Congress is VicSRC’s flagship event, an opportunity to learn directly from students about their biggest priorities.
Our 2024 Congress saw 84 secondary school students from 33 public, private, and alternative schools across the state gather to represent their peers and work together to set the agenda for education reform in Victoria. This work creates the annual VicSRC Congress report.
The VicSRC Congress Report is the definitive guide to students’ priorities for education over the past year. It helps us understand what Victorians think and care about when it comes to their education, directly informing VicSRC’s advocacy.
Now, we’re excited to share VicSRC’s 2024 Congress Report, which you can read in full here.
Here are few key takeaways for schools and teachers from the 2024 VicSRC Congress Report.
Students are noticing the effect of the teacher shortage in new ways.
At VicSRC’s 2023 Congress, students made clear that the teacher shortage was a rising issue. This year’s report makes it clear that the trend is continuing, with the teacher shortage impacting everything from subject availability to supporting student-led initiatives.
The 2024 Congress Report found that the teacher shortage is now impacting students' mental health and wellbeing. Student said their wellbeing is suffering because they are often hesitant to ask their teachers for support, despite students explaining that support and advice from teachers is “central” to their overall wellbeing.
Teachers’ time and capacity is a large concern for Victorian students, which they said is a big factor in explaining this trend. Another impact is the reliance on casual relief teachers. Students said they can’t build trust and rapport with their teachers, impacting their education and wellbeing. This finding from Congress was also noted in our recent report on LGBTIQA+ student safety.
“The teacher shortage is adding a considerable amount of pressure to a system already under strain,” shared a 2025 VicSRC Executive Committee member, Oskar.
“Teachers are not just educators they are key mentors for young people, providing the guidance and support that helps shape the rest of their lives.”
Students want to see new approaches to assessments more than ever
Another finding from the 2024 Congress report was that students want new approaches to testing and assessments at school, a recurring theme from previous years.
Students explained that the way exams are currently ran does not accurately demonstrate their learning and achievement. Students shared they would benefit from more diverse opportunities to demonstrate their growth.
Students further explained that there are lots of other skills and aspects of their personal development that they get from school which should be reflected in their results.
Kevin (he/him), a 2024 Congress MC and 2025 VicSRC Executive Committee member, says that "assessments aren’t working.”
“High-stakes, timed assessments in a short period of time builds stress, ignores a holistic view of the students, and has an incredible impact on the mental health”.
Despite pre-existing initiatives, students' learning requirements are not being met.
2024 Congress showed that although new structures are in place to support students’ learning and inclusion, they’re sometimes not being implemented due to barriers like overworked teachers.
Students mentioned initiatives like Individual Learning Plans (ILPs), explaining that not all accommodations are being met despite the time and effort taken to create their plans.
Students shared that they sometimes received discipline instead of support. This was common with absences, leading some students and families to move schools in search for better support. However, students also shared that moving schools can present further challenges like causing stress and less classroom time.
“The new Congress report makes it clear that reform is heading in the right direction, but much more still needs to be done” shared Naughton-Gravette.
You can read our 2024 Congress Report in its entirety with our recommendations here.
You can also read more about the report and students’ priorities, in an article published in the Herald Sun here.
Please note, Partner Schools received early access to the report. You can find more information on Partner Schools here.
