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The "Student Focused National Career Education Strategy" was developed in collaboration with a national group that brought together the voices of education, business and industry, parents and carers, career practitioners and youth. To prepare students for their future careers, the strategy focuses on the importance of building the skills and general capabilities they will need in the workplace; strengthening school and employer collaboration; and developing students' career management and navigation skills. The vision is that every student in every school has access to high-quality career education to help them make a successful transition from school to further education, training, work or a combination of these. The high-level style of the strategy is designed to allow flexibility in its use by the broadest range of stakeholders, including school systems, school leaders and teachers, parents and communities, industry and individual employers. It focuses on improving career education in schools by: (1) building teacher and school leader capability; (2) supporting parents and carers in their important role in these conversations; and (3) encouraging collaboration between industry and schools. [Title varies: "Future Ready: A Student Focused National Career Education Strategy."]

This Review draws on a substantial stakeholder consultation report and the outcome of other reviews and evaluations relating to the role and functions of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), specifically the Review of the Australian Curriculum that was published on 12 October 2014, the Review of "My School" that was published on 23 March 2015 and an unpublished 2013 Review of the national architecture to support Standing Council for School Education and Early Childhood (SCSEEC) reforms by the Nous Group. This Review is an opportunity to consider carefully issues relating to ACARA's role, function and governance. It assesses the appropriateness of ACARA's ongoing role and functions against the aims and objectives of ACARA's Charter. The Charter of ACARA describes its primary purposes as working on a national curriculum from Foundation to Year 12, an aligned national assessment programme and a national data collection and reporting programme that supports evaluation, research and accountability. It is also the general opinion of stakeholders that ACARA has delivered significant achievements against the priorities set out in its Charter, although there are areas upon which ACARA can improve.

Recognising excellence in education as a national priority, the Australian Government established the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools (the Review) in July 2017. Supported by an independent panel of experts drawn from different states, school systems and sector, the Review Panel examined ways that Australia could improve student outcomes, return to being one of the top education systems in the world, and ensure that school systems and schools truly prepare Australia's young people for an ever-changing world. The Review has focused on identifying reforms that build on existing improvement efforts. Its recommendations and findings reflect contributions from stakeholders and experts through consultations and nearly 300 submissions. These stakeholders included teachers, principals, professional associations, teacher unions, parents and carers, school systems, state and territory governments, researchers, universities, community organisations and business and industry. The key recommendations for reform are: (1) Deliver at least one year's growth in learning for every student every year; (2) Equip every student to be a creative, connected and engaged learner in a rapidly changing world; and (3) Cultivate an adaptive, innovative and continuously improving education system. Five chapters address: (1) Laying the foundations for learning; (2) Equipping every student to grow and succeed in a changing world; (3) Creating, supporting and valuing a profession of expert educators; (4) Empowering and supporting school leaders; and (5) Raising and achieving ambitions through innovation and continuous improvement. [The Review Panel included: David Gonski, Terrey Arcus, Ken Boston, Valerie Gould, Wendy Johnson, Lisa O'Brien, Lee-Anne Perry, and Michael Roberts.]

In Australia and many other countries, the provision of the healthiest possible start in life for all children has been a priority for government. Evidence to support the importance of the early years for future development has accumulated over the past two decades [1]. Patterns of childhood development predict health, wellbeing, learning and behaviour and lay a foundation for children to grow up with the skills to succeed, bringing benefits for them and the community as a whole [2]. The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is one major investment within the national agenda for early childhood development. It provides information to communities, governments and schools to support their planning and service provision. It also allows identification of groups of students who are developmentally vulnerable (DV) when entering the education system. This report presents findings from a linkage study involving the 2009 AEDC and CATS (Childhood to Adolescence Transition Study) datasets. CATS is an ongoing longitudinal study of health, wellbeing and educational achievement through late childhood and early adolescence. The sample comprises over 1,200 students and their parents drawn from Year 3 in 2012 from randomly selected schools across metropolitan Melbourne. The authors obtained information annually from students, parents and teachers on students' mental health and wellbeing, peer and family relationships, school engagement and the primary to secondary school transition. Guided by the conceptual framework described in our previous report, the current report uses a linked longitudinal dataset of student development and academic achievement spanning the entire primary school years (from the first year of primary school; 5-6 years of age through to Year 7; 12-13 years of age) to address the following questions: (1) What is the relationship between early developmental vulnerability on the AEDC and later learning, school engagement and wellbeing? (2) How might any relationship between early developmental vulnerability and learning at Year 7 be affected by wellbeing and school engagement across Years 3, 4 and 5? [This report was undertaken by the Centre for Adolescent Health on behalf of the Evidence and Assessment Group, the Australian Government Department of Education and Training. The Centre for Adolescent Health is a research group of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute.]

The Department of Education and Training ('the Department') engaged Deloitte Access Economics to undertake research into the drivers of school quality in Australia, with the goal of expanding the evidence base available to the Department in analysing, evaluating and developing school policy. In particular, this work provides a new empirical framework for assessing these drivers in the Australian context, and presents the results of this framework using the 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data. The goal of this study is to develop a framework that links elements of practice and student outcomes, and which is capable of utilising existing data sources to empirically estimate this link, in order to provide evidence of: (1) The factors that drive student outcomes in Australia, and in particular the role that school quality plays in driving student outcomes; (2) The attributes of practice that define school quality, and how these attributes may be measured; and (3) The role that governments can play in influencing school practice and driving improvements in school quality. [This report was prepared by Deloitte Access Economics.]

There is a growing consensus amongst policy makers, education professionals, researchers, and the public that a modern education system should develop a 'whole child' providing a balanced set of cognitive, social and emotional skills to face the challenges of an increasingly uncertain and volatile world. Social and emotional development are educational goals in and of themselves, as well as important influences on academic learning. There is currently a gap in knowledge about social and emotional development and academic performance, particularly in the middle years. The primary to secondary school transition is a time when children, particularly those with vulnerabilities, need strong social and educational support systems. Despite this, there are currently few evidence-based, system-wide strategies to support students in the transition. This report examines changes in student wellbeing and learning across the middle years, drawing on recent longitudinal data on Australian students from the Childhood to Adolescence Transition Study (CATS). The CATS sample comprises over 1200 students and their parents recruited in 2012 from schools in metropolitan Melbourne. The study has obtained information annually from students, parents and teachers around students' mental health and wellbeing, peer and family relationships, school engagement, and the primary to secondary school transition. This report analyses data collected between Year 3 (2012: 8-9 years of age) and Year 7 (2016; 12-13 years of age). Guided by a conceptual model of quality education, this report uses a number of indicators of student learning, wellbeing and school engagement to examine how these intersect in the middle years. The longitudinal dataset is used to address the following questions: (1) To what degree does student wellbeing in the middle years influence school engagement and learning? (2) To what degree does student learning in the middle years influence school engagement? (3) To what degree do peer relationships in the middle years influence school engagement and learning? The report also describes the experience of students and parents during the secondary school transition. It reports on readiness for secondary school prior to transition in Year 6 and observed adjustment to secondary school in Year 7, and investigates teachers' ability to identify students at risk of a poor transition. The report also examines the support received by students and parents from schools and how this relates to adjustment in secondary school. This report is guided by a framework of quality education in which student wellbeing, school engagement and learning are all important and inter-related. The results from this report confirm the reciprocal relationships between wellbeing, engagement and learning. These findings suggest that by working on all three aspects simultaneously, schools and education systems will achieve synergies in their efforts to provide quality education. In demonstrating the relationship between wellbeing and school engagement and learning outcomes, this report provides strong motivation for education systems, schools and teachers to promote the social and emotional development of students to help each and every student reach their full learning potential. A glossary is provided. [The CATS study received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Rotary Health, the Invergowrie Foundation, and the Department of Education and Training (Victoria). The Murdoch Children's Research Institute's (MCRI) research is supported by the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Program. The Centre for Adolescent Health is a research group of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute.]

In September 2016, following the release of 2015 student data by the Department of Education and Training (the department), media reports suggested that high attrition rates are symptomatic of poor admission standards; the lower a student's Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) the greater the risk of non-completion; and as a result of the demand driven system, higher student numbers are leading to greater numbers of student drop-outs. The Higher Education Standards Panel (the Panel) argued in its November 2016 report, "Improving the Transparency of Higher Education Admissions" (see ED583548), that this media coverage was alarmist. In response to the Panel's report, the Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Honorable Simon Birmingham asked the Panel to examine Australian higher education completion and attrition to ensure that students have the best chance of successfully completing their enrolled units, courses and qualifications. This final report of the Panel explains how the examination of retention, completion and success in higher education came about, discussing what the higher education sector is saying about factors that impact on these issues. In this report, the Panel notes there is no immediate crisis in higher education, although members are concerned about the imbalance of attrition rates between a small number of institutions and between external and internal or mixed modes of educational delivery. The Panel makes six recommendations on how Australia can further build on its efforts to support students to succeed in higher education: (1) Expectations of completion in the current context; (2) Supporting students to make the right choices; (3) Supporting students to complete their studies; (4) Sharing best practices; (5) Clarifying definitions and enhancing transparency; and (6) Accountability and regulation.

The Government welcomes the Higher Education Standards Panel's report on how the admissions policies and processes of higher education providers can be made clearer, easier to access and more useful, to inform the choices and decisions of prospective students and their families. The Panel's recommendations provide a comprehensive and well thought out framework to address this growing complexity. Implementation of the Panel's recommendations will help to ensure that prospective students and their families have the information they need, in a readily accessible and comparable format, to help students match their interests and ambitions to their abilities and needs. The Department of Education and Training will work with the higher education sector to develop a joint implementation plan to give effect to the Panel's recommendations. An implementation working group, chaired by a senior representative of the higher education sector, will be established to develop the joint implementation plan. A detailed response to each recommendation is presented in this report.

A strong level of funding is important for Australia's school system. The Government has further committed to a new, simpler and fairer funding model that distributes this funding on the basis of need. However, while funding is important, evidence shows that what you do with that funding matters more. Despite significant funding growth in the past decade, National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results and international rankings show that there have not been sufficient improvements in student outcomes. This report outlines the Government's evidence-based approach to schools' reform to improve learning outcomes for all Australian students--regardless of their school or background. The Government will be working with states, territories, and non-government education authorities to focus on how to use the record levels of funding to improve the quality of education in Australia's schools and lift student outcomes. "Quality Schools, Quality Outcomes" sets out evidence-based priority reforms to help support improved outcomes for students and schools by focusing efforts towards the following five areas: (1) Boosting literacy, numeracy and STEM performance; (2) Improving the quality of teaching and school leadership; (3) Preparing Australia's students for a globalised world; (4) Focusing on what matters most and those who need it most; and (5) Increasing public accountability through improved transparency.

Quality outcomes from vocational education and training (VET) are fundamental to ensuring a skilled workforce and supporting a productive economy. In a competency-based training system, assessment is the gatekeeper for quality. Audits undertaken by the Australian Skills and Quality Authority (ASQA) have identified concerns with compliance against the assessment requirements of the Standards for Registered Training Organizations (RTOs) 2015 (Standards for RTOs). ASQA strategic reviews, including into aged and community care, early childhood education and care, equine programs and security training industries, highlighted assessment as an area requiring more attention if the quality of training is to improve. In response to concerns about assessment, and to ensure high-quality within the system, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Industry and Skills Council agreed that further reform options be developed to improve the quality of assessment of student training outcomes and enhance confidence in the VET sector. Specifically, the Industry and Skills Council agreed to explore reform options to support the following principles: (1) Graduates have the required competencies for the job role and there is consistency across RTOs in the quality of assessment; (2) Trainers and assessors have the capability to assess appropriately; (3) Assessment meets the standard set by industry; and (4) The regulator has the capacity to effectively regulate assessment practices and outcomes and take appropriate action. The discussion paper sought stakeholder views on further specific reforms that may ensure the existing reforms that could generate the intended impact and are not held back by ongoing concerns over RTO compliance with assessment requirements. The appendices are included.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008) is a global effort to promote the equal and active participation of all people with disability. Australia ratified this convention, which means that it is committed to promoting, protecting, and ensuring that people with disability are given full equality under the law. The process of personalised learning and support is in line with the Convention, and aims to ensure that effective personalised support measures are provided in learning environments that maximise academic and social development, consistent with the Convention's goal of full inclusion. Personalised learning requires attention to the unique needs of all students of all abilities, acknowledging that each have different learning needs. This is particularly relevant for students with disability and additional learning needs. In addressing personalised learning and support, a process can be followed which involves the student's support networks, and which aims to build on the student's strengths. This resource provides guidance around personalised learning and support for students with disability. Contains a list of resources for parents and educators.