Wednesday, 13 November 2024

Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee

Inquiry into the State Education System in Victoria

Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:25): I rise to speak on the Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee’s October 2024 report on the state education system in Victoria. As a member of the committee I heard firsthand from stakeholders across the state about their experiences with Victoria’s once nation-leading education system and their vision for its future. Although there were undoubtedly differences of opinion, overall it was clear that all of those who contributed to the inquiry, and my colleagues, want to see Victoria’s education system blossom to become world class. We claim to be the Education State, but if we want to keep that title believable, we must act on the findings of this report, of which there are many.

Before delving into the specifics of the report, I would also like to reflect on a related issue that I raised in this chamber last week; that is, dedicated housing for essential service workers, including teachers. Teachers deserve to live in the communities that they teach in. They should have job opportunities based on their merit, not on their ability to afford to live in the area where they work. The lack of affordable housing was a key issue raised by most of the teachers we spoke to, as was attracting people to the profession. So I feel it is a no-brainer that this government consider incentives for essential workers such as our teachers to be supported into affordable housing.

Turning to the report itself, I would like to begin by highlighting some of the recommendations I believe are particularly important to the future of our Education State. Recommendation 3 is that this government ensures:

… that practical life skills such as … budgeting … taxation and civic engagement are taught in schools at pre-VCE levels.

This is such an important recommendation. When we teach these kinds of skills, we are helping dismantle entrenched inequality and poverty by giving kids the skills they will need to help themselves when they need to. At present we largely rely on families to teach these skills. Inevitably children receive inconsistent advice or no advice at all on these essential life skills. Many families have not received this advice themselves, so how can we expect them to be able to teach it?

I was also pleased to see finding 10, which states:

There is a growing view among students, teachers and education experts that … non‑academic student outcomes measures should be incorporated in school assessment to provide a broader reflection of student achievement.

As someone who did not always have a positive experience at school, I struggled to engage academically, but I still had so much more to offer. I often wonder: if my school had focused on more personalised experiences rather than a one-size-fits-all approach of academic excellence, maybe I would have been more engaged.

Unsurprisingly, during the inquiry a very small number of people raised concerns about the teaching of gender diversity, sexuality, relationships and sex education in schools, often with reference to Respectful Relationships and Safe Schools programs. Although we did receive strong endorsements of these programs, we also saw some people suggest they did not have a place in our education system. There was talk of politicising schools, implying that identity is in some way a choice, as if it was as simple as who you are and who you should be. Children deserve schools that are equipped to understand and listen to them as they grow up and understand their place in this world. Any attempt to erase that opportunity is shameful and setting kids up for failure.

Before concluding I would like to give a shout-out to my colleague Aiv Puglielli for his minority report.

In particular I want to echo his comments about the need for strict needs-based funding for both public and private schools, access to mental health services in schools, teachers being underpaid and overworked and opportunities to support LGBTIQA+ students in the schooling system. The learning and growing that children do in our schools often determines the path that they will follow in life. We owe it to our Victorian children to give them the best environment to learn and explore in. With that in mind, I look forward to seeing the government’s considered response to this report in due course.