Providing public education

The Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) achievement rate of full‑time Year 12 students (one of our key performance indicators) was 82.5% in 2023 (80.7% in 2022). This was our highest rate since the WACE requirements changed in 2016. The WACE achievement rate of Aboriginal full‑time Year 12 students was 44.5% in 2023 (41.5% in 2022).

To achieve a WACE, students must demonstrate a minimum standard of literacy (reading and writing) and numeracy. These standards were achieved by 86.3% of Year 12 full‑time students (85.6% in 2022). For Year 12 Aboriginal full‑time students, 50.2% demonstrated the literacy and numeracy standard (50.5% in 2022).

Details of Year 12 student achievement and responses to the Year 12 student intentions and satisfaction survey are in Appendix 3.

In 2023, public school students received 1,752 School Curriculum and Standards Authority awards (1,609 in 2022). Elena Latchem from Methodist Ladies’ College won the Beazley Medal: WACE, and Isaac Panozzo from Melville Senior High School won the Beazley Medal: Vocational Education and Training (VET).

The 2023 Rob Riley Memorial Prizes for the top‑performing Year 12 Aboriginal students from public schools were awarded to Reilly Cockbain from Cape Naturaliste College (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, ATAR) and Lailah Frazer from Melville Senior High School (Vocational Education and Training, VET).

In 2024, we assessed slightly over 24,000 Pre‑primary students in the On‑entry Assessment Program, giving teachers important information about the foundation literacy and numeracy knowledge and skills of their students in the first year of full‑time school. Following a number of years of relatively stable results, the 2023 and 2024 average results for public schools were marginally lower than for previous years. It is noted that COVID‑19 impacted the preschool experiences of these cohorts.

The Phonics Initiative supports the development of student literacy skills from an early age, enabling targeted intervention where needed. Principals are required to confirm that Year 1 students at their school have undergone a phonics assessment, which identifies their progress against the Department’s expected proficiency. As at the Semester 2, 2023 student census, 99.0% of schools have met this requirement. Schools that did not meet the requirement were provided information and support to help them comply.

Around 93,100 Western Australian public school students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 were assessed in aspects of literacy and numeracy as part of the 2023 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN).

From 2023, changes to NAPLAN came into effect, including bringing forward the testing from May to March. New NAPLAN scales and a new time series commenced. NAPLAN results reported on the new scales are not comparable with results from 2008 to 2022.

Proficiency standards with 4 levels of achievement for each year group (Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs additional support) were introduced, replacing the previous national minimum standards and 10‑band structure.

The NAPLAN key effectiveness indicators are based on the percentage of students achieving the Strong or Exceeding national proficiency levels in Reading and Numeracy. These key indicators supersede our previous proficiency standards set in 2018–19.

For 2023 NAPLAN public schools’ results, refer to Key performance indicators, Appendix 2 and on our website NAPLAN 2023 – Summary of Western Australian public school students’ results.

Students sat the 2024 NAPLAN assessments in March. The results will be reported in our 2024–25 annual report.

The Semester 1, 2023 attendance rate was 86.4%, up from 84.4% in 2022. The attendance rate for Aboriginal students was 68.4%, up from the rate of 64.6% in 2022. While the rates have improved relative to 2022, they are yet to reach the levels prior to COVID‑19. For details of attendance rates, refer to Appendix 3.

Restoring attendance to levels prior to COVID‑19 continued to be our priority. We have implemented a range of initiatives across each of our 8 education regions and the schools within them. This has enabled local place‑based approaches determined by analysis of individual school attendance data and engagement with the local school communities.

We continued to work in partnership with schools, families and communities, as well as other agencies, to implement the Every day matters: 10‑point plan to improve attendance. The plan is aligned with 3 pillars:

• community‑led action
• support for schools, families and communities
• system action and accountability.

The 10‑point plan resulted in Community action to improve attendance: a guide for schools to co‑design with communities and a resource hub to support schools in applying the guide. The resource hub enables community‑led action groups to increase their understanding of authentic co‑design. The guide and resource hub were piloted with identified schools in 2023. Participants within each school and community provided feedback on the guide and resource hub to maximise its effectiveness and usability.

We continued to collaborate with other agencies and organisations to locate students whose whereabouts were unknown and reduce the number not participating in education or approved alternative options. As at 30 June 2024, the whereabouts of 742 students of compulsory school age were unknown (851 in June 2023).

We are committed to creating culturally responsive public schools by encouraging the conditions for Aboriginal students and families to experience cultural safety, where their wellbeing and engagement are strengthened, and they are more likely to experience success.

The Aboriginal cultural standards framework continued to support our work in building and maintaining mutually respectful relationships with Aboriginal students and their families and to draw on the strengths of local Aboriginal communities to set the directions and priorities for Aboriginal students. In 2023–24, 86 professional learning workshops were delivered to 3,666 principals, teachers, Aboriginal and Islander education officers, graduate school psychologists, and central and regional services staff to support the creation of culturally responsive schools. An online professional learning module for culturally responsive pedagogies was launched in 2023 and completed by 394 staff.

In 2023, each education region continued the Aboriginal school community engagement forums following on from the Director General‑hosted ‘Education Conversations’. The sharing of knowledge with local communities has provided an opportunity for schools to include community voices in school decision‑making and continue to build mutually respectful relationships with Aboriginal families. Our directors of education have continued these conversations in each region and are committed to implementing culturally responsive practices identified during the forums.

In 2023, there were 24 Aboriginal languages being taught in 97 Western Australian public schools (92 in 2022). Within these schools, 14,857 students in Kindergarten to Year 12 studied an Aboriginal language (12,795 in 2022).

In 2023, we welcomed the second cohort of principals into the Culturally Responsive School Leadership program. This one‑year program was developed in partnership with Danjoo Koorliny Elders and community leaders, and the Centre for Social Impact. The program was completed by 21 principals in June 2024.

In 2024, there were 54 KindiLink programs operating in our schools. The play‑and‑learn sessions were designed for Aboriginal children and their parents and were also available to non‑Aboriginal children at some sites. KindiLink supports children’s learning before starting school, forges positive partnerships between home and school, and builds the confidence and capability of parents as their children’s first educators.

In 2023, the Follow the Dream program, in partnership with the Polly Farmer Foundation, was delivered to 2,091 Aboriginal secondary students across 101 public schools throughout Western Australia. WACE was achieved by 212 of the 289 Year 12 students in the program in 2023.

The Clontarf Foundation academies operated in 40 schools in Semester 1, 2024, supporting male Aboriginal students through school and into post‑school destinations.

In Semester 1, 2024, a range of programs designed to strengthen the wellbeing and engagement of Aboriginal girls and young women in Years 7 to 12 were delivered in 59 public schools, an increase by 10 schools from Semester 1, 2023.

The education commitments outlined in Western Australia’s Closing the gap: implementation plan 2023–2025 are aligned with our strategic directions for public schools and our priority of building a culturally responsive public education system. The commitments:

• emphasise a focus on creating culturally responsive classrooms that build on the strengths of Aboriginal students, engage them in learning and enable them to thrive academically and socially
• place importance on partnering with families, communities and agencies to support the educational engagement of every Aboriginal student
• are underpinned by our Aboriginal cultural standards framework.

Key initiatives to develop the cultural responsiveness of staff continued, including KindiLink, Aboriginal languages teacher training and the Yikan Noongar Year 3 digital teaching and learning language resources.

The state government’s Aboriginal Empowerment Strategy 2021–2029 continued to guide our approach to implementation of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. We continued to engage with Aboriginal families, communities, and organisations to progress our commitments in the implementation plan and the priority reform areas.

In September 2023, we welcomed inaugural members of the Aboriginal Advisory Body to strengthen our relationship and shared decision‑making with Aboriginal people.

The Aboriginal Advisory Body provides advice to the Department that focuses on creating a culturally responsive education system to support Aboriginal students’ wellbeing, engagement and achievement. This involves integrating Aboriginal perspectives and practices, addressing systemic barriers and fostering an inclusive environment that respects and values Aboriginal cultures. It meets on a quarterly basis and these meetings have enabled important conversations with members of our Corporate Executive about key education initiatives and the public school system’s structure, helping them provide valuable advice.

Kevin O’Keefe OAM, Principal Advisor, Student Achievement, provided advice and guidance drawn from his extensive experience in Aboriginal education in school and system contexts. Kevin ceased his service as a member of Corporate Executive on 28 March 2024. He is a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to Indigenous education and his contributions as a member of Corporate Executive were immeasurable. Paul Bridge has stepped into the revised role of Advisor, Cultural Responsiveness and Aboriginal Perspectives, in addition to his position as Director of Education, Kimberley.

In 2024, 2,074 students (2,043 in 2023) in Years 5 and 6 were eligible to participate in courses through the Primary Extension and Challenge (PEAC) program.

Gifted and Talented Secondary Selective Entrance programs were delivered by 24 secondary schools in 2024, with 1,108 Year 7 offers of placement accepted in selective academic, arts and languages programs. The academic program was also available online for selected students in Western Australia’s rural and remote regions.

We received 5,330 applications (4,848 in 2023) for Year 7 secondary places commencing in 2025. We also received a further 1,760 applications (1,554 in 2023) from students applying for entry to Years 9, 10 and 11 in 2025.

We continued to fund the Purposeful Academic Classes for Excelling Students (PACES) program. The program invites identified high‑performing senior secondary students to participate in specifically designed tutorial sessions that aim to maximise their academic achievement. In 2023, a total of 247 students participated in the program.

The Career Learning Toolkit, an election commitment of the state government, is an online hub with work‑related resources to assist teachers and career practitioners in planning for career development learning. The toolkit aims to equip students in Years 7 to 12 with the tools and knowledge required to transition to post‑school pathways successfully.

During the final 2 years of compulsory education, we supported Year 11 and 12 student engagement and learning across public and non‑government schools through options other than full‑time schooling. These included studying at university, TAFE or registered training organisations, undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship or employment, or a combination of these. We provide approval through a ‘notice of arrangements’. In 2023, 4,716 notices of arrangements were approved. A student can only have one active notice at a time, but it is possible for them to have multiple notices approved in the calendar year.

Participation, engagement and transitions teams across each of our education regions support Year 11 and 12 students who are not attending school by working with the school and student to re‑engage them or engage them in training or employment (or both) as an approved alternative to school. The teams provide case brokerage and one‑to‑one outreach support and liaise closely with a wide range of youth organisations to reduce student barriers to engagement in an approved option.

Across WA in 2023, our School of Isolated and Distance Education (SIDE) provided education to more than 3,800 Kindergarten to Year 12 students unable to access regular schools or specific subjects. It delivered more than 5,600 virtual lessons each month and provided over 320 web‑based courses.

SIDE‑enrolled students at 18 regional schools were supported by independent learning coordinators (ILCs) in 2023, with 18 schools funded for an ILC in 2024. These coordinators also worked closely with a team of 8 regional learning specialist teachers who supported Year 11 and 12 ATAR students across country WA.

We have 5 agricultural colleges with residential facilities located at Cunderdin, Denmark, Harvey, Morawa and Narrogin. The colleges provide agricultural education programs to students in Years 10 to 12, including specialist vocational education and training (VET) and delivery of the agricultural curriculum. As at the Semester 1, 2024 student census, 634 students were enrolled, with 514 in residence and 120 attending as day students.

As at the Semester 1, 2024 student census, we were providing boarding facilities to 425 students through 8 country residential colleges and 1 metropolitan residential college. Of these students, 118 were attending non‑government schools. For student numbers over the last 5 years at each residential college, refer to Appendix 1.

We support WA families with the Boarding Away from Home Allowance (BAHA). In 2023, we supported:

• 1,078 public and non‑government school students through the BAHA for Isolated Children at a cost of $1.4 million (1,200 at a cost of $1.6 million in 2022)
• 317 students through the BAHA Agricultural College Special Subsidy at a cost of $411,997 (294 at a cost of $378,706 in 2022). This allowance supports boarders at Western Australian Colleges of Agriculture and Edmund Rice College.
• 40 public school students with the BAHA Gifted and Talented payment at a cost of $48,600 (37 at a cost of $44,550 in 2022). This allowance supports students enrolled in the Department’s Gifted and Talented Secondary Selective Entrance programs in public schools and residing in our residential colleges.

We support low‑income families with children at public and non‑government schools through the Secondary Assistance Scheme. In 2023, a total of 25,105 students in Years 7 to 12 received support through the scheme (27,735 in 2022):

• $5.8 million under the Education Program Allowance ($6.5 million in 2022)
• $2.8 million under the Clothing Allowance ($3.2 million in 2022).

We partnered with the School Curriculum and Standards Authority and the Department of the Premier and Cabinet to administer the WA Student Assistance Payment, a cost‑of‑living initiative for parents and carers of eligible students. The initiative was designed to reduce the pressure of school expenses with a one‑off payment of $250 for each secondary student and $150 for each primary or Kindergarten student enrolled in a public or non‑government school, or registered for home education. Claims were open from 15 April until 28 June 2024 and claimants could apply via the ServiceWA application or paper and online forms. Over $75.3 million was distributed to more than 392,000 students and their families.

In June 2023, a review of senior secondary school pathways was launched in a bid to help all Western Australian students reach their full potential through their post‑school study, training or employment pursuits. We are leading the Pathways to Post‑School Success review in partnership with Catholic Education Western Australia and the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia.

The review will explore whether current pathway options are effectively preparing students for the full range of further study, training and work options available to them. A key outcome will be to investigate whether current certification and university entry requirements assist students to make the best study choices, as well as to identify the barriers to students being able to access equitable pathways. The review has been extended to enable further consultation and is scheduled to conclude in the second half of 2024.

Students for whom English is an additional language or dialect are supported through Intensive English Centres (IECs) and in mainstream schools. From 2018, the number of English as an additional language or dialect (EALD) students increased from 24,708 to 48,133 in 2024.

In 2024, IECs at 14 metropolitan schools provided targeted programs to 1,319 newly arrived primary and secondary EALD students. Funding is provided for students to attend a centre for 12 months, with an additional year of funding available for humanitarian entrant students with a limited schooling background. In 2024, the IECs received a base allocation of $6.3 million ($6.1 million in 2023) and further per student funding of $11.7 million ($10.6 million in 2023). We have plans to establish 2 additional IECs in primary schools.

Mainstream schools in 2024 had 46,814 EALD students, including 6,290 Aboriginal students. Of these, 18,053 were eligible for EALD funding allocation of $53.9 million through our student‑centred funding model ($44.1 million in 2023), including 2,361 Aboriginal students.

As at 30 June 2024, 2,836 (88%) of the 3,227 children in the care of the Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Communities and enrolled in our schools had documented plans. Plans under development for various reasons, such as children who have only recently come into care or enrolled at the school, are not included in these figures.

Our Schools of Special Educational Needs (Behaviour and Engagement, Disability, Medical and Mental Health, and Sensory) continued to provide a range of services, some of which were available to staff and students from non‑government schools.

In 2023, the School of Special Educational Needs: Behaviour and Engagement managed 857 individual students across 954 cases of direct and indirect support for students with extreme, complex and challenging behaviours (724 students across 752 cases in 2022).

The School of Special Educational Needs: Disability provided support to 3,059 students with a diagnosed or imputed disability in 2023. This support was provided through a consulting teacher service. In addition, the school provided whole‑school support to 490 schools across Western Australia. Professional learning was provided to 7,483 educators across the state to build their capability to support students with disability.

The School of Special Educational Needs: Medical and Mental Health provided education support across more than 40 health settings for students whose medical or mental health prevented them from participating in their enrolled school program. Teaching and liaison support was provided to 5,000 public and non‑government school students and their enrolled schools in 2023. One hundred and nineteen students were supported with online learning at home through the Medical Referral Program while unable to attend school for health reasons. Two new memorandums of understanding were executed with the Department of Health to ensure all school‑aged patients are afforded equitable access to educational continuity. In October 2023, new programs at Joondalup Health Campus were opened to expand educational continuity for students admitted to paediatric, youth and adult care facilities.

In 2023, our School of Special Educational Needs: Sensory provided tiered educational services and support to 2,329 public and non‑government school students, including early intervention for 146 children aged 0 to 4 years old with hearing loss, vision impairment or both.

As at the Semester 1, 2024 student census, our 5 metropolitan language development centres were providing intensive language intervention programs for 1,330 students in the early years of schooling with a diagnosed developmental language disorder. The centres, with additional funding, staff and resources, deliver our Statewide Speech and Language Outreach Service, providing support to early years teachers of young students who have speech and language difficulties and do not attend a centre.

Our Specialised Learning Programs are a targeted initiative developed to support the individual needs of students with autism spectrum disorder from Kindergarten to Year 12 in mainstream schools. By the end of 2023, 18 programs were established. On 12 May 2022, the state government announced an $18.2 million investment over 5 years for expansion of the programs into 8 additional schools (2 in 2023, 4 in 2024 and 2 in 2025).

As at 30 June 2024, we were supporting 18,034 students through the student‑centred funding model individual disability allocation to public schools (15,902 in June 2023).

In 2023, we provided teaching and learning adjustments to 23.1% of public school Pre‑primary to Year 12 students with disability, as reported through the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability. The adjustments are intended to enable these students to participate in education on the same basis as their peers.

A review of the School Education Act 1999 (WA) commenced in 2024 to identify opportunities to strengthen access and inclusion for students with disability. The review is being directed by an expert panel and advisory council and will examine every section of the School Education Act to find barriers to, or opportunities to improve, access and inclusion for students with disability.

In 2023, an average of 439.8 full‑time equivalent (FTE) school psychologists (412.7 FTE in 2022) supported schools to enhance student achievement, engagement and wellbeing through a range of preventative and responsive services.

The number of school psychologists increased in 2023, following a state government election commitment, with mental health and wellbeing as a priority area.

As part of our pastoral care for students in 2023, 726 schools accessed chaplaincy services through in‑school chaplaincy programs (619 in 2022). Additionally, on 42 occasions we deployed pastoral critical incident responders to help support school communities following a critical incident (12 in 2022).

School engagement is a powerful protective factor for student wellbeing, and meeting the needs of vulnerable students is a complex challenge for the public school system. We remain committed to addressing student mental health and wellbeing and ensuring support for public schools to advance the wellbeing of students. Student wellbeing and care: future directions sets clear expectations of the role of schools in supporting and addressing student mental health, as well as strengthening support for schools to embed effective approaches to student wellbeing and care.

With funding from the Mental Health Commission, we delivered Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention training to 1,024 public and non‑government school staff and other community members in 2023. The Teen Mental Health First Aid program was delivered to 3,335 public and non‑government school secondary students. Youth Mental Health First Aid training was provided to 643 public school staff and other community members who work with young people.

The Respectful Relationships Teaching Support Program, an election commitment of the state government, provides school staff with evidence‑based skills and knowledge to implement a whole‑school approach to respectful relationships education in the context of family and domestic violence. We provide support to operate the program, managed by the Department of Communities and delivered by Starick Services Inc. In 2023, 36 schools completed the program.

In 2023, we surveyed 100% of schools on protective behaviours education. All except 6 schools fully or partially implemented protective behaviours. Five of these schools provided assurance that they have processes in place to meet the requirements in 2024 and have either accepted assistance to tailor the program to their individual contexts or elected to review and strengthen their program. One of the schools is a specialist international education institution and does not deliver the Western Australian curriculum. We also updated our protective behaviours teaching and learning resources to further support schools in the full implementation of protective behaviours education.

The WA Student Council is comprised of Year 10 and 11 public school students from across our 8 education regions and reflects the perspectives of all students, including gender and culturally diverse students, and those with disability. During 2023–24, the council continued to inform and contribute to our system priorities, future initiatives and strategic directions. The council’s priorities are cultural responsiveness, supporting students with disability, student health, safety and wellbeing, student resources and education reform, and the school environment.

We remained focused on educating students, parents and school staff about the health risks associated with vaping. A suite of online resources including the WA Schools Anti‑Vaping Toolkit, information on e‑cigarettes and vaping, professional learning for staff, and teaching and learning resources aligned to the Western Australian curriculum is available to all schools. To cater to the needs of primary schools we developed additional teaching and learning resources for students in Years 5 and 6.

We provided free period products, primarily via dispensers, to all Western Australian public schools with secondary students. Since the start of the initiative early in 2023 to the end of June 2024, we have distributed over 2 million period products to secondary schools, including education support centres and Schools of Special Educational Needs. The initiative is being expanded to include all public schools with primary students in Term 3, 2024. It aims to:

• provide students with the confidence that there will always be sanitary items available at school
• relieve students of the stigma, anxiety and discomfort that can be associated with menstrual hygiene management so they can focus on their studies
• ease the cost of living for students’ families.

In July 2023, we launched Standing together against violence, the state government’s plan to address violence in schools, which outlines procedures if schools need to escalate matters, including the targeted use of suspensions and exclusions.

In 2023, 21,565 students (6.4% of total enrolments throughout the year) were suspended and there were 172 recommendations for exclusion, resulting in 163 exclusion orders made.

The Alternative Learning Settings (ALS) program operates as the School of Alternative Learning Settings (SALS) to provide alternative facilities and targeted support programs to school students who have been excluded or are at risk of being excluded for complex and challenging behaviours. The ALS program completed its planned expansion at the beginning of 2023 and operates at 12 sites across all 8 education regions. In 2023, 236 students participated in the ALS program (170 in 2022).

In 2023–24, we launched simplified recommendation for student exclusion documentation to schools and education regional offices for distribution to families as required.

The revised Student Behaviour in Public Schools policy and procedures were implemented in schools from Semester 2, 2023. Changes to the policy emphasise the importance of creating safe, orderly, inclusive, supportive, and culturally responsive environments to enable students to fulfil their learning potential. The revised policy recognises that this is a responsibility shared by all members of the public schooling system and each school community, and that positive student behaviour is essential to promote engagement in learning and maximise the impact of classroom teaching. A behaviour policy interface provided schools with access to programs, services and supports to help implement the policy and procedures. Online professional learning for trauma‑informed practice and restorative approaches was developed to complement and support the revised policy.

In 2023, more than 3,800 school staff completed training in de‑escalation and positive handling. This included 808 graduates who received mandatory training on how to de‑escalate and manage aggressive behaviour as part of their induction program.

In 2023, 6,596 participants attended the Classroom Management Strategies and Western Australian Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) training programs either face‑to‑face or online. There were 494 PBS schools across Western Australia at various stages of tiered implementation in 2024.

In 2023–24, we continued to implement enhancements to strengthen operations of the multi‑agency protocol for education options for young people charged with harmful sexual behaviours, established in 2017. We:

• continued support for schools, education regional offices and central services
• delivered training for senior officers and interagency partners
• worked towards developing guidelines for circumstances where a risk assessment and management plan is to be modified or removed
• implemented an amendment to the School Education Act 1999 (WA), allowing the Director General to exclude a student charged with, or convicted of, a harmful sexual behaviour where the student harmed attends the same school.