The AEU’s 2024 State of our Schools survey results were released in Adelaide today at an event highlighting the 508 public schools in the state which are underfunded at present, just as Federal Education Minister Jason Clare was announcing the latest round of the Schools Upgrade Fund.

Under Round 2 of the Schools Upgrade Fund, 18 public schools across the state will each benefit from funding of at least $250,000 to build or upgrade infrastructure.

The successful projects include upgrading food tech and home economics classrooms, installing new playground equipment and resurfacing and upgrading sporting facilities.

Public schools with the greatest need have been prioritised, including schools with high numbers of students from a low-socio economic background, First Nations Students, and students with disability.

At Adelaide’s Pinky Flat Parklands, meanwhile, the stark funding state of affairs was plain to see, with 508 stakes planted in the ground to represent the reality that SA public schools are underfunded by $337 million this year.

The survey of 1787 South Australian public school principals, teachers and support staff was conducted in March and April.

It found among its results that:

  • 76 per cent of principals reported teacher shortages at their school in the last year and 86 per cent said it had become harder to fill vacant positions.
  • More than 98 per cent of principals had to combine classes at some point in the last year due to the shortages and one third said they had run classes without a teacher.
  • Less than 1 in 10 principals said their school is well-resourced.
  • More than 70 per cent of principals and two thirds of teachers reported a decline or significant decline in student wellbeing in the past year. Nine out of 10 teachers reported a decline or significant decline in teacher wellbeing and morale in the last 18 months.
  • Only one in five principals believe the level of counsellor support at their school is adequate.
  • The working hours of teachers have increased to 49 hours a week, on average. Only 18 per cent are now committed to teaching until retirement, down from 23 per cent last year.

AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe said all South Australian public schools are funded below the SRS.

“The challenges in schools have never been greater – more diversity and complexity in student need, increasing wellbeing and mental health issues and acute shortages of teachers due to unsustainable workloads,” Haythorpe said.

“Our principals, teachers and support staff are doing an extraordinary job, but they are being asked to do too much with too little and there just aren’t enough of them.

“Fully funding public schools is the only way to ensure every child gets the support they need to succeed, and we can recruit and retain sufficient numbers of teachers. There needs to be additional teachers and counsellors in schools, along with more support staff and specialist staff such as speech therapists.”

The AEU research comes after an inquiry, ordered by Education Ministersand conducted by an Expert Panel, warned in December that the underfunding of public schools is “undermining other reform efforts with real implications for student educational and wellbeing outcomes, teacher attraction and retention”.

The Expert Panel said the need for full funding was “urgent and critical” and a prerequisite for student learning and wellbeing improvement.

In the AEU survey, SA principals said students with disabilities or learning difficulties and those who have fallen behind in literacy or numeracy would benefit most if public schools were fully funded.

Teachers had additional support for students with disability or behavioural issues and more time within their paid hours for lesson planning, assessment and reporting at the top of their list of changes that would most assist them to improve student outcomes.

Haythorpe said a new agreement between the SA Government and the Federal Government that delivers full funding must be signed this year.

“SA public schools are underfunded by $337 million this year while SA private schools are overfunded by $64.2 million,” Haythorpe said.

“This is despite the fact public schools educate twice the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and over three times the proportion of First Nations students.

AEU South Australia president Jennie-Marie Gorman said urgent attention was needed from governments to address the needs of South Australian students.

“Funding for, and access to, student support is a significant problem in SA schools.

“Wait times for assessments can be years meaning some students are spending half of their early years without the appropriate learning support.

“We need to hold both the state and federal governments to account to achieve 100 per cent SRS funding in real terms for our students.”