WHAT WE DO

 APFACTS provides a voice for parents and carers with children in non-government schools by:

• contributing to the shaping of educational policy and practice through strong representation on a wide range of boards, education forums and committees;
• identifying and acting upon emerging initiatives on behalf of its members and working with local P&F's on pressing local issues;
• being a strong conduit by informing parents of issues in the sector and informing decision-makers of parents views;
• lobbying and raising the profile of issues with stakeholders, political and government representatives;
• conducting media campaigns and information seminars for parents;
• promoting and supporting parental involvement and engagement in education;
• advocating for fairness and equity and improvement in educational opportunities for all children attending non-government schools;
• respecting and representing the rights of parents to choose a non-government school education for their child without unreasonable financial disadvantage
• working to achieve equity in the distribution of public funds for education.
  
   

Representation

APFACTS provides representation on the following Boards and Committees:

• The Non-government Schools Education Council (NGSEC) The Council provides an opportunity for the non-government school sector to have a role in formulating advice to government on school education policy. This is a statutory appointment, the President of APFACTS is a member of the Executive of NGSEC. This enables APFACTS direct access to the Minister for Education and Training. 

• The Australian Parents Council (APC) The APC is the national federation of organisations representing parents of students attending non-government schools. APFACTS has been a strong partner and contributor for many years. APFACTS also actively participates in an APC a sub-committee on Governance issues and Cybersafety. APFACTS together with the APC has worked hard in the last 12 months to influence governments on the issues of students with disabilities to achieve more equitable support for these students and their parents and carers. APFACTS has also contributed and will continue to voice parents views through the APC to submissions to the Review of School Funding. 

• The Board of Senior Secondary Studies (BSSS), the primary body responsible for curriculum and assessment of students in years 11 and 12. APFACTS has been a member of this body since its inception. APFACTS was a key member of the Curriculum Renewal Advisory Committee when the ACT Government undertook a renewal of the ACT K-10 curriculum, and furthermore was asked to be a member of the Curriculum Renewal Taskforce for over three years. 

• The ACT Block Grant Authority is the organisation that provides the large bulk of capital funding for non-government schools. An APFACTS members is a parent representative. 

• The Association of Independent Schools of the ACT (AIS) represents all seventeen independent schools in the ACT. APFACTS attends these meetings alongside member schools. 

• ACT Australian Early Childhood Development Index Coordinating Committee as part of the Early Childhood Development Working Group 

• Various Committees of the ACT Department of Education including:

  • The ACT Curriculum Advisory Committee
  • The School Transport Liaison Committee
  • ACT School Sport Management Committee
  • The Animal Ethics Committee
  • Student Wellbeing Committee
  • Pathways Planning action group and Taskforce

Government Relations

• APFACTS holds regular meetings with local members of the ACT Legislative Assembly and key politicians.
  All sides of government need to understand the concerns of the growing number of parents in the non-government sector in the ACT. With numbers of students nearing 40% in non-government schools an improved and equitable landscape for all students in ACT schools including those in non-government schools needs to be achieved.
• Recent action by the Federal Government, such as the publication of the MySchool website data, has brought parental interests to the forefront of the education debate. It is crucial that we keep this momentum to ensure that the needs and interests of parents are given priority.
• The Australian Curriculum brings sweeping changes to schools throughout the country, with the ACT taking a leading role in this important initiative, APFACTS is involved in consultations to ensure that our schools’ and parents interests are upheld.
• APFACTS is affiliated with the Australian Parents Council (APC), and through this organisation is able to influence decision-making at the national level. Through our representation on the APC and its affiliates we were able to ensure the Gonski review of School Funding was able to take account of the position of parents from non-government schools. APFACTS together with the APC has worked hard to influence governments on the issues of students with disabilities. We have strived to achieve more equitable support for students with disabilities and parents of those students, choosing to attend or attending a non-government school.

 APFACTS affiliation is open to all non-government school Parent & Friends (P&F) organisations, Parents and Community School Councils and other school bodies with parental representation in the ACT.

Interested in becoming a member of APFACTS?