The National Report on Schooling in Australia 2021 has been released which outlines progress in the school education sector against nationally agreed policy initiatives.

The report, published by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), addresses the 11 areas of commitment to action specified in the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration.  

The report shows that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, longer-term trends for schooling are positive with long-term gains for attainment and engagement in education, training and work including:   

• an increased number of 17 to 24 year olds (73.4%, up 2% since 2016) who had left school, being fully engaged in education, training or work (2021 Census)  
• the proportion of 20 to 24 year olds attaining at least Year 12 or equivalent (or Australian Qualifications Framework III or above) was 89.9%, compared to 87.9% in 2016, representing a substantial rise in census data over only five years.   

The report found COVID did impact enrolments in Australian schools which increased by only 0.6% from 2020 – the lowest growth in enrolments since 2008 and less than half the average annual growth rate for the previous decade. This is due to the reduction in numbers of international students and a very low immigration rate, including for school-aged children. 

By sector, 65.1 per cent of students were enrolled in government schools, 19.5 per cent in Catholic schools and 15.4 per cent in independent schools. 

In 2021, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students made up 6.2 per cent (249,103) of the total school population. 

Full time equivalent (FTE) teaching staff across primary and secondary schooling increased by 2.4 per cent from 2020 to 303,539. There was a minor reduction in the average FTE student–teacher ratio from 13.5:1 in 2020 to 13.3:1 in 2021. 

The report also details the arrangements made in 2021 to address the pandemic in each jurisdiction, including periods of shutdown and remote learning, noting that “the education sector responded well to the pandemic, with close cooperation between the government, Catholic and independent school sectors”. 

Find the full report on the ACARA website. 

Image: Catholic Education South Australia.