Making the Grade:
Autonomy and Accountability
in Victorian Schools
Inquiry into School Devolution
and Accountability
Final Report July 2013
© State of Victoria 2013
This final report is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in
accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), without prior written
permission from the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission.
Cover images reproduced courtesy of the Department of Education and Early
Childhood Development
ISBN 978-1-922222-08-4 (print)
ISBN 978-1-922222-09-1 (pdf)
Disclaimer
The views expressed herein are those of the Victorian Competition and Efficiency
Commission and do not purport to represent the position of the Victorian
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Neither the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission nor the Victorian
Government accepts any liability to any person for the information (or the use of such
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Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission
GPO Box 4379
MELBOURNE VICTORIA 3001
AUSTRALIA
Telephone:
Facsimile:
Website:
(03) 9092 5800
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www.vcec.vic.gov.au
An appropriate citation for this publication is:
Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission 2013, Making the Grade: Autonomy
and Accountability in Victorian Schools, Inquiry into School Devolution and
Accountability, final report, July.
About the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission
The Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission (VCEC), which is supported by a
secretariat, provides the Victorian Government with independent advice on business
regulation reform and opportunities for improving Victoria’s competitive position.
VCEC has three core functions:

reviewing regulatory impact statements, measuring the administrative burden of
regulation and business impact assessments of significant new legislation

undertaking inquiries referred to it by the Treasurer, and

operating Victoria’s Competitive Neutrality Unit.
For more information on the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission, visit our
website at: www.vcec.vic.gov.au
Disclosure of interest
The Commissioners have declared to the Victorian Government all personal interests
that could have a bearing on current and future work. The Commissioners confirm their
belief that they have no personal conflicts of interest in regard to this inquiry.
Level 37, 2 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne Vic 3000
GPO Box 4379
Melbourne Vic 3001
T (03) 9092 5800
F (03) 9092 5845
E contact@vcec.vic.gov.au
www.vcec.vic.gov.au
31 July 2013
Hon. Michael O'Brien MP
Treasurer
1 Treasury Place
MELBOURNE VIC 3002
Dear Treasurer
VCEC Inquiry into School Devolution and Accountability
In accordance with the terms of reference received by the Commission on
17 September 2012, we have pleasure in submitting the Commission’s final report
Making the grade: autonomy and accountability in Victorian schools.
Yours sincerely
Dr Matthew Butlin
Chair
Deborah Cope
Commissioner
Bill Mountford
Commissioner
Terms of reference
Inquiry into School Devolution and Accountability
I, Kim Wells MP, Treasurer of Victoria, pursuant to section 4 of the State Owned
Enterprises (State Body - Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission) Order ('the
Order') hereby direct the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission ('the
Commission') to conduct an inquiry into School Devolution and Accountability.
Background
A key direction in schools over the past two decades has been increased devolution of
decision-making to the school level. During the 1990s, for example, this policy provided
Victorian government school principals with more scope to make educational, financial
and management decisions. There may be more opportunities to empower school
leaders and teachers, drawing on experience from other jurisdictions, to work with their
communities and use local approaches to achieve better outcomes for students.
When principals have greater flexibility to make decisions that affect their students, it
becomes even more important to have the right mechanisms to hold principals
accountable for how much and how fast their students learn, and to have the right
governance and administration arrangements in place to support more autonomous
schools.
Scope of the inquiry
The Commission is to inquire into and report on how much autonomy schools in Victoria
have, and how this affects students, teachers and schools. The Commission is to identify
whether there are areas and circumstances where more autonomy could improve how
much and how fast students learn at school, or improve the efficiency of schools.
In particular, the Commission is to:
a) examine the current split of responsibilities in Victoria between the central
education bureaucracy including its regional offices, and government schools
across all areas, including governance, funding, infrastructure, workforce,
operational model, curriculum and assessment;
b) identify principles of good governance in a highly autonomous government school
system, including the role and accountability of school councils;
c) investigate and draw lessons from the experience of other systems that have
significantly increased school autonomy, including the examples of WA independent
public schools, UK academies and free schools and US charter schools;
d) examine real-world examples of the effect on students and schools of greater
autonomy (and limited autonomy), particularly for disadvantaged students;
e) develop options for different levels of autonomy across schools in different
circumstances if that is appropriate, including by identifying areas where schools
could opt out of services provided centrally and use a budget to choose their own
provider;
f)
identify the areas and circumstances where greater devolution to schools may
have a positive impact and those in which the cost may outweigh any benefits;
g) assess the costs and benefits of current legislation, regulation, guidelines, funding
arrangements, common practices and other processes that may limit school,
principal and teacher autonomy, including employment engagement and pay
TERMS OF REFERENCE
VII
arrangements and any centralised administrative mechanisms, drawing on lessons
from other jurisdictions;
h)
identify cultural and other factors which inhibit schools from maximising the
potential benefits from existing levels of autonomy and devolution;
i)
examine the current arrangements for oversight of government schools, by
assessing the clarity and effectiveness of existing governance structures within the
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development including the
Regional Directorate model;
j)
identify principles to guide school and principal accountability arrangements;
k)
develop options to improve the accountability regime in line with the principles in
(b), including any additional public information that would enable greater
accountability to parents and carers;
l)
identify the capabilities required of the central education bureaucracy, its regional
offices, school councils and principals in a highly autonomous school system and
gaps with current capabilities;
m) examine the current arrangements for regulatory oversight of government schools
by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority and identify any changes
that would be needed if schools were more autonomous;
n)
identify existing barriers to choice within the public school system for parents and
children and identify complementary policies to school devolution which can
promote greater choice; and
o) examine any institutional, cultural or funding barriers to high-performing public
schools expanding under the current system.
Emphasis should be placed on clearly identifying specific, concrete actions which can
be taken to improve school governance and performance. This should include options
for immediate action as well as specific strategies for the medium term.
Inquiry process
In undertaking this inquiry, the Commission is to have regard to its objectives and
operating principles as set out in section 3 of the Order. The Commission must also
conduct the inquiry in accordance with section 4 of the Order.
The Commission is to consult with the education sector, academic institutions, business
and relevant Victorian, Commonwealth and other jurisdictions government
departments and agencies.
The Commission should draw on the knowledge and expertise of relevant Victorian
Government departments and agencies, and may conduct special surveys or hold
public hearings at its discretion.
The Commission is expected to produce the following documents:

an issues paper at the beginning of the inquiry process;

a draft report containing analysis and initial findings for public comment; and

a final report after the receipt of public submissions to be provided to me as soon
as possible, but not later than 9 months after receipt of these terms of reference.
KIM WELLS MP
Treasurer
Received: 17 September 2012
VIII
MAKING THE GRADE: AUTONOMY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN VICTORIAN SCHOOLS