2025 WACSSO State Education Position Paper

2025 WA STATE ELECTION POSITION PAPER

About WACSSO Introduction The Western Australian Council of State School Organisations (WACSSO) is the peak body representing parents of public school students in Western Australia.

We provide advice and services to more than 650 Parents and Citizens Associations (P&Cs) in WA, and we represent public school parents to decision-makers and organisations at community, State and National levels.

This document sets out WACSSO’s position on key issues pertinent to public education in Western Australia. WACSSO utilises a vast affiliate network of parents to children in government schools across Western Australia to inform our advocacy work. This network represents the collective voice or parents and families facing the issues presented in this position paper.

WACSSO continues to celebrate the diversity of families in Western Australia, recognising parents and families as primary and lifelong educators of children. References to parents in this position paper includes parents, carers and families. WACSSO encourages parents to use this paper to assist and inform advocacy efforts within their local electorates on education issues relevant to their school community.

Collective Impact According to 2023 data, in that year WA P&Cs collectively contributed $12m and close to 500,000 volunteer hours to public education. These contributions provided resources as diverse as playground equipment and shading, library materials, camps, excursions and incursions, and technology and devices. Many WA P&Cs also employ the staff who run school canteens and uniform shops, making sure our children have healthy, nutritious meals and high-quality clothing.

P&Cs are responsible for community engagement, fundraising to support their school and advocacy initiatives that raise awareness of challenges and opportunities in our public education system. For over 100 years, supported by WACSSO, P&Cs have filled this important role in our school communities. Over that time, the feedback and call to action to governments has adapted to the needs of families, but the constant is the vital role of parents as partners. True to one of our guiding principles; together, we are stronger.

Parents as partners

Over 100 years of advocacy

$12millon donated annually 650+ affiliated P&Cs

500,000 volunteer hours gifted annually

The Western Australian Council of State School Organisations pays respect to First Nations people and Traditional Custodians throughout Australia, recognising their connection to land, waters and sky. We acknowledge parents, families, Elders and communities as first educators, sharers of culture and knowledge; and recognise the value this learning holds for children and young people.

WACSSO Position Our vision is for Western Australian schools to provide world-leading education to every student. We believe a focus on the following advocacy areas best supports this vision: 1. Education for the future: a focus on challenges and opportunities including equity, effective engagement of parents as partners, harnessing emerging technologies and understanding student pathways through schooling will improve the experience for students and parents.

2. Student wellbeing: a better understanding of contemporary issues facing young people, including violence, vaping, and school refusal, and implementing more robust wraparound service responses will make the school experience more positive, encouraging enhanced learning outcomes.

3. Planning and infrastructure: responding to the perennial issues of inadequate funding, safe travel to school, engaging and understanding community needs and allowances for regional and remote schools will have long-lasting positive impact.

4. Parent Engagement in Education: harnessing the power of parents and P&Cs and encouraging schools to be community hubs will have wide-ranging results for parents and their children.

1 Education for the Future A world-leading education system will rely on essential ingredients including proper funding, accessibility, inclusion, access to face-to-face lessons in core subjects for all students, regardless of location, a consistent, adequate definition of equity in education and policies and funding that allow schools to keep pace with technology.

These are the views of our affiliates who are located across the State, and they backed by research. Ensuring our public education system is fit-for-purpose now and into the future requires investment across the areas above. The challenges faced by today's families have changed, children and young people are trying to navigate a complex, rapidly changing, and digitally connected world. This modern context requires a public education system that has a foundation of excellence. Excellent public school facilities, staffed with excellent principals, teachers and support staff, equipped with excellent resources, supported by excellent policies and legislation, will ensure that our government schools have the ability to cater to a modern and diverse student population.

WACSSO calls on the State Government to: commit to bringing all government schools up to 100% or above the SRS and to close the gap in funding between public and private schools. commit to face-to-face teaching of core subjects by quality teachers; and providing reliable and affordable access to digital resources and connectivity, regardless of location. commit to a consistent and appropriate definition of equity as it relates to education. commit to the six key steps to foster equity and inclusion in education identified in the OECD Equity and Inclusion in Education report. ensure schools are resourced to manage a range of learning, security and ethical considerations resulting from the use of emerging technology, including Generative Artificial Intelligence, in schools.

2 Student Wellbeing The significant rise in mental health concerns for young people has been raised by our affiliates time and again when calling for feedback on what concerns the modern parent.

These concerns are backed by research and an understanding that young people today need access to a range of services and resources at school to assist with positive wellbeing. Enabling positive wellbeing has a favourable impact on learning outcomes and sets students up for success as young adults.

To support positive student wellbeing in schools, a combination of approaches is needed, including learning from existing trials, such as the onsite GP service trial, responding swiftly and strongly to the rise of e-cigarettes, and implementing better systems to understand school refusal.

WACSSO calls on the State Government to: fund sufficient resources to meet the demand for timely access to mental health care services for students. enable schools to identify and implement programs that support students experiencing addiction. Well-placed support will assist to minimise the impact of addiction to the student themselves, as well as addressing impacts in the classroom and the broader school community. focus on building whole of school competency in addressing instances of online and inperson bullying. implement support programs for student victims of school related violence and their families, including when violence that occurs off school grounds such as cyberbullying, and school community incidents. differentiate school refusal on the list of reasons for being absent from school, so that reliable data can be collected and used for future planning and policy responses.

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3 Planning and Infrastructure Effective planning and appropriate infrastructure that supports the learning needs of children are topics repeatedly raised by parents seeking to advocate on behalf of their family and community. Countless reports of students not being able to travel independently to school safely, of buildings and classrooms at public schools no longer being fit for purpose or, in some cases, safe, for staff and students, and the increasing concerns regarding what is permitted to be built adjacent to school sites are all issues affiliates raise with WACSSO. The advocacy efforts WACSSO has engaged in over many years have almost always included an aspect of planning and infrastructure. From minimum play/green space area allocations to 40km/hr speed zones, to seat belts on school buses, infrastructure and planning, often with a focus on student safety, have a long tradition of both being raised by WACSSO and their affiliates and also being positively responded to by governments, resulting in meaningful change for children.

WACSSO calls on the State Government to: engage in a range of measures, including resolving shortages of traffic wardens, improving road safety infrastructure and making school crossings applications easier with a view to improving the safe travel to school experience for children. revert to the exclusions previously listed in the Schools Planning Policy relating to buildings and businesses around schools, ensuring careful consideration is given regarding undesirable land uses near schools and ensuring active engagement and consultation with parents and school communities as key stakeholders is a requirement for residential planning application submissions. take the big-picture view when planning a new school site, including impact of traffic flow and ensuring safe methods and paths of access for staff, students and parents. ensure investments are made in new school builds and school upgrades based on best available local population projections which incorporates the impact of planned housing developments within a school’s local intake area. continue investment in renovations and upgrades for schools with outdated facilities via a non-competitive process and ensure transparency regarding prioritisation of items on the maintenance log.

4 Parent Engagement in Education Parents and families are essential partners in education. There is significant evidence that success in schooling hinges on parent engagement, as parents and families hold the first and lifelong connection to children into adulthood. Given the pivotal nature of parent engagement in the success of students, parents and families should not be grouped with other stakeholders. Acknowledging parents as a stand-alone stakeholder group is crucial for fostering strong partnerships that enhance educational outcomes. Resourcing our schools to build strong family engagement practices will empower teachers to connect appropriately and genuinely with families, leading to successful outcomes for students.

In this context, P&Cs are an essential element in building parental and family engagement.

As highlighted at the outset, the positive impact on the public education system generated

by P&Cs is immense. Parents and P&Cs are essential allies in supporting school initiatives and education targets for their child. Yet, volunteer numbers across Australia have been on a steady but gradual decline since 2010. WACSSO advocates that measures are taken to ensure attracting and retaining these essential volunteers is as easy as possible, and the process of managing a P&C is similarly straightforward. Making volunteers welcome at school and minimising red tape must be balanced with compliance and safety requirements, with the aim to ease recruitment and retention issues for our P&Cs. WACSSO notes that for the State Government to uphold its recent WA Volunteering Strategy government schools must be spaces where parents are welcomed as volunteers and where young people can seamlessly connect with community volunteer pathways and volunteer prospects.

WACSSO calls on the State Government to: reject strategies or initiatives that remove the school-parent or teacher-parent interactions in the interests of reducing workloads. agree that parental engagement is specific and considered to be a resource priority that improves student outcomes. resource teachers to build genuine engagement - (resources include time, skills, and support). commit to supporting P&Cs as volunteer managers and service providers in schools in line with the WA Volunteer Strategy. commit to funding training opportunities in essential areas such as mediation and conflict resolution specific to volunteer organisations. minimise the governance burden on P&Cs by streamlining reporting processes. ensure planning and investment in new school builds and upgrades includes consideration of demand for community spaces (eg out of school hours childcare, sporting groups, clubs and organisations and health specialist visits). develop a framework or guiding policy weighted in favour of community over financial gain, empowering school communities to determine the requirements, need and structure for on-site community assets (eg OSHC, ESL classes).

References This WACSSO Position Paper uses the feedback of our affiliates, provided via our network of State Councillors who operate across WA, supporting, guiding and advising P&Cs. WACSSO also routinely surveys affiliates to understand the challenges and opportunities facing public school parents. This two-way communication approach in place is vital to assist WACSSO with its goal in amplifying the parent voice to leaders in education at State and National levels.

Alongside the voice of our affiliates, WACSSO undertook significant research in the development of this paper. A list of references follows. We acknowledge the work of our intern from the McCusker Centre for Citizenship at UWA, Emilie Weeding, for her outstanding research work which provided the background for this paper.

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24 Lockett, C., Shah, S., Rizzo Liu, K., Towns, S., Smith, R., & Mooney-Somers, J. (2024). Unpacking vaping in schools: Voices from the school community. Health Education Journal, 00178969241246170.

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27 Lowe, E., Picknoll, D., Chivers, P., Farringdon, F., & Rycroft, P. (2020). Teacher-directed violence by students in Western Australia: An exploratory study. Issues in Educational Research, 30(1), 187202.

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31 N. Pearce, H. Monks, N. Alderman, et al. "‘It’s All About Context’: Building School Capacity to Implement a Whole-School Approach to Bullying." International Journal of Bullying Prevention 6 (2024): 53–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42380-022-00138-6.

32 WACSSO. 2023. “WACSSO Selected as Volunteering WA 2022-23 Research Grant Program Recipient.” [WACSSO] Western Australian Council of State School Organisations. February 22, 2023. https://www.wacsso.wa.edu.au/latest-news/wacsso-selected-as-volunteering-wa-202223-research-grant-program-recipient/.

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34 McPherson, A., Lampert, J., & Burnett, B. (2024). A summary of initiatives to address teacher shortages in hard-to-staff schools in the Anglosphere. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 52(3), 332-349.

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Notes

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