Australian Parent's Council

The NSW Minister for Education, Adrian Piccoli, has announced that NSW schools will not be required to begin the planning phase for the Australian curriculum until 2013, with the curriculum moving to the classroom teaching phase from 2014.

“The NSW Government is delaying the implementation of the Australian curriculum. We are committed to the Australian curriculum but we will not compromise on quality,” said Minister Piccoli.

“Delivering a quality education means more than having the documents ready. Teachers must have time to engage with new syllabuses, to evaluate them and to prepare – there is no point introducing the new curriculum if our teachers are not given the resources necessary to deliver it.

“The NSW Government and the Board of Studies are committed to close consultation with teachers and schools. I have listened to the feedback on the Australian curriculum from teachers and it is clear that more time is needed.

“At the July meeting of MCEECDYA the Commonwealth failed to commit any funds to the professional development of teachers required to implement the Australian curriculum. Given the time required to make the implementation a success we have no alternative but to defer the introduction in the interests of the teachers and students of NSW,” Minister Piccoli said.

The NSW Joint Parent Forum congratulated Minister Piccoli on his announcement.

Executive officer of the NSW Parents Council, Anne Crabb, said "Parents from all three sectors have been concerned that the proposed curriculum is not of an equal standard of our current NSW Board of Studies endorsed curriculum. We have been concerned that there has been a rush to introduce the national curriculum based on a political agenda rather than an educational agenda."

However, Federal Minister for Schools, Peter Garrett said in response that the NSW Government is jeopardising the education of the state's students by walking away from its agreement to substantially implement phase one of the Australian Curriculum by the end of 2013.

“The NSW Education Minister should stop blaming the Commonwealth for his decision to delay a commitment the NSW Government signed up for in December last year,” he said.

“Mr Piccoli needs to explain to the parents of NSW why two and half years is not enough time to implement the curriculum. All other states and territories have agreed to have substantially implemented the first phase by the end of 2013.

“NSW agreed to this timetable last year, and Mr Piccoli reaffirmed that agreement just a few weeks ago at a meeting of all state and territory education ministers.

“There is no justifiable reason for this eleventh hour back down.

"All states and territories have agreed that it is their responsibility to implement the new curriculum, not the Australian Government's.

“Mr Piccoli?s claims that there hasn?t been adequate support are just plain wrong.”