I vividly remember the day my career advisor shared an opportunity with a small group of us: an application to join the ‘Senior Secondary Pathways Student Advisory Panel (VicSRC)’. The title alone caught my attention, but it was the purpose behind it that truly resonated with me – students having a direct voice in shaping the future of senior secondary schooling. For the first time, I felt like my ideas, questions, and suggestions about education could be heard by those in po

Imogen (she/they) is a year 10 student who is a panellist for the Senior Secondary Pathways Reform Student Advisory Panel with VicSRC. She is currently undertaking a VET Certificate III in Community Services as their chosen alternative pathway. I first engaged with VicSRC in October of last year, and I got to see first-hand the positive impact student voices make. As a Year 10 student studying an alternative pathway like VET, this pathway has opened new doors for me, and it i

Our 2024 Executive Committee Co-Chair Billy (he/him) shares his thoughts on the ‘Shared Vision, Equal Pathways’ Report. In 2023,  VicSRC made a submission and spoke  at a hearing for the Inquiry into the Perceptions and Status of Vocational Education (VET) in Australia. Our submission specifically spoke about VET Delivered to Secondary Students (VDSS) and included five key focus areas around the available information and perceptions of VET. VicSRC's submission identified the

The Budget will take place tomorrow, Thuesday 7th May, and our CEO, Julia, will be locked in a room with all of the important documents and a bunch of important people on the hunt for news and figures that will impact Victorian students. But what is the budget? And what do VicSRC and the students of Victoria want to see? Like every year, VicSRC is there to understand its impact on student voice and education policy for the upcoming year. We've spoken to two of our 2023-2024 E

Following a successful student voice exploration workshop with Thornbury Primary School, our Partnerships and Engagement Coordinator, Winnie (she/her), spoke with 2023 VicSRC Ambassadors and 2024 Executive Committee member Darcy (they/them), to talk all things student voice.  Lessons from Social Education Victoria (SEV)’s  Laura Newman  show that when student voice is promoted in the classroom, teachers can sometimes feel hesitant to be fully onboard: “student voice, and the

At the start of July, Executive Committee member Grace (she/her), was invited to Canberra to participate in a Ministerial Reference Group Meeting about the National Schools Reform Agreement. After a fantastic day, she’s shared her first experience at Parliament House! From the moment I set foot in Canberra, my heart was racing with excitement. This was my first time at Parliament House in the nation's capital, and I was eager to be a part of something big and meaningful for t

With a significant dollar figure attached to education related investments, we asked our Student Executive Advisory Committee Co-Chair, Grace (she/her), to weigh in on the student perspective following the Victorian 2023-24 Budget announcement. The Victorian Government just released the State Budget for 2023-2024, and there's so much to discuss! They're allocating a lot of funding to the education sector, which is great news for us students. As exciting as this is, it's essen

You guessed it – it’s budget season! With the impending release of the Victorian State Budget on Tuesday, May 23, our Student Executive Advisory Committee member, Billy (he/him), shared some thoughts on what students want to see from the announcement. As a Year 10 student living and working in regional Victoria, I am hopeful the upcoming state Budget includes measures which positively affects the lives of students and young people. As an activist for students and young people

Student Executive Advisory Committee member, Wesley (he/him), shares his thoughts on this week’s budget announcement. No one can predict the future, but perhaps the closest thing we have to a fortune teller is the Department of Treasury.  This week, Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers set the course for Australia’s next twelve months by releasing the federal budget – an extensive and thorough plan for our country’s finances over the next year. The report is highly conceptual, and

Earlier this year, VicSRC worked to provide a submission to the Parliamentary inquiry into the perceptions and status of Vocational Education and Training (VET). Executive Committee member, Anjali (she/her), wrote about her experience in giving the student perspective on the submission. In April, VicSRC presented at a Parliamentary Inquiry into the perceptions and status of Vocational Education and Training (VET). We were asked to share our expertise on questions like  ‘What

Student Executive Committee Member, Wesley (he/him), reflects on his experience attending the National Summit on Intergenerational Fairness in Melbourne today. “Intergenerational equity describes the idea that there should be economic and social fairness between generations”– Think Forward  Is the world a fair place?  With the current crisis in climate change, housing affordability, and growing health concerns, society has come to recognise how certain issues disproportionate