A former education official has proposed measures to address the increasing concentration of disadvantaged students in NSW public schools.
The recommendations, by former Education Department Secretary, Dr Michele Bruniges, include limiting the establishment of new selective schools and encouraging private institutions to broaden their admission criteria to enrol more students from disadvantaged backgrounds, extending beyond traditional sports scholarships.
Speaking at The Sydney Morning Herald Schools Summit today, Dr Bruniges, revealed that the number of students in highly disadvantaged schools surged by 125,000 between 2017 and 2023.
With 94% of these schools being public, she warned of a growing “cycle of negative perceptions” that erodes community ties. Calling for urgent reforms, Bruniges proposed rethinking school zoning and funding to promote greater equity, citing successful models like Ashcroft Public School as examples of positive change.
“We need a broader national discussion,” Dr Bruniges said. “We need to think about how we encourage a trend away from concentrations of disadvantage.”
Dr Bruniges said this could involve looking at school zoning, challenging the way postcodes concentrate both wealth and disadvantage.
“It could involve asking more of schools that receive government funds to open their doors to children from less-advantaged backgrounds – beyond the sporting scholarship.”
‘A real national conversation on equity is overdue’
Independent Schools Australia (ISA) CEO Graham Catt said the study undertaken by Dr Bruniges and the Paul Ramsay Foundation into concentrations of disadvantage is “invaluable” and will provide policymakers with crucial insights.
“For too long, interest groups have framed the issue as a public vs. private debate, when in reality, a broader and more nuanced discussion is needed, one that recognises the vital role all school sectors play in supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable students across Australia,” Catt said.
Currently, Independent schools enrol more than 157,000 students with disability, 19,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students from refugee backgrounds, and 140,000 students in regional and remote areas.
“These schools are certainly doing their share in addressing disadvantage,” Catt said.
"Many Independent schools provide targeted fee assistance and tailored programs for students facing disadvantage. Special Assistance Schools, for example, support over 15,500 students who have disengaged from mainstream education, offering intensive support to help them back on track.”
Catt noted that community-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander schools, which are part of the Independent sector, also work to provide opportunities and innovative approaches to education.
“Access to a quality education should not depend on a postcode lottery, where families feel pressured to spend millions of dollars to buy into the catchment zones of well-resourced public schools,” he said.
“We must acknowledge that fairness in education goes beyond funding debates and includes ensuring all families have genuine choices about where they send their children to school.”
Catt said some, including the Australian Greens, have sought “to position this important work as an attack on non-government schools”, calling it “disappointing”.
“Instead of using divisive rhetoric, we need collaboration across all sectors and governments to address the systemic challenges that this report will identify.”
Public schools ‘doing more and more of the heavy lifting’
Greens spokesperson on Primary and Secondary Education, Senator Penny Allman-Payne, said Dr Bruniges’ work on disadvantage in schools “confirms that public schools are doing more and more of the heavy lifting in terms of educating disadvantaged students.”
“Our current system of schooling is hollowing out many of our public schools, particularly in growth areas, and forcing parents to make tough decisions for their kids,” Allman-Payne said.
“It’s not a real choice for parents when both the local private and public school receive taxpayer money, but only one is expected to cater to disadvantaged kids.”
Allman-Payne said she welcomes a national conversation about disadvantage in schools and thanked Dr Bruniges for her work with all sectors on this research.
“We need to start asking all schools that receive public money to cater to the needs of the public. That could mean a serious conversation around common standards or catchment areas for any school that receives taxpayer funding,” she said.
“In my view, every proportional increase in private school enrollments is a public policy failure, especially when they are publicly funded schools too.”
Allman-Payne, who was a public school teacher for over 25 years, said she knows from experience that the vast majority of parents and carers would prefer to be able to send their kids to a properly resourced local public school.
“Australia's future relies on public education. Only the Greens fully support public schools - we'll fund them, build them, and make them free for all kids.”