Discussions surrounding increased accountability, the School Performance Monitoring System (SPMS), mapping the National Curriculum and the introduction of IPS are invading the thoughts of many WA educators. These issues have brought out many concerns and unanswered questions.

SSTUWA Organiser Claire Howard and Council Chair Edd Black went to great lengths to present a clearer understanding of these matters by holding the School Leaders Council Inaugural breakfast on the 22nd August. SSTUWA President Anne Gisborne, Vice President Pat Byrne along with an array of guest speakers provided an opportunity for administrators to discuss the many of the complexities that face the public education system today and in the future.

Opening the speaker for the council meeting, Principal  Mr Paul Ganderton from Carine Senior High School revealed serious concerns for the SPMS. Paul, who has an extensive background in mathematics and statistics, along with his team at Carine, investigated the SPMS data, exposing flaws in the formulation.

This data is used to measure a school’s performance - a performance which heavily reflects upon that of the principal, data which is not controlled by the principal. He revealed the methods used to calculate this data are unreliable and inaccurate.

The developing SPSM, Gavin Morris of DoE, also presented to explain the basis for the data set and outline future data elements to be added to the system.  Gavin fielded a wide range of questions from a very interesting audience.

Research Fellow, Dr Scott Fitzgerald from Curtin University’s Graduate School of Business, found many flaws with the introduction of IPS. After much investigation concerning the IPS movement, Scott revealed that the restructure does not improve the quality of education practices or ‘student learning outcomes’. In fact IPS schools were reported as actively recruiting students who were considered to be of high value for NAPLAN testing and avoiding those with negative value to the overall outcome of the schools results. 

The public system begins to see a ‘corrosion of the culture and character of the profession’; it begins to emulate a culture and ethical system of that of the private sector. Along with this, principals will be brought in line with increasing demands for accountability, pedagogic obsolesce, role discontinuity and distributed leadership, explained Scott.

Roughly 40 per cent of the 778 public schools have now applied for IPS, and once independently reviewed in 2013, it will be a review merely based upon people’s feelings and perceptions, rather than a quantitative data analysis. The funding in place to finance this rollout is considered not sufficient for this transition to be sustainable. There is a difference between school and business leadership affirmed Scott. This reform changes “not just what educators do, but changes who you are”. (Ball 2003)

Included in the Council meeting was a presentation Richard Lobb of Curriculum Branch who provided a timely overview of how the Australian National Curriculum sits to WA schools.

To conclude the one day School Leaders Council meeting a new regionally base representative structure was confirmed with leaders nominating to be designated contacts.

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