A strong public education system is one of the best investments we can make in the future of Western Australia.

But significant underinvestment over many years has placed WA’s public education system under immense strain. Our schools are less accessible and more expensive; our teachers are buckling under mounting pressure to deliver high-quality outcomes with fewer resources; and our students are struggling to meet their full potential as a result.

A high-quality education is a right and an inalienable public good that our government has a responsibility to provide to everyone – regardless of income or postcode.

The Greens have a plan to make public education free, world class and equitable in Western Australia. We will address the root cause of poor educational outcomes across the entire system, investing in students, families, teachers and infrastructure from early childhood through to secondary school.

The Greens will:

Improve teaching conditions and pay

WA’s public school system is in crisis. Last year, two-thirds of teachers reported having to take merged classes, and WA’s class sizes are among the biggest in the country. As a result, our teachers are burning out and leaving the profession in droves, with the number of registered teachers who are choosing not to take up a teaching position currently exceeding 10,000.

Despite the central role teachers have in shaping our society, our future and our lives, successive governments have skimped on ensuring they have what they need to educate our children. From pay to classroom conditions, WA teachers deserve a better deal.

The Greens have a plan to improve conditions for teachers across the public school system in WA. We’ll invest in reducing class sizes, workloads and administrative burden, freeing up teachers to focus on the actual job of teaching and improving learning conditions for students at the same time.

The Greens will invest $50 million per year into reducing class sizes in WA public schools to the following levels:

• Pre-primary from 25-27 to 24
• Years 4 to 10 from 32 to 27
• Years 11 and 12 from 25 to 24

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Invest $500 million into WA public school infrastructure 

Right now, too many WA classrooms are not up to standard. From inadequate air conditioning and poor ventilation to excessive noise and mould, thousands of students and teachers across the state are regularly forced to endure uncomfortable or downright unsafe conditions – often in poorer quality demountable classrooms, which have surged in use by 55 percent in the past five years alone. 

High-quality teaching and learning can only happen in a safe and comfortable physical environment. In a state as wealthy as WA, the only reason every child and teacher does not have access to healthy educational space is because our governments have chosen not to invest in them. 

The Greens will invest an initial $500 million into much-needed WA public school infrastructure, followed by an annual contribution of a further $50 million over the decade to a capital infrastructure building and maintenance fund.

Ban for-profit funding and partnerships in public schools

After decades of underinvestment in our public education system, too many WA schools are forced to pursue corporate funding to educate our children. Companies like Woodside regularly pour millions of dollars into school infrastructure and programs around the state – often in some of WA’s most disadvantaged communities – establishing a direct commercial presence that is inherently in conflict with the educational interests of our kids.

Instead of properly funding the future of our kids and our state, the WA Labor Government is allowing cashed-up corporations to treat WA schools as a marketplace to buy influence and social license. The only role big business should have in funding our schools is through the higher taxes they should be paying.

For-profit funding has no place in our in public schools. The Greens will ensure our kids are protected from harmful corporate influence by banning for-profit funding and partnerships in all public schools across Western Australia.

Advocate for Closing the Gap recommendations

WA’s education system is failing First Nations kids. While some small gains have been made in recent years, the education gap between Indigenous students in WA and their non-Indigenous peers remains unacceptably vast. First Nations students experience higher rates of absenteeism, poorer literacy outcomes, and are less likely to graduate from high school – and that means poorer life outcomes overall.

Research shows that an identity-affirming, culturally appropriate approach to education significantly lifts engagement, academic achievement and school completion rates among First Nations kids. The takeaway is clear: First Nations people know what’s best for First Nations people, and must be empowered to take the lead in designing and delivering the programs and services that affect them.

The Greens are committed to closing the education gap in WA. We will work with First Nations organisations and communities to co-design and deliver a comprehensive, culturally responsive education strategy that actively works to address key Closing the Gap outcomes.

Boost investment in regional education

Our kids should receive the same quality of education no matter where they live in Western Australia. But right now, about half of all students in regional and remote WA fail to meet basic reading proficiencies for their age group, with data indicating a clear link between poor educational outcomes and distance from metropolitan centres.

Many of the broader crises impacting the regions, like unaffordable housing and childcare inaccessibility, have left WA’s regional schools without the resources they need to deliver the quality education every child deserves. Addressing WA’s regional education crisis calls for urgent investment in attracting and retaining teachers over the long-term.

The Greens have a plan to improve learning outcomes for students at regional schools in WA. We will:

• Provide regional benefits for support workers and teachers
• Inject $31.8 million into urgently improving security at Government Regional Officer Housing (GROH) homes
• Boost attraction and retention of regional teaching staff by offering permanency

Free breakfast and lunch in every WA public school

In WA, almost 116,000 kids are living in severely food insecure households. That means they’re likely going to school hungry – and, according to research, finding it much harder to concentrate, socialise and learn.

In a state where gas corporations are making billions from our resources every year, no child should be going to school hungry.

The Greens will establish a free school breakfast and lunch program in every Western Australian public school, ensuring every child has access to the healthy meals they need to meet their potential at school.

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