Information statement

State, Territory and Commonwealth Ministers with responsibility for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, met in Perth on 10–11 July 2003 for the 15th meeting of the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, chaired by the Hon. Alan Carpenter, MLA, Minister for Education and Training, Western Australia and Chair of MCEETYA for 2003. The main outcomes of the meeting are summarised below.

Sexual Abuse in Schools

This item was part of a Joint Communique issued on 11 July.

Nationally Consistent Curriculum Outcomes

This item was part of a Joint Communique issued on 11 July.

Review of Higher Education

This item was part of a Joint Communique issued on 11 July.

National Strategy for Arts, Cultural and Creative Industries.

MCEETYA will develop a National Strategy for Pathways to Employment in Arts, Cultural and Creative Industries with a view to maximising the significant economic benefits these industries offer through employment creation and export earnings. The Strategy will seek to link learning and vocational education and training to employment through the development of sustainable alliances and partnerships between industry sectors, community and cultural organisations, and education and training providers.

Specifically Ministers have asked that the Strategy:

• recognise these industries as a priority area for funding for vocational education and training;
• provide a framework for the strategic targeting and delivery of quality vocational education and training products, based on research and consultation with industry. Public funding for vocational education and training should be directed to the sectors that have the greatest employment and economic opportunity;
• establish formal links with the education and tertiary sectors to shape a seamless and embedded pathway for learning and skills for the arts, cultural and creative industries;
• emphasise the need for links to employment, through mentoring and career support, work opportunities provided through strategic industry alliances and the encouragement of apprenticeships, traineeships and internships.

Strategy on Physical Activity in the Schooling and Early Childhood Sectors

Ministers noted community concern about the increasing rates of physical inactivity among children and young people in Australia and associated learning and health issues and endorsed the need for a national, collaborative, cross-agency strategy on physical activity in the schooling and early childhood sectors to link with the work of the National Obesity Taskforce being undertaken under the auspices of the Australian Health Ministers' Council.

The National Obesity Taskforce will be developing a national action plan to tackle overweight and obesity; identifying roles and responsibilities in regard to implementation of a range of initiatives across a number of settings; and leading communications within sectors.

MCEETYA's Targeted Initiatives of National Significance (TINS) taskforce has been given the responsibility of collaborating in the development of a strategic, nationally coordinated approach to resolving this important national issue. TINS has been asked to provide a preliminary progress report to AESOC at its November 2003 meeting.

Youth Media Watch and National Youth Participation Charter

In August this year a national Youth Media Watch Website will be launched which will enable young people to nominate articles from the media that portray the achievement and image of young people either positively or negatively. It is hoped that the site will help to promote the positive achievement and image of young people in the media. The site will be hosted on the Commonwealth youth website, known as the source.

MCEETYA has also agreed to develop a National Youth Participation Charter for release in August 2004. The Charter will provide a common set of guiding principles to inform youth participation practises at the Commonwealth, State/Territory and local government levels. The development of the Charter will be a key deliverable for a number of outcomes articulated in the Stepping Forward Action Plan.

States Grants Funding for Schools in the Next Quadrennium

With the next schools funding quadrennium due to commence in 2005, Ministers agreed that negotiations on the next funding quadrennium commence as soon as possible on a multilateral basis between States and Territories and the Commonwealth, to enable States and Territories to contribute to the development of new funding legislation and associated agreements and guidelines.

The negotiations will be with regard to:

1. the new States Grants legislation and the associated States Grants Agreement;
2. the new Indigenous Education Targeted Assistance legislation and associated Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Program (IESIP) Agreement;
3. The Administrative Guidelines associated with the new States Grants legislation and the new Indigenous Education Targeted Assistance legislation;

The Commonwealth will convene as soon as practicable a Working Group of AESOC to set a timetable and commence negotiations. The Working Group will report on progress to the August meeting of AESOC.

Review of the Gender Equity Framework

MCEETYA is undertaking a review of its Gender Equity Framework, which was published in 1996. The objective of the review is to ensure the Framework benefits all Australian students by articulating values and strategies for boys and girls in a positive way which recognises their commonalities and differences.

The review also takes into account recommendations of the October 2002 report of the Federal Government's House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training Inquiry into the education of boys, Boys: Getting it right.

As well as considering Recommendation 1 of Boys: Getting it right, the review will examine how the Framework could better:

• acknowledge and addresses the learning needs of all boys and girls;
• integrate and align with recent developments in education in Australia, including the National Goals for Schooling;
• articulate indicators that are relevant, measurable, balanced and sufficiently broad; and
• provide practical utility to users and maximum benefit to all students and educators.

The revised Framework is due to be completed by July 2004.

DDA Disability Standards for Education

Ministers endorsed the introduction Disability Standards for Education under the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992. The Standards are subordinate legislation and are subject to the objects of the Act. They clarify and elaborate the legal obligations in relations to education and training covering the following areas:

• enrolment
• participation
• curriculum development, accreditation and delivery
• student support services
• elimination of harassment and victimisation.

A Regulation Impact Statement will be prepared prior to the introduction of the Standards.

Introduction of an Associate Degree

Ministers endorsed a new qualification of Associate Degree in the Australian Qualifications Framework. The Associate Degree is to be accredited through Higher Education processes in accordance with MCEETYA's National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes and able to be offered by all providers, including TAFEs and private VET providers, meeting these requirements.

In doing so, Ministers have asked the AQF Advisory Board to do further work on the effect of the introduction of associate degrees specifically dealing with:

• the financial impact on both Higher Education and the VET sector of the introduction of the associate degree as a higher education qualification, or as a dual sector qualification;
• industry stakeholder response to the impact on industry-endorsed National Training Package qualifications should an associate degree be introduced as a higher education accredited qualification;

Should this further work on the impact of an Higher Education-only Associate Degree on the VET sector conclude that its introduction would have a detrimental effect, either financially, or on the future availability of industry endorsed higher level VET qualifications, then MCEETYA will reconsider the matter of an Associate Degree qualification being a dual sector qualification.

Reporting Individual Literacy and Numeracy Benchmark Results to Parents

Commencing with the reporting of 2004 literacy and numeracy testing, individual student reports which are provided to all parents of Year 3 and Year 5 students who have been assessed as part of the benchmarking process will show a student's result against the spectrum of achievement and include literacy and numeracy benchmarks results.

Teacher Supply and Demand

The report Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Australia has been released

The main issues emerging from the report are as follows.

• The change in the age profile of teachers and those in educational leadership positions in schools over the period to 2012.
• The composition of emerging teacher demand including: implications of an expected shift in student enrolments from primary to secondary;
  • likely variations between States and Territories in teacher demand resulting from differential population growth;
  • shortages in teaching specialisations and geographic areas; and
  • the proportion of male teachers, especially at the primary level.
• The potential to increase the number of persons into teaching, who are already qualified but chose not to teach and those from other occupations who would consider a career change in to teaching.
• Contribution that migration of teachers may make to supply of teachers in future years.
• The number of teachers leaving the profession after less than five years.

The Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership Taskforce (TQELT) has been asked to provide advice on a strategic national approach to addressing these issues.

Generic Employability Skills

The MCEETYA Transition from School Taskforce will provide out-of-session advice to MCEETYA in November 2003 on how to address generic employability and other skills (including those related to career development) that effectively supports the transition needs of young people. The advice will take into account the findings of the Taskforce's project, Acquisition of Employment Related Skills by Secondary School Students and other related reports.

National Statement on the Purpose and Nature of Languages

Ministers have agreed that a new National Statement on the purpose and nature of Languages education be developed to provide an overarching framework for State/Territory and Commonwealth activities related to policy initiatives, curriculum design, development of teaching and learning materials, pedagogy, pre and in-service programs for teachers and management practices at system and system level.

A four-year National Plan based on the National Statement is also to be developed as the basis for a shared commitment to action across the Commonwealth, States and Territories; and which includes six inter-related strands: teaching and learning; teacher supply and retention; teacher professional learning; program development; quality assurance; and advocacy and promotion of Languages learning.

The new National Statement on Languages Education and the National Plan for Languages Education will prepared for MCEETYA's endorsement in 2004.