Parent Voice

We give ACT parents a voice on public education, and create parent-driven change in our schools.

Raising issues at a school level

We can assist parents and school parent associations to raise and resolve issues at the school level. We recommend you first read our information sheet about raising concerns constructively.  To request our assistance please contact us.

Consulting with parents

Council is a truly grass-roots organisation and is guided by the consensus of our members. Each member parent association elects a delegate or two to Council who gather parents' views and concerns and bring them to Council meetings. Here, issues are discussed and possible solutions considered with other delegates, which may involve raising the concern with government.

In our representation we are guided by a formalised set of policies which have been agreed to at Council meetings over the years.

There are many recent examples where we have successfully brought about change in response to delegate concerns.

In addition, we have internal Council working groups focusing on making improvements and sharing expertise on specific topics.

Currently, we are asking for parent feedback about NAPLAN, schools supensions, and school infrastructure (buildings and grounds).

Input to Government

We represent parents to government through:

  • regular meetings with the Education Minister and senior officials from the Education Directorate to raise issues and have input into emerging policies
  • being part of many decision-making groups, government advisory panels and committees - find out more
  • making formal submissions to official inquiries and government bodies as well as the ACT's annual budget

Regular commentary to the media

We regularly talk with media agencies to provide parent viewpoints on current educational issues.  We also issue regular media releases.

Forums with ACT Government representatives

From time to time we organise question and answer forums with ACT government representatives on current issues.