The ANSN (a not for profit organisation) has a 17 year successful history in school reform and improvement. The Network is at the forefront of new thinking about learning, pedagogy, curriculum and school organisation and the use of new technologies. It is unique in that it brings together teachers, schools, universities, business, teacher unions, and government and non-government employers, as a vibrant nationwide research, development and learning community.

It has been doing this work since the Hawke/Keating Government funded it to do so in 1991. It survives as the only national network of its kind in the world. It is recognised as one of the few groups that can bring together diverse stakeholders in a collaborative way to advance ideas, programs and policies with a special focus on schools in disadvantaged communities in all sectors.

The ANSN began as a Hawke/Keating Initiative which included all the employers and teacher unions in the government and non government sectors. It was part of the broad Award Restructuring Agenda that most industries were involved in at the time. Funded by the Commonwealth in partnership with the education systems as a pilot with 90 schools from 1991-93, it had the research and development task of asking the following question?

What is it about the way our work is organised that gets in the way of student learning?

Schools were then supported to trial and evaluate innovative forms of organisation and teaching and learning. This work was then funded in an ongoing way from 1993-96, and over 500 schools were involved. Each year we received upwards of $3m to work with systems, schools and universities on research and development. We were also funded ($1m pa) to conduct 17 summer/winter schools in teacher vacation time over those years and worked with over 9000 teachers and school leaders in universities in each state.

One of the reasons the money stopped was because the unions were involved. We argued (and still do) that if we are to have successful change in schools we need to work with the professional and industrial groups on these issues of reform to make that happen,. We are entirely funded by members who now include systems of education, teacher unions, schools and universities and individuals.