Letter from the Rudolf Steiner Schools of Australia association received 1st September 2009
Dear Friends
As you are all aware, the Australian National Curriculum Framework is currently being developed by the Federal Government as part of the Education Revolution of the Rudd Government. Compliance with this National Curriculum is mandatory for all independent schools as a condition of federal funding (Schools Assistance Act, 2008).
What does this mean for Steiner Schools?
Steiner schools, like all independent schools, depend on government funding for sustainability. Of this the largest part comes from the Federal Government. Continuance of funding relies on legal compliance. Registration of independent schools also depends on compliance.
All independent schools were required to sign their agreement to this legislative requirement in January 2009. At this stage, the only detail we had as to what might be contained in the National Curriculum documents (English, History, Science and Mathematics) was contained in Framing papers of broad general principles.
The RSSA and its representatives engaged fully with the consultative processes being offered by the National Curriculum Board - attending forums, writing submissions and providing detailed feedback to the framing papers. Our goal was, and continues to be, to have input into the rationale, form and content of the national documents at every stage.
The National Curriculum detailed content documents for English, Mathematics, Science and History are now being written and will be ready in draft form by the end of 2009. There will be opportunities for further consultation and feedback for the first three months of 2010 and it is anticipated that the final curriculum documents will be ready by mid 2010 and then distributed around all Australian schools ready for implementation in 2011.
However compliance with this National Curriculum, whatever its eventual form, is seen as one of the greatest challenges Steiner education has faced in this country. The essential question for the RSSA has been how to negotiate our way through these demands in such a way that we can remain true to our educational philosophy, our curriculum and most importantly the development of the children enrolled in our schools…. Please click here to view the rest of this letter from the RSSA