Inequality is one of the most urgent challenges facing Australian schools. For decades, governments have invested billions of dollars in schools with the promise every child should have the opportunity to succeed.

But clear divides remain between advantaged and disadvantaged students. For example, in 2024, the average attendance rate of students in Australia’s most disadvantaged schools was almost 10 percentage points lower than for students in the most advantaged, up from a 6.6 percentage point gap in 2018.

Barriers to learning often begin well before a child enters a classroom.

Poverty, housing insecurity, health issues and limited access to early learning all shape students’ readiness and capacity to engage in education.

“Full-service schools” are increasingly being talked about as a way of overcoming these barriers, including in latest school funding agreement between the federal and state governments.

What are full-service schools? And what can we learn from their implementation internationally? Our new report explains.

Media and policy debates tend to focus on what is taught in classrooms, the quality of teaching and student behaviour. These are........

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