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The 10th Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) releases The Adelaide Declaration on National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-first Century, which states, “schooling provides a foundation for young Australians’ intellectual, physical, social, moral, spiritual and aesthetic development.”
Schooling provides students with fully developed talents and capacities upon leaving school through 8 key learning areas:
(The Adelaide Declaration on National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-first Century, April 1999)
In November of the same year, the ISB releases the Services document, featuring its core services (funded predominantly by member school subscriptions) and non-core services (funded predominantly by external sources)
ISB Council endorse 5 key areas to ‘set new directions’ for the organisation and ensure its responsiveness to the needs of its member schools.
To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the organisation, the Council focuses on:
(South Australian Independent Schools Board Incorporated Strategic Plan, November 1996)
Pages 2 and 5 of the 1996 Strategic Plan, used by the ISB to ensure the Association is proactive in meeting the challenges facing the Independent school sector then, now, and in the future
In June 1995, Mr Garry Le Duff is appointed as Executive Director, a role he holds for 17 years until February 2013.
He identifies several challenges when he takes over the role, such as:
For Garry, in his many years of outstanding leadership, he is most proud of raising the advocacy role in the Independent sector.
In addition, one of the Association’s greatest strengths is its neutrality in representation “… the staff of the Association can represent both the common and the different views (of schools) to government and to the other school sectors so that they become more aware of that diversity of views within the sector.”
The booklet entitled Member Schools of the South Australian Independent Schools Board identifies that the ISB has more than 70 primary, secondary and R-12 non-Catholic, non-government schools as members, with a total enrolment of approximately 24,000 students.
This publication continues to promote independence within each school, advocating for parents to exercise their choice in education.
A few examples of the member schools’ crests found in the “Member Schools of the South Australian Independent Schools Board” booklet
Following recommendations of the Gilding Report, the new South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) is established. The SACE is first introduced in 1992 for Year 11 students, and in 1993, it is extended to Year 12 students as part of reforms to senior secondary education. These changes aim to provide a consistent and comprehensive framework for assessing and certifying secondary education.
ISB staff facilitate support for teachers to navigate new curricula and complex new internal assessment mechanisms.
The Education of Young Adolescents in South Australian Government Schools: Report of the Junior Secondary Review by Vivian Eyers, Phil Cormack and Robyn Barratt is released in the same year.
The Board, through its staff, provides services in the following major areas:
An excerpt from A Brief History of the South Australian Independent Schools Board published by ISB Director, Mr RR Leane, August 1992
Due to staff increase and the need for additional rooms to accommodate school membership growth, the ISB looks for new and larger premises. The former Kensington Park TAFE site at 11-13 King William Road, Kent Town is considered but is later abandoned as the Unley Council agrees to the extension of the 301 Unley Road property.
Extensions are complete by December at a cost lower than the budget, with approximately 60% of the capital for this project provided by the success of the Year 12 Program.
Plans for an extension are prepared by Mr John Bray of Walter Brooke and Associates. The cost of the extension is estimated to be $323,000
Due to the increasing complexities being faced by schools and the need for targeted support, the ISB creates new staff roles, including Director, Education Officer, Administrative Officer, Industrial Officer, Year 12 Coordinator, Special Education Coordinator and Advisors, Australian Second Language Learning Program Advisor, Occupational Health and Safety Advisor, Personal Assistant to the Director and Support Staff of the Board.
The scope of these roles demonstrates the depth of the ISB’s involvement in its schools after only 16 years. In particular, the Education Officer role represents the interests of member schools in matters of curriculum and professional development arising from external education departments and other agencies.
The ISB organisational diagram, with each responsibility area reporting to the Executive and Council through the Director (Function and Purposes of the Independent Schools Board, August 1991)
With the development of the new SACE and the 1988 review, the ISB adopts a new Purpose; to:
(A Brief History of the South Australian Independent Schools Board, Leane 1992)
An excerpt from A Brief History of the South Australian Independent Schools Board published by ISB Director, Mr RR Leane, August 1992
South Australian Universities agree to accept students who improve their Matriculation scores by repeating a few subjects, creating a demand for a school that offers part-time enrolment options.
The ISB meets this need for 8 years through its innovative Year 12 Program, which is open to students from all sectors. The program is very successful, improving tertiary entrance scores from its first year of implementation.