Strengthening DET
regional relationships
and support:
Consultation Paper
Published by the
Communications Division
for Priority Policy Division
Department of Education and Training
Melbourne
April 2015
©State of Victoria (Department of Education and Training) 2015
The copyright in this document is owned by the State of Victoria
(Department of Education and Training), or in the case of some
materials, by third parties (third party materials). No part may be
reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of
the Copyright Act 1968, the National Education Access Licence for
Schools (NEALS) (see below) or with permission.
An educational institution situated in Australia which is not conducted
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may copy and communicate the materials, other than third party
materials, for the educational purposes of the institution.
Authorised by the Department of Education
and Training
2 Treasury Place, East Melbourne, Victoria, 3002.
This document is also available on the internet at
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/regionalsupp
ort.aspx
Message from the Deputy Premier
The Victorian Government has committed to establishing Victoria as the Education State. This means
creating a global centre of learning and development excellence – a cohesive education system that
relentlessly pursues the best outcomes and opportunities for every learner, regardless of their
background or their starting point for learning.
To achieve this vision, our education system must be characterised by:
• high expectations for all learners
• engagement of all learners in a curriculum that is deep, challenging and connected to their world
• outstanding professional practice, backed by contemporary research, innovation and evaluation
• authentic relationships across all levels of the system, with high levels of mutual trust and
respect, and
• effective place-based support for learners and providers, recognising that families and
educators relate and connect primarily with their local communities.
To build such a system, its component parts must first interact with cohesion, unity and shared
purpose. This includes ensuring that schools, early childhood services and vocational education and
training (VET) providers have strong and effective relationships with the regional and central offices
of the Department of Education and Training (DET).
Before we take even the first steps towards this vision, it is clear that the current regional arrangements
are not up to the task. Despite the best efforts of dedicated regional staff over recent years, resources
have simply been spread too thinly. The end result has been that regional offices do not have the
resources they need to fulfil their roles and many schools have been left with a sense of abandonment
and doubt.
A strong regional presence is essential to building Victoria as the Education State, so I have asked the
department to develop proposals for enhancing the roles of our regional offices, with a particular focus on
how we can best support government schools. This consultation paper seeks to engage with key
stakeholders to determine the best roles and supports to meet the needs of our learners, teachers,
education leaders, schools and providers. It is crucial that we reimagine our regional presence to create a
sustainable model that can be fully embedded across Victoria and that provides certainty and lasting
support.
This paper outlines the current arrangements for regional support. It then describes the enhanced roles
that regions could fulfil and the expertise regions would need to most effectively support our system. The
intent of this paper is to focus on how the department can revitalise its interactions with schools, while
building on the strengths of current interactions with early childhood services, TAFEs and other VET
providers.
The department is seeking feedback on these possible roles and areas of expertise from school principals
and the education workforce, school councils, early childhood providers, TAFEs, department regional and
central office staff, stakeholders, local government and interested members of the education community
across Victoria. The paper includes a number of discussion questions to assist you in structuring your
feedback.
I encourage you to get involved in designing a strengthened regional presence, one that will help Victoria
to become the Education State.
The Hon. James Merlino MP
Deputy Premier
Minister for Education
Consultation Paper Overview
1. Consultation approach and design
principles
Outlines our approach to consultation and establishes
the principles by which any options for enhanced
regional supports will be assessed.
2. Current arrangements
Provides a brief overview of the existing departmental
regional arrangements, and a summary of stakeholder
feedback on the current arrangements.
3. Enhancing the role of the department
To realise the vision of an Education State, we need an
effective and empowered workforce, effectively
supported by regional and central offices of the
department. This section covers early thinking on areas
of support that could be enhanced, based on what our
stakeholders have told us.
4. Areas of expertise
Identifies areas of expertise that the department
believes will be important to improving regional support
for early childhood services and schools as well as
outlining some of the factors to consider in delivering
these roles.
5. How our education system works
together
Explores issues relating to the balance of support and
performance management and strengthening network
arrangements.
6. What could a new department regional
model look like?
Outlines some preliminary high level options for the
regional model.
7. Next steps
1. Consultation approach and design
principles
Consultation and information collection
This consultation process is designed to engage our system partners in the
decision making processes of the department and to help shape discussions on
regional arrangements. The information in this document is preliminary thinking
and is shared in the spirit of transparency and engagement. We encourage
feedback on all aspects of this paper and have included prompts throughout the
document to encourage an open dialogue.
There is a range of ways to provide feedback. Further information can be found
at:
www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/regionalsupport.aspx
The information you provide as part of the consultation process will be collated
and stored in a secure database and will be de-identified prior to sharing or
publication. Quotes may be used from the responses in the consultation report,
but will be summarised or not used if they identify the respondent.
In addition to written feedback, the department will engage with targeted
stakeholders through a series of forums and conversations.
Design principles
The following principles are proposed to guide decisions on delivering enhanced
regional support.
•
Proposals will focus on improving the support the department provides to
all elements of the service system.
•
Changes will be consistent with the establishment of a unified system that
will build Victoria as the Education State.
•
Where it is efficient and delivers the best outcomes, department staff who
provide direct support to schools and other providers should be locally
based to be in a better position to understand the local service context.
•
The department's arrangements will be robust and flexible, catering for a
diverse range of needs and contexts.
•
As much as possible, capabilities and resources will be aligned to the
department arrangements that best support our system.
•
A sustainable model that can provide certainty and reliable support is
paramount in any consideration of change.
•
The focus for change will be on enhanced support for schools, while
seeking to build on and integrate with the strong and valued support for
early childhood services and VET providers in regions.
•
A diverse range of voices will be sought through the consultation process.
Consultation questions:
1. Do the proposed design principles reflect a suitable approach to guiding
enhanced regional support?
Department of Education and Training
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2. Current arrangements
The department’s regional structure and functions
The department currently has four regions - North-Eastern Victoria, NorthWestern Victoria, South-Eastern Victoria and South-Western Victoria. Each
region has a metropolitan growth corridor, a regional centre, rural areas, and
extends to the Victorian border. The regions are serviced by regional offices
located across Victoria.
The functions of regional offices are varied and highlight the different
relationships the department has with the different sectors and partners. This
includes:

unique responsibilities and accountability for government schools,
including as system architect, core funder, employer and manager of
performance

contract manager of some early childhood services

direct provider of some services, such as school nurses

relationship manager with a range of partners to facilitate improvements
in outcomes, join up services and lead place-based planning to achieve
longer term objectives across the education system.
These varied roles support a strong focus on creating integrated service
provision that supports learners and families across the lifespan and to facilitate
whole-of-community approaches to learning and development.
Regional office functions are currently arranged under the following broad
themes:
Child, learner and family services

deliver health, wellbeing and support services to children, young people
and their families to assist them in their learning and development.
Examples of services include school nurses, visiting teachers, early
childhood intervention services intake teams, specialist children’s
services, MCH Line, Parentline, engagement officers and disability
coordinators

broker and support partnerships, including strategic relationships with
local government, youth partnership and pathways services, and
networks to assist vulnerable and at risk children and young people to
succeed

strengthen professional communities of practice for allied health
workforces including team around the learner approach for our most
vulnerable learners.
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Early childhood and school performance, accountability and improvement

monitor the performance of early childhood providers though contract
and relationship management to set high standards of performance and
address under performance where required

support school performance improvement based on an agreed
framework of strategic planning, reporting and review

lead interventions in schools requiring additional support

monitor principal performance and development

facilitate engagement between services and Koorie communities and
families.
Service planning and support

undertake provision planning

coordinate emergency management

develop and implement community-based learning and development
plans to improve child and learner outcomes and lift social and
economic outcomes

work with other agencies and stakeholders, including local councils,
industry and other parts of government to ensure the learning and
development system contributes to broader community, social and
economic aspirations in the regions.
Currently, around half of all regional staff are focused on supporting early
childhood services and programs and half primarily focus on schools.
There are also services delivered at a regional level to support learner
participation in the VET system. This includes support for Learn Local
organisations (community based training providers), executive support for the
Adult Community and Further Education (ACFE) Regional Councils and
facilitating engagement between TAFE and other VET providers and industry to
address barriers to market responsiveness, workforce development,
participation and productivity.
Stakeholder views of the current arrangements
There are a number of strengths in the current arrangements, including a
committed and hard-working regional workforce dedicated to improving
outcomes for learners and their families. The current arrangement also supports
integrated approaches to early childhood services and school education and
provides opportunities for rural and regional services and schools to directly
partner with metropolitan counterparts. It is important that we capture and
understand the strengths of the current system and build on these where we
can.
It is also clear that there are particular issues and limitations with the current
arrangements that require immediate attention, particularly for government
schools. We have had consistent and sustained feedback from school principals
and their representative bodies that the current regional support arrangements
are insufficient to provide the range of support required by schools and some
school principals feel increasingly isolated from the department.
Principals have told us there are a number of challenges with the current
arrangements:
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
lack of certainty regarding the level and type of support available from
the department (regionally and centrally)

lack of understanding from the department about the nature of work of
schools, the demands placed on principals and pressures they are under

lack of real partnership between the department and schools

insufficient regional capability and capacity to respond to and actively
support schools

limited support for teaching and learning practices, including literacy,
numeracy, behaviour management, engagement and wellbeing
programs

insufficient resources for principal networks to collectively address
student wellbeing, student transitions and teacher capability building

lack of support for emergency management, critical incidents and
complaints

reduced focus on facilitating collegiate professional development

over emphasis on performance monitoring instead of tangible support to
enhance performance and effectiveness

reduced sense of the department's system leadership role and active
advocacy for government schools.
These concerns highlight a need for a greater focus on providing support when
and where schools need it, creating greater clarity about the roles of different
parts of the system and where school principals and teachers can go for
expertise and advice. Strengthening this support is crucial to ensuring that
principals in particular are able to focus on their core role as educational leaders
to be able to drive improved outcomes for their learners.
Beyond these immediate concerns, there are challenges and opportunities for
the regional arrangements to better support high quality learning and
development from birth and build strong pathways from learning through to
employment. Greater efforts are required to achieve our vision of a cohesive
education system that relentlessly pursues the best outcomes for all learners.
For the early childhood sector, we have received consistent stakeholder
feedback that there are many strengths in the relationships between regions and
services and partner organisations. However, there remain opportunities to build
on the current system by:

strengthening the local partnerships between the department and local
councils to better plan for and provide early years services

developing and sustaining partnerships and networks with a range of
local service providers to build capacity and capability in service
provision

enhancing how the early childhood services are integrated into the
broader education system, including supporting transitions between
services, between early childhood services and schools and the broader
supports provided to families.
Vocational education and training providers, the ACFE Board and industry have
also told us there are a number of challenges with the current arrangements:
Department of Education and Training
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
ACFE Regional Councils have indicated that they require more
departmental support to perform their functions of providing expertise
and local knowledge about adult education needs and advising the
ACFE Board on regional priorities

given the variations in industry needs in different areas of Victoria, the
need for place-based approaches is increasing, leading to a growing
demand for regional support.
As much as the focus of this paper is on strengthening regional support to
schools, we are keen to hear from stakeholders across all sectors about how we
can build on the current strengths and capabilities to enhance the role of
regions in our system. We would also welcome views on the initial priorities for
additional functions and support for these sectors.
Consultation questions:
2.
What are the strengths of the current regional support arrangements?
3.
To what extent do the concerns outlined above reflect your experience of current
regional support arrangements?
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3. Enhancing the role of the department
There are clear opportunities to strengthen the way different parts of our system
work in partnership to deliver our vision of the Education State. Effective
partnerships require a mutual understanding of the roles and responsibilities of
each of the partners. Therefore it is important that we provide greater clarity
about roles and the support available from the central and regional offices.
How the department will better support schools
There is established evidence from the highest performing education systems
that there are specific roles that should be undertaken centrally and at a
regional level that will add value to schools, and allow them to focus on their
core roles in delivering high quality education to their students.
Building on this evidence, it is proposed that central and regional offices could
have a number of enhanced roles, which may include expanding or refocusing
existing functions and providing greater consistency in fulfilling these roles
across the state. This includes recognising that some of the current
arrangements, such as one senior adviser to support approximately fifty
schools, is insufficient and creates unrealistic demands on staff.
While a shift in resources and expanded range of expertise at the regional level
may initially focus on schools, there may also be opportunities for these staff to
take a broader role to build strong understanding of local areas and develop
effective partnerships with a range of services. Possible enhanced roles are
outlined below.
Enhanced roles of central office




Set clear direction for early
childhood services and schools
and work with them to test, refine
and monitor the impact of these
directions over time
Manage the policy and
improvement cycle with real input
from regions, services, schools and
families to ensure that policies are
achievable and deliver the
outcomes that are intended
Provide early childhood services
and schools with access to the
high quality tools, resources and
the latest research, and help them
evaluate what works and share it
across the system
Provide effective system planning
and monitoring to ensure all
learners have access to high
quality education
Enhanced roles of regional offices










Provide professional and wellbeing support for school principals
Provide expert advice and support to schools on complex issues e.g. supporting
learners with disabilities
Expand delivery administrative and management support functions that require
understanding of local context e.g. workforce management strategies
Provide a common communication channel to schools and services,
communicating policy objectives and feeding back to the centre to inform policy
development
Provide local support to manage crisis situations e.g natural disasters or major
incidents
Provide expert advice on effective school improvement approaches and
contemporary teaching and learning practice
Support schools to successfully implement AusVELS, the VCE and VCAL and to
use high quality assessment tools and data
Support collaborative exchange between schools, facilitate school networks,
actively share best practice and connect schools so they can support each other
Work with a range of other government partners and agencies and facilitate the
linking of local services, particularly those that can effectively address
disadvantage.
Ensure early childhood services, schools and other providers take collective
responsibility for the learners in their community
What does this mean for schools?






Trusted relationships with regional staff who understand the local context and can actively support the individual needs of
schools
Enhanced support for teaching and learning practices, school improvement, literacy, nu meracy, behaviour management and
wellbeing programs
Greater support for the establishment and maintenance of principal/school networks
The streamlining
of administrative
responsibilities and support for meeting regulatory requirements, resulting in more
time for
Department
of Education and Training
8
principals to focus on their core role as an educational leader
A clear program of professional development for every principal
Improved opportunities to influence regional and central office policy and program design
Implications for early childhood services, VET providers and
other partners
There are opportunities to enhance the way we work with other key services
across the education system, recognising that the department has different
relationships, roles and responsibilities with different service providers.
In particular, there may be ways we can build on the strengths of current
arrangements and the valued contributions of regional staff to enhance:

the focus on strategic relationships with local government, early
childhood services and schools to support planning and delivery of
services for children and families

our response to disadvantage, through regions working to increase
access and participation of vulnerable children in services across the
birth to school continuum

the level of support and monitoring provided for TAFE and other VET
providers and Learn Locals to ensure consistently high quality service
delivery across Victoria

the department's role in facilitating how higher education, TAFE and
other VET providers respond to changes in industry and economic
conditions at the local level

support at key transition points, from early childhood settings into
schools, between schools and from schools into higher education,
training and employment, including increasing the number of learners in
rural and regional Victoria who complete higher education and training.
Consultation questions:
4.
Do you agree with the enhanced roles of the department described above for
schools? If not, what would you change?
5.
What are the opportunities for enhanced support with other education and
development services, such as early childhood services, VET providers or
Learn Locals?
6.
Are there other key issues to be considered in the design of new
arrangements?
Department of Education and Training
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4. Areas of expertise
A strengthened regional presence must include better access for schools to
expertise in a range of areas to support improved learning outcomes for all
learners.
Given the diverse needs across Victoria, we know that:
 some leaders and communities will require more in-depth support than
others, for example smaller and more isolated early childhood services
and schools may have particular needs
 local needs will determine whether some expert support should be
permanently available within regions while other expertise may be
sourced on an occasional, as-needs basis.
The list below outlines the core areas of expertise that we want to provide
through regions in the future. Our regional staff already have considerable
expertise and a history of working closely with early childhood services and
schools across many of these areas, however we recognise that they aren't
sufficiently resourced to do so comprehensively. Attracting and developing the
right people for these types of roles is absolutely critical. The people who
provide this expertise must carry the respect of early childhood services and
schools and effectively work with them in a genuine partnership to improve
outcomes for all learners.
As part of this consultation process, we will be inviting ideas about what
additional expert support may be required, how it should be delivered, as well as
ideas about the relative priorities of any initial additional investment or phasing
of supports.
Partnership
building and
brokerage
across sectors
School
improvement
and
management
This could include a broker to oversee local coordination of services and support to schools, alongside
local government and community support and services; facilitation of school networks; advocacy on
behalf of schools, early childhood and other providers and communities; collaboration with local
training providers, ACFE, Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLENs), industry and employers
to effect strong transitions to work and further study.
This could include senior adviser support to develop and implement school improvement programs and
related within-school, network or state-level change initiatives. This may include coaching in diagnosis of
challenges, the use of high effect strategies, and how to go about effective, lasting implementation and
evaluation. This would be informed by current research about how adults learn and effective change
management processes. Intensive and sustained support could be made available for new or acting
principals, or for schools in challenging circumstances.
Curriculum,
assessment
and pedagogy
This could include specialist consultant support to work with networks, principals, school leadership
teams and classroom teachers to ensure whole-school planning and implementation of AusVELS, VCE
and VCAL, effective teaching practice and school-based assessment processes. It could include
facilitation of curriculum connections between local primary and secondary schools, early childhood
providers and primary schools, secondary schools and vocational education and trainin g providers.
School
operations
This could include additional guidance and access to expert advice for principals regarding: undertaking
workforce change management initiatives, establishing effective relationships with school councils,
OHS and school finance issues. It could also include additional emergency management support for
schools and other services; additional support for principals and parents to work through and resolve
parent complaints; or aggregating SSSOs into regions to reduce the management burden current ly
experienced by principals and networks.
Wellbeing and
engagement
This could include greater assistance to support students who are vulnerable, disengaged, and those
with disabilities or challenging behaviour. Mechanisms for support might include a ‘rapid response’
function to provide immediate support to schools facing major student critical incidents and
emergencies.
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Factors to be considered in delivering enhanced roles and
expertise
There is no doubt that changes are required to the current arrangements to help
address the issues outlined in this paper and to create a system that will deliver
our vision for the Education State. However, building expertise and functions in
our regions requires consideration of a number of additional factors, including:

assessing trade-offs, such as acknowledging that greater investment in
on the ground support will reduce any additional funding that can be
made available directly for early childhood services and schools

balancing competing priorities, recognising that highly specialist
expertise cannot be consistently provided in every location and may only
be accessible on an as-needs basis

recognising the value in having a diverse range of approaches that will
suit schools and services of different types, sizes and community
contexts, while delivering this in an affordable way

designing which supports are best funded and provided through different
system levels (the department's central office, regional offices or directly
through schools/services), including identifying opportunities for
economies of scale by pooling funding at a regional or central system
level

balancing the time and financial costs of change - ensuring that the
benefits of any proposed changes in function outweigh the costs and
potential disruptions to key services and supports.
Consultation questions:
7.
Are the areas of expertise listed above of value? Why?
8.
Are there other areas of expertise that would be useful and should be
considered?
9.
Of the areas listed here or the others you may have identified, which
should be prioritised for investment? Why?
10.
What would be the most efficient and effective ways of providing access
to expertise for schools? How should the expertise be delivered to meet
the different levels of need for different schools and services?
11.
What characteristics, experience and expertise are required of the
workforce?
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5. How our education system works together
There are some areas where the role of regions is more contested and we need
further advice from stakeholders to get the balance right.
Balancing support and performance management for schools
Regions have dual responsibility for providing hands-on support and
interventions to guide school improvement efforts and build capability, as well
as monitoring the performance of schools and school principals.
There is no doubt that school leaders have the primary responsibility for working with
their staff and communities to achieve improved outcomes for their students. The
challenge lies in identifying when and how different types of support, capability
building and intervention are required to ensure all school leaders can be successful.
These functions can create tensions for schools and regional staff, and it is important
to get the roles and responsibilities clear and the balance between these functions
right.
Strengthening network arrangements
For many schools and other providers, networks have been instrumental in providing
access to professional learning, in developing strong professional relationships, and
in working collaboratively to improve outcomes.
Networks can take many forms and mean different things to different people. They
can range from informal sets of relationships through to highly formal governed
partnerships. Different network arrangements have developed over time to:
•
coordinate services, such as the Student Support Services Officer (SSSO)
networks that oversee the delivery of a range of supports to students who
have additional needs or are at risk of disengagement, including deploying
psychologists, guidance officers, speech pathologists and social workers.
•
facilitate professional communities of practice, focusing on particular
approaches to school improvement or specific curriculum areas
•
create place-based approaches to particular challenges such as transitions
from early childhood services to school, primary to secondary school and
school to further education and training, for example Linking Learning sites
and the LLENs and ACFE Regional Councils.
There is, however, great variability across Victoria in terms of the structure,
geographical boundaries, role and strength of network arrangements.
It is timely to consider what is working well across the range of current networks and
identify opportunities to build on these strengths and learn from previous
experiences. A range of new and/or additional models for network/partnership
arrangements could be considered. These networks could take a number of different
forms and fulfil a range of roles, including:
•
mandated network/cluster arrangements for schools based on geographical
locations that provide a professional support network and create collective
approaches to professional development and/or school improvement
•
professional networks between principals with shared interests across the
state that provide collegial support and guidance
•
networks between schools with similar school improvement contexts or with
interests in pursuing similar best practice approaches, regardless of their
geographical proximity
Department of Education and Training
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•
cross-government partnerships/networks – for example with local
government, Victoria Police and the Department of Health and Human
Services.
Kindergarten Cluster Management (KCM) brings together a network of communitybased kindergarten services into a single organisation dedicated to the provision of
quality early education services. The KCM Policy Framework is currently being
reviewed in consultation with the early childhood sector to strengthen the model and
ensure a consistent focus on outcomes for children. The model is particularly
important in supporting rural and regional kindergartens and provides a clear point
for linkages with school networks.
Regions could have an explicit role in facilitating the establishment of a range of
networks, such as providing practical support and resourcing to ensure their ongoing
functioning, and capturing and sharing exemplary practice. We are seeking feedback
on the most valuable role regions can play for different types of networks in different
circumstances.
Consultation questions:
12.
What should be the balance between support and performance
management within the regional arrangements?
13.
What form should networks take and what role should they play?
14.
What role should regions play in supporting networks?
15.
Department of Education and Training
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6. What could a new department regional
model look like?
Our immediate focus is to ensure that regional offices are resourced
appropriately to deliver the key functions and supports that government schools
need. This includes working with regional staff, schools and stakeholders to
clarify their priority areas for additional support and expertise, in the context of
broader reforms that will make Victoria the Education State.
In particular, the Victorian Government is committed to investigating ways to:

increase the number of senior roles available to support principals and
schools

improve the support provided to new and acting principals

improve access to ongoing professional learning for principals

ensure a fundamental focus on enhancing teaching and student
learning.
This may include opportunities to rethink existing services and support, and reallocate where necessary - including considerations of the best balance of
specialist and generalist support.
Once these priorities are clear, it may be timely to consider the most effective
operational structure for delivering these functions and supports. This
recognises that any consideration of structures can only be reasonably
considered once there has been clear agreement regarding the core roles and
functions the regional structures are aiming to deliver. However, any
consideration of structural changes requires weighing up issues such as:

how best to support planning and coordination of services in geographic
areas

responding to concerns regarding the lack of visibility of senior
department staff for schools

minimising fragmentation and ensuring consistent advice and policy
across Victoria

the right balance of additional investment in on-the-ground supports
compared to organisational infrastructure and senior staff

the impact of disruptive changes on regional staff and the delivery of
services

alignment with broader efforts to create a unified system across early
childhood services, schools and TAFE and other VET providers through
the Education State agenda.
Possible models
We have developed some preliminary models to strengthen regional services
and support in Victoria. The options below are in no way definitive, but are
presented to stimulate discussion about the optimal department regional
arrangements.
Department of Education and Training
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Model A – retain four regions but provide additional support
The four-region structure has been in operation since January 2013. Perhaps
the most significant benefit of this structure has been greater consistency in
functions, structure and responsibilities across all regions. The learner is the
focus of regional work, no matter what age and stage, through an integrated,
life-course approach. There has also been solid movement towards the
achievement of place-based outcomes and functions.
However, currently there are not sufficient resources provided through this
structure to meet the needs of schools and other services across the state. As
part of this option, additional resources could be deployed within the existing
structure to enhance the support currently provided by the four regions. For
example, funds could be directed to the employment of additional senior
regional staff and specialist support e.g. in teaching and learning, curriculum
and assessment, student wellbeing and engagement.
Model B – expanding the number of regions
Some schools and services have expressed a desire for more regions that are
geographically closer. This would create greater visibility of senior department
leaders at a local level and more clearly recognise the different contexts of
metropolitan and rural and regional areas.
A range of possible configurations for achieving this could be explored. This
includes reverting to the nine region structure department had prior to 2013.
Alternatively, some Victorian government departments have previously operated
through a structure of eight regions or the department could pursue a seven
region structure similar to the one recently adopted by the Department of Justice
and Regulation.
Regardless of the expanded number of regions, each region could then be
further organised with:

place-based and functional sub-branches (e.g. services, provider
performance, and engagement and planning) OR

place-based and sector specific sub-branches (e.g. early years, school,
further education and training) sub-branches.
Model C – retain four administrative regions but shift the department’s primary
system interface to seventeen smaller local areas
This option incorporates seventeen areas within the four existing regions,
consistent with a range of human services delivery and relationship functions
including disability services, public housing and youth justice. These areas
would have a strong focus on the provision of differentiated support for early
childhood services, schools and VET providers/industry and would complement
existing local, place-based arrangements focused on improving learner
outcomes and geographical principal networks.
Given that this structure represents a significant shift from the current and
previous arrangements, the following table outlines the possible distribution of
roles for the four regions and the seventeen areas:
Department of Education and Training
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Possible roles of regional offices
• Undertake service planning and
monitoring
• Deliver supports that are more
efficiently provided at a regional
level e.g. administrative functions
• Act as a communication channel
between local areas and the centre
• Design policy implementation and
feed back to the centre to inform
policy development
• Establish and maintain common
practice for frontline teams
• Monitor quality assurance and
accountability measures
• Manage rapid response teams that
can be deployed to manage
emergencies
• Manage information and data to
support improvement
Possible roles of local areas
• Act as key the department's point of
contact for schools, early childhood
providers, Learn Locals, industry
and training providers
• Provide differentiated expert advice
and support to schools and
providers based on local demand
• Support at risk students and families
to navigate across and beyond the
system
• Ensure connections to communities
and create a sense of collective
responsibility for the children and
young people in a geographical
area
• Provide expert advice to address
complex issues on the ground
• Facilitate local level capability
building
• Facilitate school networks
• Provide feedback to the region on
policy implementation
Consultation questions:
15.
Which structural model - A, B or C - do you believe would deliver against the
design principles outlined on Page 3? Why?
16.
Are there other arrangements that could be considered?
17.
Are there any other comments you would like to make regarding ways to
enhance regional support?
Department of Education and Training
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7. Next steps
The Victorian Government has a clear vision for creating an effective education
system that delivers the best outcomes for all learners, and supports all schools
and services to be centres of excellence. We want to work with you on how to
create the best possible regional supports that will help make this vision of
Victoria as the Education State a reality.
Between April and June 2015, we will be consulting on the range of issues
outlined in this paper. Facilitated discussions will be held with school principals
and the education workforce, school councils, early childhood and higher
education providers, stakeholders, and interested members of the community.
The feedback will be carefully considered to identify the key priorities for action,
and how we can best use our resources to deliver better regional services.
The outcomes of the consultation process will be publicly released later this
year. The Government has identified this work as a key priority and is looking to
make improvements to the current arrangements as soon as possible and to
deliver those improvements in stages if required. It is expected that additional
support will be provided through regions from the beginning of 2016 at the
latest. The opportunities for enhanced roles, expertise and supports will depend
on the priorities identified through the consultation and will be subject to our
normal staffing and change consultation processes.
Department of Education and Training
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