This is the third in a series of discussion papers commissioned by the AEU Victoria to examine what Victoria’s public school system needs to change. This paper draws on surveys of over 8,000 school staff and 1,661 parents and carers to examine the state of partnerships between schools, families and communities — and the results paint a picture of shared goodwill and significant structural strain sitting alongside each other.
The good news is that both school staff and parents and carers broadly want to work together. Most parents feel schools communicate reasonably well with them; most school staff feel their professional opinions are valued by the students and families they work with directly. The evidence suggests that the day-to-day relational quality between teachers, students and families is considerably stronger than the macro narrative about declining respect for the profession might suggest. When asked about the people in front of them rather than the profession in the abstract, school staff are notably more positive.
But the structural picture is sobering. Fewer than half of principals feel they have the resources needed for effective family and community partnerships. Student behaviour and complexity of need are the most commonly cited reasons school staff are considering leaving the profession — and these pressures fall most heavily on schools in low-SES and regional communities, deepening the inequity between advantaged and disadvantaged schools. Over 90% of staff reported managing challenging student behaviour in the past month alone. Secondary schools register higher concern across almost every indicator.
For the hub’s focus on Years 7 to 9, this paper is directly relevant. It documents in Victorian data what the research literature predicts: that the transition into secondary school — with its larger scale, more fragmented relationships, and higher complexity of student need — is precisely the point at which the relational fabric between students, families and schools is most at risk of fraying. The paper’s central argument is that productive partnerships don’t happen by goodwill alone. They require dedicated resourcing, systemic commitment, and a genuine reimagining of schools as community hubs rather than standalone institutions. Without that, schools are being asked to manage increasing complexity with decreasing support — and students pay the price.