Expert Advisory Panel for Regional and Rural Students

Each local challenge requires a local approach and a local solution.

There is no ‘silver bullet’ and no single solution that can be scaled up or applied across the whole state. The challenges faced by schools and students in rural communities and regional centres are in no way homogenous. While rural areas and regional centres experience particular barriers related to their characteristics, challenges also differ from location to location, rural town to rural town and regional centre to regional centre. Communities stressed that local contexts in rural and regional areas can be affected by community size, proximity to major population centres, demographic characteristics and local economies. As a result it was made clear to the Panel that efforts to improve learning outcomes for students must put local context at the forefront of policy and program design.

In many places across rural and regional Victoria, the vast majority of students are being provided with a strong and rich education.

The Panel consistently heard accounts of innovative and effective educational practice occurring across Victorian schools in rural and regional Victoria, as well as reports of many schools and broader communities effectively addressing barriers to ensure students are given the best opportunity to reach their full potential.

There are both common and distinct challenges faced by rural and regional government school educators.

The distinct challenges are arguably reflected in some recent data, which show that rural schools are performing slightly more strongly on some measures than regional schools. The panel was not able to reach conclusive findings about the causes of these differences, but the evidence pointed to two important factors. The first is the more competitive environment experienced by some regional schools as a result of the greater presence of non-government schools in regional areas, and the competition that can still exist between government sector schools in some regional areas. The second is that while in some rural areas, there has been a recent influx of families experiencing trauma and disadvantage, (perhaps as a result of the stock of low cost housing in some rural areas), there is also an increasing level of social disadvantage in some regional areas. Further, while there are a number of protective factors in rural areas that can mitigate or moderate disadvantage to some extent, such as strong relationships between small schools and their communities: these mitigating factors are not necessarily present in all regional areas.

"At all forums, participants spoke in detail and with clarity about the challenges faced by students, families and communities. They also spoke at length about potential solutions and success factors. The Panel heard clearly that it was critical to ensure rural and regional students had the foundations and access to support necessary for them to engage productively in education; were provided with learning environments that engaged and inspired them regardless of location; and were surrounded by cultures and attitudes that expanded their career aspirations and expectations for their future rather than limited them."

Communities highlighted what they identify as the essential elements to delivering an inspiring educational environment for students in rural and regional Victoria that promotes and enables success and growth. Eight consistent themes emerged clearly from the discussions and the Panel has used these as the basis for developing recommendations to further strengthen the learning and development outcomes for rural and regional students in Victoria.

They are:

1. Planning and strategy

2. Wide aspiration, high expectation and informed choice

3. School resourcing

4. Student support

5. Inclusive communities

6. Curriculum provision

7. Attraction and retention of principals, teachers and support staff

8. Professional development

How does the STARRS initiative align with the Findings and Recommendations made by the Panel?

The inception and design of the STARRS initiative has been underpinned by Findings 7 and 8. The funding associated with the STARRS Program has been implemented to address and strengthen the support provided to principals and new teachers and the funding associated with the continued professional development of teachers new to regional and rural schools.

7. Attraction and retention of principals, teachers, and support staff

7.1 Consider a range of incentives to attract high quality principals, teachers and support staff in order to provide the most appropriate locally-determined measures

7.2 Consider steps that can be taken to strengthen the support provided to new principals and teachers

7.3 Examine the feasibility of the increasing number of administration hubs for clusters/networks of rural and regional schools to reduce principal workload.

Government Response:

The Government supports these recommendations. A strong, engaged and supported teaching workforce are a critical element of ensuring our regional and rural schools and students succeed. Part of our initial investment of $82.8 million in additional funding will help ensure the best and brightest teachers can build their careers in regional and rural Victoria.

8. Professional development

8.1. Examine measures to strengthen the delivery of and access to professional learning for rural and regional staff, including access to VCAA virtual VCE Assessor Training and the delivery of Bastow-based programs

8.2. Review the role of SEILS/EILS/network chairs to ensure adequate support is available for collaborative professional development.

Government Response:

The Government supports these recommendations. The Department of Education and Training will incorporate these recommendations in its annual forward plan for professional development.