Audit of Aurukun school partnership arrangement released

The Department of Education will implement all three recommendations of the Queensland Audit Office report into the Aurukun school partnership arrangement tabled in State Parliament today.

Education Minister Kate Jones said the QAO report examined the governance arrangements, enrolments, internal controls and human resource practices supporting operations of Aurukun school.

From 2010 to 2016, the school at Aurukun operated under a partnership model with Good to Great Schools Australia.

Ms Jones said the department would accept all three recommendations to improve partnership arrangements for the future including:

1. that binding agreements are implemented for any funding arrangements with external education providers;
2. as part of arrangements with external providers staff receive adequate training and supervision to support the delivery of education; and
3. that governance arrangements are reviewed to ensure timely implementation of any internal audit recommendations.

Ms Jones said the new agreement, currently being finalised with Good to Great Schools Australia for Coen and Hope Vale schools would provide clarity about the respective roles and responsibilities of each party.

“Already we have entered into a Partnership Commitments and Protocols agreement with Good to Great Schools Australia which provides a strong basis for a formal agreement and we expect this to be finalised soon,” she said.

Ms Jones said the QAO report found the school had overstated the number of students enrolled in relation to the department’s Day 8 staffing guidelines.

“However, the Auditor-General found no evidence of deliberate manipulation of enrolment numbers,” she said.

Ms Jones said the department would review the process for determining staffing allocations for schools in discrete Indigenous communities.

“The staffing allocations for schools are determined through the department’s official Day 8 Staffing Enrolment Collection,” she said.

“This report demonstrates that we need to look at a better approach to assessing indicative enrolments and allocating teachers to schools in discrete Indigenous communities.

“We should be allocating teachers in schools based on the number of school-aged students in the community, not the number of students who attend school on a particular day.

“We need to work with Queensland Health, local councils and traditional owners to understand the numbers of community births, family movements and cultural practices to ensure we have sufficient evidence in determining the actual number of school aged children in all remote Indigenous communities.

"I will also be seeking advice from the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education and Training Advisory Committee.”

Media: Emma Clarey 0437 069 516