Draft Charter on Primary Schooling

A draft Primary School Charter that simplifies the curriculum and proposes core areas of learning has been released by the Australian Primary Principals’ Association, which represents more than 7,000 Government, Independent and Catholic primary schools with a combined attendance of almost two million students.

The draft Charter is the result of a forum in Sydney in July where 35 of the nation’s leading educationalists, including academics, principals, teachers and parents examined the question of what primary schools are and their role in the education system.

The National President of APPA, Leonie Trimper, said the draft Charter sought to answer two key questions: “What should primary schools be like” and “What is the purpose of primary schools”. She said that the end result was a draft Charter that reflected the majority views arrived at by the forum, adding: “It would be wrong to say all attendees agreed with everything in the draft Charter.

The forum, funded by the Minister for Education, Ms Julie Bishop, concluded there were four prime core curriculum areas that were essential to primary education - English, Mathematics, Science and History.

The draft Charter is now being circulated to more than 7,000 primary schools, educationalists and parents’ associations for comment. Once feedback has been received and collated, the charter will be revised to take into account the key comments and then be submitted to the Federal and State Governments for consideration.

Ms Trimper said that the draft Charter was aimed at clearly defining the role of primary schools which, over the years, were increasingly suffering from a cluttered curriculum.

“This draft Charter, the first ever devised, represents a substantial change from the status quo.

“APPA’s decision to create a Charter was hailed enthusiastically by schools around the nation. It will be interesting to see their response to the resulting draft Charter, for above all, we want this document to generate wide ranging public debate so we can arrive at a proper consensus.

“Primary schooling marks a cultural milestone in the lives of all young Australians - so we must get it right. Children only get one chance to establish a solid foundation on which to build their future.”

Ms. Trimper said the forum felt it was essential that the curriculum, which is already overly cluttered, be simplified by making English, Mathematics, Science, and History critical and essential elements. She said forum attendees believed these areas would enable children to successfully embrace a range of skills including learning, thinking, communication, self-management and technology.

“However, these must be balanced to enable children to also have the opportunity to participate in, and enjoy, other activities such as music and physical education,” she said. “These experiences, while not seen as core areas, were viewed by the forum’s delegates as having great value in introducing children to many other important areas of life.

“The bottom line is that the role of primary education is to ensure all children learn and gain a permanent love of learning. Therefore the draft Charter suggests programs and interventions, such as bike safety and financial literacy, should only be taught if they don’t detract from a school’s core business.

“If we are to give our children a proper education foundation in life, the accent must be on core areas that are vital to learning. The draft Charter seeks to define high quality primary schooling, characterised by high expectations and joy in learning; rich experiences and depth of understanding.

“The draft Charter is only the beginning. APPA wants it to become the basis for wide-ranging, healthy, and constructive debate that will result in a final Charter that can truly become a blue-print for the future.”

Document Download:
Draft Charter on Primary Schooling (PDF - 237 Kb)
Press Release - full text is published above (PDF - 40 Kb)