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The more things change, the more (some) things stay the same.

School leaders have reported high levels of resilience despite facing the worst recorded levels of physical violence, threats of violence and bullying in the 13-year history of the annual Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey.

Cranbrook in Sydney’s east is one of the most elite boys schools in Australia. In March, the ABC’s Four Corners program aired claims some female teachers had been bullied by male staff and sexually harassed by students.

Public schools in Western Australia educate proportionally more than twice the number of students from low socio-educational advantage backgrounds, compared to private schools and 2.7 times the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

The Australian Education Union (AEU) has urged the nation’s education ministers to make real progress on public school funding, with new research revealing the urgent need for the additional investment to lift results and combat debilitating teacher shortages and declining student and teacher wellbeing.

At a time when the future funding of public schools is being determined by negotiations between the Commonwealth and state/territory governments, a groundbreaking new research paper shows that increasing funding for public schools has positive impacts on student achievement and attainment.

Unpublished data provided to Save Our Schools by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development shows that nearly four in five Australian students did not fully try in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment.

How many of us recall having to calculate our body-mass index (BMI) as children at school, prompting comparisons of our weight with that of our peers? Or perhaps we remember references to calories and diets in the classroom.

The teaching profession is in crisis. By 2025, the federal government estimates a shortfall of more than 4,000 high school teachers across the country.

Five private schools spent more on lavish new facilities in 2021 than governments spent on over half the public schools in the nation, according to a new report which reveals the full extent of the $30 billion capital divide in Australian schools.

The State School Teachers’ Union of WA has described last month’s funding announcement for public schools as a very positive first step.

As the latest generation of Western Australian children start their education journey it is time to stop talking and start acting to address the problems facing public education. The announcement of a new funding agreement bringing $1.6 billion into WA public schools is a good start but there is more to do.

The Australian Education Union has welcomed the recruitment campaign launched by the Prime Minister in late October, but said a far greater investment in the teaching profession and public schools was needed to end chronic shortages and ensure teachers have the time and support to meet the needs of every child.

We asked members to share their stories about the impact of class sizes and what smaller class sizes would mean for them and their students.

The latest Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Education at a Glance report shows that Australia significantly underperforms against most OECD countries when it comes to investing in public schools.

On World Teachers’ Day 2023 - 27 October – AEU branches across the country launched a national road trip to help secure full funding for public schools.

Key WA public sector unions in the education, health, community safety, service and other fields have co-signed a formal agreement to campaign for wage rises at a recent mass meeting of elected workplace representatives.

The release of the 2023 NAPLAN results, showing significant numbers of students across Australia require additional support in literacy and numeracy, reinforces the need for full funding of public schools.

A new national campaign to secure full funding for public schools has been launched in WA as new evidence shows the importance of the additional investment.

WA State of our Schools survey respondents who are currently teaching, or have taught, in regional areas have identified several issues for those working in the country.