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| Mr CHANDLER (Education): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. The purpose of this bill is to enact a new Education Act that reflects contemporary educational practices and supports a flexible system that can deal with current and future issues affecting school education in the Northern Territory. This bill supports the implementation of new government policy such as independent public schools, and will make significant updates in important matters such as expanding the opportunities for parent and community involvement in schools, supporting contemporary practices for students with a disability and broaden options for principals managing student wellbeing and behaviour. The Education Act has been in force for over 35 years without major amendment or review. It uses outdated and inappropriate language and contains significant structural omissions. The act fails to accurately reflect contemporary society or educational practice. It lacks the flexibility to meet the complex needs of NT consumers or the education sector and lacks the breadth to allow for changing priorities. In particular the act contains significant structural omissions in the areas of disability, special needs and inclusion, vocational education and training and flexible models of school governance and operations. It is a primary responsibility of government to provide education for Territorians and to regulate educational service delivery. School education is far more complex now than when the act commenced, however, most of the act remains unchanged. This sometimes makes it difficult to implement contemporary and innovative strategies and delivery models. The act is in need of comprehensive reform so that it reflects contemporary society and educational practice and is responsive to the current and future needs. Reforming the act presents an opportunity to establish a strong legislative basis for transformational changes to education in the Territory to meet the changing needs of young Territorians into the future and to ensure there is sufficient flexibility to accommodate the current range of contexts and diversity in the Northern Territory. Reform of the Education Act began in February last year with the release of a discussion paper which set out a number of potential reform options. This was followed by a significant period of targeted and public stakeholder consultation. During that first phase of consultation 42 consultation workshops were held across the Territory and 45 written submissions were received at the end of that two-and-a-half month consultation period. The initial draft Education Bill was informed by the feedback from that first phase of consultation with stakeholders, as well as research conducted into best practice models and initiatives across Australia. The draft Education Bill was publicly released earlier this year. Another 16-week period of consultation with stakeholders followed during which feedback was sought on the bill. Feedback from the second phase of the consultation has been incorporated into the final bill. I now present the bill for passage through this House to become the new Education Act for the Northern Territory. There are a number of proposed changes I bring to your attention. The Northern Territory Board of Studies is an advisory board and its current membership model is representative of a number of stakeholder groups. There are 16 members on the board and it has been challenging to maintain an effective board of studies in the Territory, particularly as it is a small jurisdiction. The Board of Studies has no formal regulatory function, particularly as the SACE Board is contracted to provide services in relation to secondary school qualifications. Boards in other states and the ACT have a formal regulatory function, as well as an advisory policy role. Many jurisdictions have combined the functions of a Board of Studies with other regulatory functions, such as teacher accreditation and non-government school registration. The core function of the Northern Territory Board of Studies is to provide advice to the minister on curriculum policy. This bill amends the model of the board to become a smaller, mixed membership board which retains key stakeholder representatives, but includes expert members in a range of fields. The new board will consist of 11 members, one departmental representative, six expert members and four stakeholder representatives. Two of the expert members are nominated by Northern Territory Catholic Education Office and the Association of Independent Public Schools NT and this will remain the cooperative arrangements between the school sectors. The other four experts are members nominated by the Minister for Education. Between them the expert members must have expertise in a range of relevant educational fields, which will be specified in the education regulations, but include: early childhood education and care; primary education; secondary education; special learning needs; Indigenous education; vocational education and training in schools; distance and online education; and international education. The four stakeholder representatives will be: one member, who is the parent of a child who attends a school who represents the interests of parents of children attending Northern Territory schools; one member, who is a practicing teacher who represents the interest of teachers; one member, who represents the interests of Indigenous people; and one member who represents the interests of employers. This model will ensure the provision of quality advice to the minister, which includes input from a range of key stakeholders and experts. There are currently 81 students across the Territory being home-educated. Currently the Education Act requires parents to apply to the Chief Executive of the Department of Education to provide home education, however, no particular curriculum is mandated - meaning there is no set standard of quality. The bill mandates that the curriculum used by home educators is one that is approved by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, ACARA. This will ensure all children and young people in the Territory have access to a high quality education. However, it is acknowledged that in some circumstances there are curricula which have not been approved by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, but which are popular with families, particularly those who are home-educating on religious beliefs or families who are home-schooling a child with a disability, and using a blended curriculum. To accommodate such circumstances the Chief Executive of the Department of Education may grant an exemption to this requirement where he sees it appropriate. Home educators will also be required to inform the Department of Education when a child stops home education which will ensure all children of compulsory school age are receiving an education. The current Education Act uses out-dated terminology that is inconsistent with current policy and practice, such as the term handicapped. The bill corrects this with the use of the term ‘disability’ as the correct, current terminology aligning the act with local and national policy. In addition, a definition of disability has been inserted into the bill which refers to the definition of the Disability Discrimination Act. This means that any changes to the definition in the Disability Discrimination Act will automatically reflect the new Education Act definition without any need for amendment. This is a widely understood and consistent definition, and it is already used in Department of Education policy. The bill also streamlines the process for parents, or principals of children with disabilities or special needs to apply to the Chief Executive of the Department of Education for special arrangements where children need additional assistance, whereas it is currently the Minister for Education. An example of a special arrangement might be where a building modification is required. The appeal process in relation to special arrangements is also streamlined. The Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal can review decisions rather than the Supreme Court, which is a less complex process for families. School teaching and learning methods and facilities are focused on providing education for school aged children and young people. However, the bill recognises that there may be reasons why students who are 18 years of age or older may need to attend school. For the first time we are providing schools with guidance in relation to mature aged students. Where it is appropriate for a person who is over 18 to apply to enrol at a school and who has not been enrolled in a school for more than 12 months, they must pass a criminal history check before they can enrol. This means that if a disqualifying offence appears in the criminal history check prospective students cannot enrol in a school in the Territory. What is meant by disqualifying offence will be detailed in the Education regulations. However, the offences will be similar to those of significance for a Working with Children clearance including, sexual, violent and drug-related offences involving children. This is an important safety check which does not exist in the current act. This does not apply to continuing students who turn 18 while they are studying. It does, however, apply to both government and non-government schools. The bill confirms that government education is free. All children and young people are entitled to a free quality education that is capable of enabling them to reach their potential and so maximise their achievements and the contribution to the community. The bill also provides a legislative base to the current practice where schools councils request voluntary contributions or charge fees for optional extra items such as extra curricula programs or activities that are offered in addition to the standard curriculum program. Parents can choose whether their child accesses or participates in courses that require optional extra items. The bill also provides for fees to be wavered on the grounds of economic hardship or special circumstances. Policy currently ensures that children within the local area of a school area are able to attend that school. When a school is nearing capacity local students have priority for enrolment. However, there is nothing in the legislation around this. The bill includes guidance on enrolment policy as a tool to help principals manage enrolments fairly and with transparency. When a school is nearing capacity principals will be required to prepare a school enrolment management plan which will be approved by the Chief Executive. The plan will provide direction for decisions the principal makes about the priority enrolments of students. The current Education Act says that children must attend school while they are of compulsory school age but it does not describe when a students’ school journey should finish. This results in a lack of clarity around the start and end of points of schooling. The bill establishes a set allocation for each child in the Territory of 26 semesters, that is 13 years of schooling, and that will see a child through from Transition to the end of Year 12. The bill also proposes that where appropriate additional time at school can be accessed by applying to the Chief Executive of the Department of Education. Processes already exist for these circumstances. An example is students at special schools or students studying the NTCET over a number of years. However, these processes are not uniform and lack a solid policy or legislative basis. The primary utility of the scheme is to provide structure, consistency and transparency for decisions made about those students who need additional time at school. The application process will be simple and will be managed at the school level. Schools will assist students and their families should additional time be required at school beyond the 13 years they will have already received. Should any decision be made not to grant a request for addition time, students or their parents will be able to apply to the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which is an independent tribunal, to review that decision. It is an absolute priority to ensure our schools are safe, supportive and respectful teaching communities that promote student wellbeing. The current Education Act allows for suspension and expulsion, but does not provide any guidance for teachers and principals on behaviour management. The bill sets out a range of measures to allow schools to better manage student behaviour. Firstly, it identifies a range of factors that principals must have regard to when making decisions about behaviour. This includes things like the age of the student, the student’s home environment, any special needs and relevant religious or cultural considerations. The bill also gives the Chief Executive Officer a specific power to issue guidelines about the management of behaviour of students in government schools. This will ensure consistency and transparency across schools. The bill also allows the Chief Executive Officer to attach reasonable conditions to the enrolment of a child for behaviour management processes. An example of this is where a student must participate in a behaviour management program to attend a particular school. The bill also includes a new safety measure by allowing students who have been charged with a serious criminal offence to be temporarily excluded from school until the charge is dealt with by a court. This would only occur when the continued presence of the student poses an unacceptable risk to the staff or students of that school. Should a student be excluded, reasonable steps must be taken to allow the student to continue their education while they are excluded. The Chief Executive Officer’s decision to exclude a student is reviewable by the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal. There is currently no express power to close or amalgamate schools where it is considered appropriate. The present process to close or amalgamate a school is done administratively, but there is no requirement for community consultation before the closure or amalgamation takes place. The bill protects and respects community interests by enshrining the requiring for community consultation to occur before a decision is made regarding a school’s future. The consultation must include principals, school staff, students and their parents, and other body representatives of those persons. The bill recognises the importance of parent and community involvement in government schools and will provide greater flexibility in school governance models to meet individual community needs. Firstly, the bill requires principals to take reasonable steps each year to establish a school representative body. A school representative body can be a school council, an independent public school board or joint school representative body, depending on the needs or type of school. Where it is not possible to establish a school representative body, a school can set up a parent consultative group to have an advisory role, but with no formal functions. While the current act strictly prescribes who may be a member of a school council, the bill allows for more flexibility in membership, but retains the important component of parent representatives. The membership for a school representative body will be detailed in the new education regulations, with the intention to free up membership provisions to allow more external members depending on the needs of the representative body. However, all school representative bodies must have at least 50% parent representation. There will be an exception to this rule for the boards of independent public schools. Parental involvement should be first and foremost. However, in circumstances where parents cannot be engaged be part of an independent school board, or where it is appropriate to vary the membership, an independent public school may apply to the Minister for Education to vary the composition of their board based on their needs. However, any application will have to demonstrate how parent and community views will be represented on the board. In the current Education Act both the regulatory and administrative functions relating to non-government schools are the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Department of Education. In other larger jurisdictions these functions are separated, with separate statutory bodies to regulate non-government schools, for example, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. However, this will be costly to implement in the Northern Territory at this time given the small size of our jurisdiction. For comparative purposes in New South Wales there are over one million students and around a third of those attend non-government schools. In the Northern Territory there are just over 41 000 students and around 11 300 of those students attend non-government schools. The bill instead separates the regulatory and administrative functions by changing the regulatory authority for non-government schools from the Chief Executive of the Department of Education to a Registrar who will be appointed by and report to the Minister for Education. This creates a level of independence for the regulation of non-government schools. However, the bill states that a review of this section will occur in five years’ time when consideration can be given to whether the Territory should move to an independent regulatory body. There are many other notable amendments in this bill including: the express prohibition of corporal punishment; providing a legislative basis for contemporary elements such as vocational education and training; providing a legislative basis for international students; and including powers to enable the Northern Territory to enter into partnerships to provide education services overseas. Finally, there are some consequential amendments proposed in the bill along with some minor amendments of the kind normally dealt with in statute law revision legislation. These amendments modernise the language used but do not affect existing policy or legal effect of the provisions so amended. Madam Speaker, I commend this bill to honourable members and table the explanatory statement to accompany the bill. Debate adjourned. |