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Our draft purpose
Thank you to those of you who took part in our state-wide purpose of public education consultation.
Through many forums, surveys, meetings and written submissions, we heard from thousands of you – our students, parents, our staff, stakeholders, NGOs and people in the community who are passionate about our states public education system.
You can read the full consultation report here.
Our draft
A draft purpose statement (the why) and areas of impact (the what) have been developed using the collective feedback from the consultation.
Draft purpose statement – Children and students learning and thriving
Public education is for every child and young person in every community across our state.
Our teachers and staff work together with families and communities to nurture, develop and empower all South Australian children and young people with the academic knowledge, skills and capabilities they need to become fulfilled individuals, active, compassionate citizens and lifelong learners.
In doing so we set to make the biggest difference we can for every one of our children and young people because of the experiences they have at preschool and school.
Our preschools and schools are safe, inclusive, and collaborative – a place where every child and young person is encouraged to contribute, develops positive relationships, has a say in their learning, and where their needs, interests and culture are recognised and supported.
We want our children and young people to enter the world beyond the classroom with the knowledge, skills and capabilities to help them make and create opportunities to live a satisfying and fulfilling life of their choosing.
When our children and young people thrive and prosper so does South Australia.
Areas of Impact
The consultation highlighted key areas we, as a public education system, need to focus on to achieve our purpose.
These areas of impact describe the system level priority areas that will guide our decision making, effort and focus. These are the areas that SA’s public education system will measure and track our progress against.
The areas are all inter-related and strengthen each other.
Timelines and next steps
We're reviewing all feedback and a strategic plan will be released in July 2023.
How was the draft purpose created?
Public education is embedded in its community and so we kicked off the conversation last year with student forums throughout the state and continued with staff and leaders of preschools and schools.
Chief Executive Martin Westwell discusses how we can shape the future of education in SA (7:39)
We’ve also had valuable feedback from parents, support organisations, associations and unions, government departments, universities, NGOs community members and have engaged with local, national and international experts.
The drafts are based on the many ideas received from everyone who took part in the consultation.
Why do we need a purpose statement?
The world is changing and the future we’re educating young people for will be different from today.
Our public education needs to adapt to this change to give our children and young people the best opportunity to thrive.
We need to be clear about what we’re trying to provide for our students so we can measure whether we’re achieving it.
