Michael Sukkar MP

Michael Sukkar Steps Up As Nation’s First Ambassador For School Independence

Michael Sukkar MP, Federal Member for Deakin, today welcomed the opportunity to become the nation’s first ambassador for the Coalition Government’s new $70 million Independent Public Schools initiative, launched at Ringwood Secondary College.

Public schools across the nation will benefit from increasing their own local governance and engaging with parents and communities thanks to the initiative, which was officially announced by the Minister for Education, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP.

Mr Sukkar said he was delighted that the Coalition Government’s Independent Public Schools initiative had been launched in Deakin.

“We have extraordinary schools, school councils and principals in Deakin, and Ringwood Secondary College’s principal Michael Phillips is an excellent example of the calibre of principal we have,” Mr Sukkar said.

“This gives me great confidence that increased principal autonomy and school control will lead to better outcomes for our students, which is what this initiative is all about.”

Launching the policy, Mr Pyne announced all Federal Members of Parliament would be invited to serve as ambassadors to encourage schools in their communities to become independent public schools. He invited Mr Sukkar to be the first ambassador.

Mr Sukkar said he looked forward to encouraging all of the public schools in Deakin to express an interest in being involved.

“This initiative is a fantastic opportunity to become more independent and involve the whole school community in making decisions that will benefit their school and their students,” he said.

Mr Pyne said the Coalition Government’s Students First education reforms included a goal of 25 per cent – or approximately 1500 – existing public schools becoming Independent Public Schools by 2017.

“We are working closely with state and territory education authorities to increase school diversity and give all Australian students choice for a high-quality education,” he said.

“We know that principals, parents and schools communities are best placed to make decisions on how their schools should be run.”

Research on school autonomy has helped develop five objectives for the Independent Public School initiative including:

1. Increased local governance and parental involvement;
2. Greater accountability to parents and the local community;
3. Implementing streamlined or one-line budgets;
4. Increased local management of school facilities and infrastructure; and
5. Increased delegation over staffing for school principals to maximise student learning outcomes and student support services.

Under the Students First approach, the Australian Government will work with the states and territories, teachers and parents to focus on four key areas that will make a difference, including teacher quality, principal autonomy, engaging parents in education and strengthening the curriculum.

To complement the Independent Public Schools initiative, the Coalition Government has also released a Guide for Parents on School Boards and School Councils.

“The guide is designed to help explain the how school boards and councils work in different school systems in the states and territories and the ways parents can get involved in the governance of their child’s school.”

Further information on the Government’s Independent Public Schools policy, including the Guide for parents on school boards and school councils can be found at www.studentsfirst.gov.au.