The Department monitors the attendance of all students who remain enrolled at government schools, and responds when these students fail to attend. For young people that have been granted an exemption from attending school, the Department monitors apprentices, trainees and those completing the equivalent of Year 10 of secondary education at TAFE. However, the Department does not monitor young people post Year 10 in full-time work or vocational education programs until they turn 17 years of age. In accordance with the law, it is a parent’s responsibility to make sure that a child is attending school or involved in an approved alternate activity until they turn 17 years of age.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #226 - released 1 November 2012

During the course of the audit we were impressed by the dedication and efforts of teachers in NSW public schools, particularly when dealing with the needs of students with learning difficulties. Although NSW schools perform well nationally and internationally, NSW has a high concentration of poor outcomes in some schools and some regions. Each year a group of between 5 and 15 per cent of children are at risk of not reaching the minimum level of achievement needed to progress at school. In this group, indigenous students are over represented.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #183 - released 22 October 2008

The Department of Education and Training including TAFE NSW is faced with the loss of large numbers of retiring teachers and their associated skills and the need to replace this loss in an increasingly competitive labour environment. While the overall impact of the ageing workforce is likely to be gradual, there is still a risk of shortages. This will particularly apply to specialist secondary school teachers and TAFE teachers in certain skill sets or at specific locations.

Parliamentary reference - Report number #174 - released 13 February 2008