GPV/KCV supports Victoria’s battle to secure more funding for Victorian government schools
The Victorian Government has rejected the Federal Government’s offer to increase its share of public-school funding from 20 to 22.5 per cent. (This would amount to the loss of millions of dollars for public education in Victoria.)
Few of the reforms recommended in the Gonski Report on needs-based funding for schools (supported by GPV/KCV) have been implemented. The Gonski funding model centred around a Schooling Resource Standard (SRS), a total estimate of how much government funding a school required to meet the educational needs of its students.
Who pays it, and how much, has become a major sticking point between the federal and state governments.
The Commonwealth is pledging to lift its share for public schools from 20 to 22.5 per cent in a new funding deal covering the next decade. It has given states that are yet to sign on, including Victoria, until the end of this month to agree to its offer.
But Victorian Education Minister Ben Carroll told the ABC Victoria has rejected the offer.
“So the offer at the moment is essentially 2.5 per cent, take it or leave it,” Mr Carroll said.
“We’ve made very clear that it’s our intention not to accept that offer.
“We want [an extra] 5 per cent from the Commonwealth because that shortfall, 2.5 per cent, is [equal to] about a $300 million shortfall, and that equates to about $1,000 per student.”
View the Gonski Report here:
https://www.education.gov.au/download/1307/review-funding-schooling-final-report-december-2011/1280/document/pdf
Dismiss ‘grannies’ as frail old biddies at your peril: they’re some of the toughest activists out there
By Sally Feldman
Originally published online at theguardian.com on 20 August 2024
People still think that, once a woman is a grandmother, the rest of her life becomes irrelevant. That’s an absurdly outdated idea
“Nans against Nazis” read one large placard brandished at the recent anti-racism protests in Liverpool. It belonged to 71-year-old Pat. “Someone said to me, ‘You’re too old, don’t be doing this,’” she told the Independent. “But as long as they’re here someone’s got to do it.” She’s not the only one who refuses to be invisible. As the editor of BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour for more than a decade, I became so familiar with countless stories of active, busy older women that I’ve now written a book of advice for today’s grandmothers.
I interviewed more than 100 women. Many of them were exasperated at the tired old stereotypes that either portray us as frail, ancient, hobbling, lonely old biddies, or the equally cliched antithesis: “battling grannies” or “granny heroines”. The very word “granny” has become a shorthand for “old lady”, a handy way to define us by our age and dwindling status (and it bears little relation to whether or not you actually have grandchildren).
It’s still glibly assumed that, once a woman becomes a grandmother, everything else in her life becomes irrelevant. That’s absurdly outdated.Whatever their age, many grandmothers will continue working or will lead busy, demanding lives outside their family responsibilities. The deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, who at 44 is the youngest grandmother in parliament, doesn’t appear to see any conflict between the two roles.
Our Mission
The needs of families are becoming more complex and the support grandparents can offer to their own family and to other families is significant. Through acting together grandparents are becoming strong advocates. They are the custodians of considerable wisdom, compassion and skills that are being put to good use in activities to support families and to benefit the wider community.
Grandparents Victoria (GPV) aims to:
- Link grandparents across the state and the nation
- Identify, articulate and promote the needs of grandchildren and grandparents
- Represent the views of grandparents in public consultations and influence policy and practice affecting families
- Share ideas and information about what works well in supporting families.
Anne McLeish
Director, Grandparents Victoria
Values
GPV believes that a society that is inclusive of all is crucial to individual and community wellbeing
Our Values
Campaigns
GPV conducts a number of campaigns on issues that affect grandparents and their families
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Become a Member
GPV members share with other grandparents a commitment to improve the quality of life of grandchildren.
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How parents and children can play a role in children's literacy
ABC Radio National – Life Matters
Broadcast 20 June 2024
According to recent figures from the Grattan Institute, about one-third of Australian children are struggling to read. This alarming statistic will be of concern to parents, grandparents and guardians alike.
In this episode of ABC Radio National’s Life Matters, presenter Hilary Harper speaks with director of Grandparents Australia Anne McLeish and education deputy program director from the Grattan Institute Amy Haywood on how we can best support children in their reading progress. They discuss the best evidence-based methods for teaching children to read.
End physical punishment of children – protect Australian children
1,221 people have signed this petition to end physical punishment of Australian children.
In 1979, Sweden was the first country in the world to prohibit all physical punishment of children, including in the home. As of September 2022, 63 countries, including New Zealand, have done the same. Lawmakers in these countries listened to the experts in the field. They also listened to over 50 years of research that demonstrates the negative outcomes associated with the physical or corporal punishment of children.
It’s time Australia listened too! We need to prioritize the safety of children. This petition is calling on you to help a campaign to end physical punishment of children.
Please sign and ask others to sign the petition, which will be sent to Federal and State Attorneys General urging them to change legislation:
https://www.change.org/p/end-physical-punishment-of-children-protect-australian-children
The Uluru Statement from the Heart
A list of people connected with GPV/KCV offering their support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart. They ask their families and friends to do the same and call on the Australian Government to urgently address the issues raised in the statement.
Campaigns
GPV conducts a number of campaigns on issues that affect grandparents and their families
Abolishing corporal punishment
The campaign calls for the Australian Government to make corporal punishment of children and young people illegal across Australia. GPV/KCV believes that violence against children is never appropriate, even in the context of discipline.
Support for kinship carers
GPV/KCV is committed to amplifying voices of kinship care families within government, improving visibility of kinship carers and raising understanding of carer families and carers’ roles. GPV/KCV calls for the Vic Government to increase the allowance to kinship carers.
Improving education for all
Since 2004 GPV/KCV has been campaigning for improvements in education services to all children and young people. Since 2010 GPV/KCV has been particularly concerned about provision of education to children and young people in out of home care.
Congrats to GPV and her Board on the 20th birthday! The years have gone by quickly and yet you have achieved so much. Who would have believed it when we first started chatting in Moonee Ponds?
It has been a remarkable journey. Wanting to support families has driven us to think and act much more widely than we could have conceived of in 2001. There have been some disappointments along the way, most particularly the lack of value governments place on supporting families, particularly vulnerable families.
Become a GPV Member Today
Grandparents Victoria (GPV) is a statewide non- profit organisation of grandparents working together to shape a positive future for all children in Victoria.
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