Our more complex world requires transformational change in education on a national scale. We have come together because:

• We know we must broaden the definition of learning success
• Learning leads to life-long opportunities and should be a right for all
• There needs to be a more integrated and connected system of learning stages and sectors
• We must listen deeply to young people as the producers of their learning - connected to community and culture
• Excellence and equity can co-exist and lead to a range of trajectories
• A new approach is necessary to unlock the change we need and Australia is ready for us to do something about it

Now is the time - to be brave and bold. To enable learnings from failures and to drive collaborative change as we build relationships across systems and settings.

This statement marks our shared commitment to doing the work required to create equitable transformation in education so that it better meets the current needs and values of our young people, communities and nation.

We carry learnings built and tested across many varied settings. We have the knowledge and lessons needed to shape a new learning system that better supports young people to thrive in further learning, community, work and life.

In the 21st Century, it is possible to recognise achievement in far more sophisticated ways than exams, tests and scores alone. Point-in-time assessments are not the only way to reflect the breadth and depth of what young people know and can do.

The focus on ATAR is contributing to the current challenges our system is facing. There is significant power in recognising more and there is growing momentum for this change.

What a young person has as their documentation or proof of learning when they finish school is important because it determines a young person’s sense of self and identity and can enable health and wellbeing. It also leads to greater options, access points and the ability to apply for further paths in learning and work.

How we recognise learning success is powerful because it shapes both young people’s learning experiences and their pathways to further learning and work after school.

We are more than one person, one school, one place.

We represent emerging practice from across Australia, including schools, students, First Nations communities, academics, employers, higher education and training, admissions centres and jurisdictions. We have each been developing responses to recognise more of what young people know and can do - inside and outside of the classroom.

This work is pushing beyond the confines and measures of learning success. As a network of early movers, we are doing the work to ensure that every young person’s learning can be recognised.

We are creating a learning system that sees the full picture of every young person’s contributions, attributes, skills and interests - with their languages, cultures and physical and emotional wellbeing respected and supported.

• We will make sure every young person has proof of their learning success beyond a single mark or score.
• We will ensure the whole person is valued through their schooling.
• We will value what matters to different communities in a learning system that functions fairly for all young people, in every state and territory.
• We will work together with First Nations young people and communities as providers and protectors of language, culture, history and stories as we co-create a new learning system.
• We will ensure that what we develop generates trust from employers, recruiters, selectors and young people themselves.

And by doing these things, we will re-generate an education and learning system that is fit for purpose - designed for young people’s future and based on new partnerships and power shifts. 

Join us. We are more for young people.

Everyone of us has the power to recognise more of what young people know and can do and who they are.

The We Are More event was organised by Learning Creates Australia, the South Australian Department of Education, the South Australia Certificate of Education (SACE) Board, National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition and Melbourne Assessment (the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education).

A synthesis from We Are More led to the following insights and implications which guide our Collective Action Plan.

• New measures of learning success are already here and working
• Wellbeing and learning are connected and key to unlocking learner engagement and success
• Co-agency between students and educators is the future
• The voice of employers is critical to unlock an education system that prepares young people for modern work
• there is an economic case for change that we can't afford to ignore

Over the next three years, a group of early movers, are coming together to examine our practice so we can learn, build and create together.

Together we will:

• Collect information, data and insights
• Examine emerging issues and assumptions to understand the impact and effects of new approaches
• Generate practical outputs that can accelerate broader uptake and influence policy
• Amplify the benefits of broader learning recognition in our spheres of influence

If you're doing work in your school, community or organisation to more broadly recognise young people's skills, capabilities and attributes - we'd love to work together. Email us below to find out more or to organise a briefing.