That ICPA (Aust) advocates to the Australian Government for all pre-compulsory students enrolled in an approved distance education program to be eligible for the Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Distance Education Allowance.
Explanation Western Australia State Council:
Families geographically isolated from educational services are increasingly enrolling children in approved distance education kindergarten and early childhood programs to support foundational literacy, numeracy, social and emotional development prior to compulsory schooling.
While these students participate in recognised educational programs, families currently receive no access to the AIC Distance Education Allowance during this critical early learning period. This creates inequity for isolated families who are required to establish and maintain a home learning environment, often including technology, classroom resources, educational materials and internet connectivity, entirely at their own expense.
Early childhood education is widely recognised as critical to long-term educational outcomes. Geographically isolated students should not be disadvantaged simply because they access this education through distance delivery.
Providing access to the AIC Distance Education Allowance for pre-compulsory students would:
• Support equitable access to early childhood education;
• Assist families with the substantial costs associated with establishing a home classroom;
• Improve preparedness for compulsory schooling;
• Support improved educational outcomes for geographically isolated students.
Explanation Goldfields Eyre Branch (WA):
Under the current guidelines, part time distance education students are ineligible for the Distance Education (DE) component of the AIC allowance, which means families enrolled in the 4-year-old programme must bear the costs of maintaining and setting up the classroom in that first year of schooling. This first year is often extremely costly for families.
The AIC DE allowance is designed to assist families to set up and maintain the schoolroom. The schoolroom must be set up and maintained the day the child begins their education. Full-time or part time, the child needs a schoolroom.
(we would still also like this motion included as it is very relevant to our branch. It is likely that in WA this will change as the 4 year old programme is proposed to become fulltime in 2027)
