The chance to publish more complete HSC result lists, retention of the ATAR rating, the controversial NAPLAN aptitude tests and the gap that leaves most of Australia’s public schools underfunded while most private schools are over-funded. These are just a few of the issues that attracted debate at Thursday’s Schools Summit hosted by the Herald.

It was the first held since the Minns government started introducing reforms to public education, and the Minister for Education and Early Learning, Prue Car, didn’t miss the opportunity to wave Labor’s flag.

For a decade, blame was laid at the feet of Coalition governments, but Car said those days were receding with recent reforms, including pay rises for teachers, permanent contracts to almost 17,000 temporary teachers and lifting permanent staff numbers from 60 to 80 per cent and the easing of teacher administrative tasks – enabling the Minns government to better fulfil its duty of ensuring every child received an education of the highest quality.

Prue Car speaks at the Sydney Morning Herald Schools Summit.Credit: Rhett Wyman

While the reforms are an admirable start, the bigger problem facing Car is where is the money coming from? More than a decade after the Gonski review identified several highly concerning trends in the educational outcomes of Australian students, almost all NSW public schools remain funded below the report’s recommendations. Car admitted as much and could offer little more than hope of major improvement.

“The question for the federal government is whether the 2.5 percentage-point increase in funding it is offering states actually delivers on the vision outlined by Gonski,” she said.

In a similar vein, Car announced a welcome new plan to deliver potential and gifted education programs to all public schools – only about half offer it presently – but acknowledged its implementation would depend on tackling the state’s teacher shortage.

For most teachers and students, life goes on, and the focus is on learning, co-operation, socialisation and building skills in readiness for the challenges of years 11 and 12 and the transition to tertiary and technical further education.

But there are challenges. Some were on show at the Schools Summit, where there were a series of insightful presentations and robust panel discussions among educators, politicians, experts from state, independent and Catholic sectors and representatives from universities, TAFE, the public service, unions and students.