The State School Teachers' Union of WA (SSTUWA) warns recommendations made by the Through Growth to Achievement Report of the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools are not achievable due to the State Government’s recent cuts to education and said any more cuts in next week’s State Budget would be unacceptable to the community.
SSTUWA Senior Vice President Paul Bridge said the review had resulted in a comprehensive report highlighting key challenges facing education but did not go far enough in addressing the lack of funding in WA schools.
“We cannot consider testing or new assessment frameworks without addressing services that have been cut and teachers’ workloads,” he said.
“Taking a test does not improve education outcomes, it identifies where there are student learning needs so schools can target teaching and learning programs to support their students.
“We know that when public schools have the resources they need to give students the individual attention they deserve, we see improved educational outcomes.
“Public education in WA endured eight years of cuts from the Barnett Government, the proverbial cupboard was well and truly emptied and we hoped with a new Labor Government that the shelves would be restocked.
“Unfortunately education endured more cuts to important student services this year; services that assist teachers with at-risk students and those with learning difficulties. This means teachers are overworked and have less quality time teaching students -and our members are now starting to see the adverse effects this is having on student learning.
“The SSTUWA calls on the State Government to learn from this report and refrain from making any more cuts to education. Schools have suffered significantly in recent years and are unable to sustain further cuts whilst being expected to continue delivering quality services.
“To achieve the lofty aims of the review we need more funding for public education, not less,” Mr Bridge said.
