive, properly functioning and well resourced and maintained learning environment. Quality teaching and learning occurs when supported by quality resources. (Secondary Principals’ Council).
To accommodate the different styles of learning and teaching, schools need different types of classroom space. Instead of the traditional notions of rows of desks facing a teacher, a
classroom should have enough space for numerous activities and be flexible.
(Primary Principals’ Association)
The school environment should be pleasant for children. They should look forward to being there, not just learning there. (School P&C meeting)

65. 15. Environments for Learning
What some people said about Environments for Learning:
Allow more community use of [excess] sites i.e. establish preschools on site – very successful for [our] school which allows for a smooth transition from preschool to school … (School community meeting)
Close schools that are small or
maintenance hungry and bus
children to larger schools. (School
community meeting)
Future schools will have to be prepared for a future which is technology based. Future schools will be places for students to come to so they can be looked after as they facilitate their own learning ... Rooms with work stations will prevail … students will have access to ‘lessons’ on a 24 hours / 7 days a week basis from anywhere in the world. (Parent)

66. Excellence and Innovation
NSW DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Futures Project
Priorities and Directions for Public Education and Training in NSW