Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training, I present the committee's report, titled Education in remote and complex environments, incorporating a dissenting report, together with the minutes of the proceedings.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—Education in remote and complex environments was the topic of our inquiry: meeting the needs of students in regional, remote and rural communities and those in complex circumstances. We recognise that, amongst Australians, we see lower educational attainment in both school and tertiary education for those living in remote areas, and that a range of factors contribute to both a child's education journey and their ultimate education achievement.

The committee was mindful that significant work has already been done by both the Halsey and Napthine reviews, and we wanted to work on 14 recommendations to take forward from there. These covered areas including a nationally consistent minimum standard for access to secondary school education, regardless of geographic location; providing greater opportunities for families and communities to have more say in how schools apply the Australian curriculum; ensuring that education is available to young people with a disability in remote and rural locations, and that it remains inclusive; that mental health services are improved; that quality early education is improved; and that up to 30 hours a week of subsidised early education and care is available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. The recommendations also cover supporting early learning programs through distance education and ensuring surety of funding, in particular for mobile early childhood education services and for wraparound models of early intervention. There is a recommendation for adult literacy campaigns in communities where English literacy levels are low and a recommendation for improving access to support for English as an additional language or dialect and access to bilingual education, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The report also recommends supporting the development and professionalisation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce; establishing trauma-informed cultural induction and training programs for educators who work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students; and enhancing the integration of Australia's vocational education and training with the higher education sector.

On behalf of our committee, we want to really thank not only those who made rich and varied written submissions to our inquiry and those who participated in our limited public hearing program but also those who were enthusiastic in inviting us to participate in more regional visits, some of which were not possible because of COVID-19 conditions.

The pandemic has significantly disrupted education of Australian students in 2020, with a huge strain on the capacity of education systems, on schools and teachers, to deliver education in complex environments and outside of classrooms. This shift to online learning disadvantaged many, and particularly those from vulnerable families in their early years of schooling, and it really did expose a digital divide between families who have access to high-quality internet services and internet-enabled devices and those who don't. The harsh reality was, even where schools were prepared to cater for families with vulnerable children or essential workers and their children, many simply didn't turn up. While online education has the potential to bridge these gaps, it's really shown to be no substitute for in-classroom teaching. Many issues still need to be worked through, and that will be one of the great learnings of COVID—enhanced online pedagogy and teacher training. Jurisdictions are encouraged nationwide to prioritise the safe delivery of in-school teaching and home based learning, and to closely follow public health advice when deciding on many of these matters, including what attendance at school activities is possible, and, particularly, levels of parental engagement and access to school facilities and venues.

I'd like to thank my co-chair, the member for Bendigo, the committee, and the dedicated secretariat, led by John White and Julia Morris, who assisted us through the COVID period to deliver this report.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

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