Queensland Smarter Schools National Partnerships Fast Facts
Through the three Smarter Schools National Partnerships (SSNP) the Australian Government is providing significant additional funding to the states and territories to implement systemic and sustainable education reform that will improve literacy and numeracy outcomes for all Australian students, strengthen the capacity and resilience of disadvantaged school communities and drive quality and continuous improvement in teaching. 
The National Partnerships are now achieving significant reform at the national, territory and local school community levels. State and territory SSNP Annual Reports and Progress Reports available from this site provide an overview of some innovative strategies being progressed.
The Queensland Government is also contributing through new funding or the redirection of existing resources. The amounts detailed below are the Australian Government’s contribution only.
Indicative National Partnership Funding	
QLD	Literacy and 
Numeracy
(2008-09 to 2011-12)	Low SES
(2008-09 to 2014-15)	Improving                                 Teacher Quality
(2008-09 to 2012-13)	TOTAL	
Facilitation Funding	$45.6m	$231.7m	$18.6m	$295.9m	
Reward Funding*	$97.0m	$0m	$69.1m	$166.1m	
Total Funding	$142.6m	$231.8m	$87.6m	$462.0m	
* Figures are subject to the achievement of agreed performance targets as assessed by the COAG Reform Council. The Reward Funding amounts should be considered as an “up to amount” or “maximum” funding. 
Totals may not add due to rounding.
				   
Participation	
QLD	Schools                                                          in NP	Students*
in NP
(FTE)	As a % of
all students
(QLD)	Indigenous   
students in NP	As a % of Indigenous    students (QLD)	
Literacy and Numeracy 	245	108,367	15.0%	8,422	18.1%	
Low SES School Communities	135	44,674	6.2%	8,695	18.7%	
Both NPs	34	12,174	1.7%	4,588	9.9%	
Total	414	165,214	22.9%	21,705	46.6%	
* Based on DEEWR data of SSNP participating schools as at 29/07/2011 using 2009 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) student enrolments.
* Totals may not add due to rounding.

Queensland Smarter Schools National Partnerships Highlights

Smarter Schools National Partnership for Literacy and Numeracy
A number of Summer Schools have been established to provide additional support to Queensland students who are falling behind in literacy and/or numeracy. Over 2086 students across Queensland attended the January 2010 Summer Schools. Teachers are also able to access additional professional development to improve their literacy and numeracy teaching skills through a Vacation Professional Development initiative. 
Across a number of partnership schools Literacy and numeracy coaches have been engaged to work directly with teachers and school teams to improve student performance in literacy and numeracy. The coaches work closely with teachers to build teaching skills and leadership through support and professional development. Coaches have been well accepted in partnership schools.

Smarter Schools National Partnership for Low Socio-economic Status (SES) School Communities
‘Wellbeing Centres’ have been established at schools to foster greater wellbeing of students and their families. These Centres ensure that students who have complex needs in areas such as mental health, housing, relationships, illness or substance abuse, have access to services coordinated through their school.
A focus on leadership has seen the role of school principals expanded in participating schools. These principals now have greater accountability, incentive payments, flexibility in managing their staffing mix, priority access to teacher transfer processes and the ability to recruit high performing teachers.  Some 64 new principals commenced in these roles in National Partnership schools in 2010.
Turnaround Teams is one of many initiatives being supported through the Low SES School Communities National Partnership to assist schools in disadvantaged areas improve student outcomes. Turnaround Teams provide targeted specialist advice to school leaders, teachers, other staff, students and parents to ensure whole school, innovative and flexible approaches to address issues such as literacy and numeracy, student wellbeing and data analysis. Each team includes experienced teachers with expertise in areas such as curriculum planning and delivery, literacy and numeracy teaching, student wellbeing and data analysis.
Teaching and Learning audits is a leading and innovative program that is driving improvements in school performance across the state for both primary and secondary schools. The Queensland Department of Education and Training has appointed a small number of highly successful school principals to work offline for 2010 to undertake audits of all state schools. Using an audit instrument developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research schools are assessed against eight domains including analysis and discussion of data, tailored classroom learning and evidenced–based teaching.  An audit report is produced for each school, which includes recommendations for further improvements in school performance.
Extended Schools Models are being implemented in a number of Queensland Low SES School Communities National Partnership schools to improve family and community engagement in schooling, as well as build partnerships with external agencies.  These schools work flexibly with other agencies to deliver a range of services to students and their parents, resulting in greater community engagement in educational achievement. 

Smarter Schools National Partnership for Improving Teacher Quality
Five new University Teaching Schools will be established to improve the quality of practical teacher training for student teachers. These will provide high quality field studies experiences for pre-service teachers, and build a clinical approach to university teacher education programs.

The Remote Area Teacher Education Program (RATEP), which aims to provide new and additional opportunities for Indigenous students to participate in the workforce by gaining qualifications for work in the education and early childhood education and care sectors, has expanded with the first centre active in Innisfail.