"That ICPA QLD lobbies the Minister for Education to significantly increase the budget for The Rural and Remote Education Access Program (RREAP).”
The Rural and Remote Education Access Program (RREAP) provides funding to eligible rural and remote state schools and their communities to improve the educational outcomes and opportunities for students who are disadvantaged because of their geographical isolation so that students' learning outcomes match those of other students.
At the Mt Isa School of The Air (like all Schools of Distance Education) we receive the highest rate per geographically isolated child applicable to Very Remote Australia and this equates to less than $200 per child. All of the Individual School funds we received in 2024 were completely exhausted in funding just a portion of the high costs of sending our isolated children in Grades 4 and above to an annual camp.
Our Cluster Funds were used to cover some of the costs of professional development during our annual Home Tutor Seminar. Our schools P&C would like to support RREAP projects outlined in the Department of Education Ideas for Rural and Remote Education Access Program (https://ppr.qed.qld.gov.au/pp/rural-and-remote-education-access-program-rreap-procedure) however, the current annual fixed budget for 2024–25 of $5,679,754 does not go far enough to support our geographically isolated children in the program.
