The Australian Education Union said today that parents and the public would now have to wait until at least 2013 to get an accurate picture of the financial resources of schools.

Reacting to the news that no further financial information would be published on the 2012 version of My School, AEU Federal President Angelo Gavrielatos said: “It is obvious why private schools and the Liberal Party oppose parents and the public having information on the assets and resources of schools.

“Clearly they don’t want people to know what profits they are making, what the total level of income they are getting, what they have in the bank and what they have stashed away in foundations and trusts.

“However, as the Prime Minister has said, it is only by looking at the total amount of funds a school has at its disposal is it possible to understand the relationship between resources and educational outcomes.

Read more: Financial Information on My School Remains Incomplete

The Australian Education Union said today the huge resources gap between public and private schools exposed on the My School website highlighted the need for an overhaul of federal funding arrangements.

AEU Federal President Angelo Gavrielatos said that elite private schools, bolstered by millions in federal funding, had up to three times as much recurrent income to spend on students as government schools.

“My School confirms the most federal recurrent funding is going to the richest private schools,” Mr Gavrielatos said.

“That is fuelling a resources divide and making it harder to ensure that every child gets a high quality education. Why is it that rich private schools with up to $60 or $70 million in annual income get more federal funding than the poorest public schools?

Read more: My School Shows the Need for Funding Changes

The latest news in the campaign to protect students from league tables is that a Senate inquiry has been established.

It will examine the issues around the use of NAPLAN data on My School and in league tables and the impact that has had on students and schools.

The AEU is urging all members and supporters to have their say on this critical issue.

Submissions can be made until June 25. Public hearings are expected to be then held in July with the committee required to report to the Senate on August 13.

You can find the terms of reference for the inquiry and how to make a submission on this page. (Click Here)

The Australian Education Union has welcomed the establishment of a Senate inquiry into the use of student performance data.

Read more: Senate Inquiry into the Use of NAPLAN Results

URGENT UPDATE – PLEASE DISTRIBUTE TO ALL MEMBERS & NON MEMBERS

The fight to prevent NAPLAN Data being misused and abused through such activities as creating league tables is by no means over for the SSTUWA and its members, nor is it over for our colleagues across the country.

The concerns of the profession with regard to misuse and abuse of NAPLAN data were sadly vindicated yet again on the weekend with the front page headline in the Weekend Australian May 1–2 2010: NATIONAL SURVEY RANKS OUR BEST SCHOOLS.

First we have had the ranking of schools and now we have the ranking of classrooms. 
REGISTER YOUR CONCERN & OBJECTIONS directly Julia Gillard and your local MP

Read more: Stop League Tables

The State School Teachers’ Union of WA (SSTUWA) returned to the WA Industrial Relations Commission today, seeking a final determination in the matters relating to NAPLAN testing.

Last week, the Commission handed down Interim Orders to prevent the union from maintaining a National Moratorium on the implementation of the 2010 NAPLAN testing.

The union has complied with the ruling.

The move to request a final determination will require the Department of Education to provide proper evidence as to why the union should not be permitted to continue the National Moratorium.

SSTUWA President, Anne Gisborne, said today that the union’s serious and professional concerns about the misuse of NAPLAN data in the preparation of “league tables” and the MySchool website – and the damage they do to students and the school community – have not dissipated by the issuing of the interim orders.

Read more: Union returns to the Industrial Commission