Queensland's mainstream schooling system spans the state, independent and Catholic sectors, and caters to the vast majority of children and young people - together forming a system that affords students the best chance of finding success and making strong and sustained transitions to further education, training or employment.
For a small number of young Queenslanders, success may not be found in a mainstream setting. For these young people, alternative settings in the state and non-state sectors compliment the mainstream system by addressing their complex health, safety and wellbeing needs in a tailored environment.
Successful school systems are those that combine excellence and equity in their education priorities (PDF, 4.8MB), ensuring all children have opportunities for a good quality education.
Promoting high-quality alternative settings
Our
Quality pathways for all young people; a commitment to alternative education (PDF, 2.3MB) lays out the shared commitment of the state and non-state schooling sectors to provide high-quality education to young people in alternative schools. This commitment is imperative because, while we know mainstream school is the best place for most young people, there is a small number of students who cannot thrive in mainstream schools and require an alternative learning setting.
Meeting and exceeding quality standards
All state and non-state alternative settings are required to uphold the mandatory requirements outlined in legislation. In striving for excellence in educational delivery, alternative settings invest and prioritise a wide range of practices to support students to succeed.
In addition to these mandatory requirements, quality pathways for all: a commitment to alternative education identifies 13 standards for high quality practice in alternative settings, which can be considered under 4 quality areas:
Explore the quality principles to consider what these evidence-based quality standards look like in schools, and how all educational settings can implement supporting practices to deliver the very best outcomes for all students.
Download the
Summary of High Quality Practices (PDF, 158KB).