New Gonski report: Welcome focus on parental engagement and building evidence base to improve student outcomes

The Smith Family, Australia’s largest children’s education charity, welcomes the focus on parental engagement and the fast-tracking of a national Unique Student Identifier in Through Growth to Achievement: Report of the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools, released today. The report identifies a set of national recommendations to improve school performance and student achievement.

The Australian Government established the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools (the Review) in July 2017, chaired by Mr David Gonski AC and supported by an independent panel of experts* drawn from different school systems, states and sectors.

The Smith Family made a submission to the Review based on our long-term work with thousands of disadvantaged students to improve educational and post-school outcomes. The Smith Family believes every child should be able to access an education that allows them to achieve their full learning potential, regardless of their background.

“The Smith Family welcomes this report and is broadly pleased with the recommendations, which have a strong focus on individualised support for students,” said Anne Hampshire, The Smith Family’s Head of Research and Advocacy.

“Over the past two decades, Australia’s educational performance in core subject areas has stagnated or declined, with children from low socioeconomic backgrounds at particular risk of poor outcomes. For these children, targeted and timely support provided during their school years helps them to break the cycle of disadvantage and increases their chances of going on to further study or work post-school.”

Ms Hampshire said The Smith Family particularly welcomed the recognition of the importance of parental engagement in their child’s learning and the need to build the national research evidence base to improve student outcomes.

“Research shows parental engagement is a bigger predictor of a child’s educational outcomes than family socioeconomic status and can help close the gap in achievement between children from high- and low-income backgrounds. A continued focus on measuring and growing effective parental engagement is key.

“We also welcome the recommendation to accelerate the introduction of a national Unique Student Identifier (USI) for all students to be used throughout schooling. The value of a USI to support students’ individual needs and to evaluate the impact of educational initiatives has been demonstrated through The Smith Family’s own research over a number of years,” Ms Hampshire said.

The Smith Family notes these findings and recommendations in the report addressing key areas that will support all young Australians but particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds:

• Parental engagement – The recommendation to develop and disseminate evidence-based tools and resources to assist educators to support parents and carers to engage in their children’s learning is welcome. Such resources need to support parents, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, who may lack the knowledge, skills and confidence to participate in their children’s education. The resources also need to build the capacity of school leaders and educators to engage parents as learning partners.
• Community engagement – The Smith Family welcomes the recommendation to strengthen school-community engagement to enrich student learning by facilitating quality partnerships, including engagement in mentoring, volunteering and extra-curricular activities. This is important because in disadvantaged communities where there are fewer educational and employment opportunities, young people may need help to see the value of education and of completing Year 12. Forging strong partnerships between families, schools, tertiary institutions, employers and the wider community leads to higher student achievement, school completion and improved post-school outcomes.
• Secondary Schooling Review – With the rapid changes to the world of work and growing levels of youth unemployment and under-employment, The Smith Family agrees there is a strong case for a national review of senior secondary schooling. International research shows access to a range of career-focused activities and career conversations in the high school years has a positive impact on young people’s engagement in post-school employment, further education and training. Opportunities for meaningful work experience through industry mentors and partnerships can help prepare students for this new world, particularly disadvantaged students who may not have these connections in their own networks.
• Unique Student Identifier – The Smith Family welcomes the recommendation to accelerate the introduction of a national Unique Student Identifier (USI) for all students to be used throughout schooling. USIs are foundational to understanding the impact over time of schooling on student development. The Smith Family’s own longitudinal data analysis of more than 38,000 students on our Learning for Life education program shows the contribution of a USI to informing our program refinements, targeting resources and improving educational outcomes. A USI allows students to receive continuity of support over the long term, regardless of how many times they may move schools or from state to state.
• Building the evidence base – The Smith Family welcomes the recommendation to establish an institution to coordinate the development of a national research and evidence base that can be easily accessed and implemented to improve student outcomes. We believe that if Australia is to improve its educational performance and see all young people achieve, regardless of their background, then we need to invest at scale in initiatives that have been shown to be effective. Key to this is using educational data and evidence to identify, as early as possible, which students need additional support and which programs are achieving strong outcomes.
• Early childhood education – We welcome the finding that early childhood education makes a significant contribution to school outcomes. Research has shown that balanced long-term support for disadvantaged children, beginning in the early years and continuing through school, produces the best educational and post-school outcomes. Ensuring parents and carers are equipped to engage positively and effectively in their child’s learning from an early age is vital, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Smith Family’s submission to the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools.
The Smith Family's latest research report highlighting the value of a Unique Student Identifier.

Media Enquiries: Jacqui Ooi, National Media Manager, The Smith Family | 0487 900 131 or jacqui.ooi@thesmithfamily.com.au