The term ‘residualisation’ means that government schools are left with the task of primarily serving the needs of the educationally most vulnerable and difficult populations.
Fiction
- Non-government schools are the main cause in the ‘residualisation’ of government schools because of their selective enrolment policies which reject the most difficult and demanding students.
Fact
- The great majority of non-government schools are not selective and do not sort students on ‘success criteria’.
- The majority of NGSs have a mission to serve the needs of families, irrespective of the learning difficulties that their children may be presenting.
- The majority of government schools are located in suburbs where self-sorting mechanisms (eg land values, access to services, government policy, demographics, etc.) tend to narrow the socio-economic band represented in the school irrespective of any impact of those choosing to use non-government schools.
- One of the most significant factors in contributing to the ‘residualisation’ of some government schools is the government policy of providing a number of selective schools that sort on ‘success criteria’. These include selective schools, centres of excellence, senior high schools and opportunity classes.
- The lack of appropriate and equitable government funding for the education of the most vulnerable populations in NGSs is the single most significant sorting factor in the under-representation of vulnerable populations in NGSs.
- The great majority of NGSs are not high-fee schools and are therefore affordable and accessible to the majority of the population, including those families with the neediest students.