The latest NAPLAN figures tell a familiar story. Overall results in literacy and numeracy are holding steady — but scratch beneath the surface and the divide is hard to ignore. Students from lower socio-economic backgrounds are still far more likely to miss key benchmarks in reading, writing and maths than their wealthier peers.
National data shows the gap hasn’t meaningfully shifted, with children from less advantaged families continuing to trail the national average year after year.
To address this, national education not-for profit, Australian Schools Plus (Schools Plus) has announced a unified front with Westpac and its Foundations, launching a first-of-its-kind national initiative targeting thousands of children from some of the nation’s most disadvantaged communities.
The initiative will see educators from partnering schools receive tools and specialist literacy and numeracy coaching to implement proven pedagogical shifts. This tailored support will be locally relevant and ensure a direct, measurable impact on students’ literacy and numeracy outcomes.
Schools Plus CEO Sherrill Nixon, says the latest 2025 NAPLAN results highlight a crisis that worsens as students get older.
“In a country as fortunate as ours, a child’s circumstances should never dictate their future. Yet, by Year 9, students from disadvantaged backgrounds can fall behind their peers by more than five years,” Nixon said.
“We also know that children in our most remote schools and First Nations communities are more likely to miss literacy and numeracy benchmarks.”
Nixon said literacy and numeracy are “foundational to a life of choice”.
“We are excited about this partnership as it is a shared commitment to ensuring that every child in our country is met with genuine opportunity, regardless of where they’ve come from.”
The partnership will see Schools Plus work closely with education departments to ensure local needs and sector priorities are met, allowing proven strategies to be scaled across similar schools nationwide to support systemic reform.
Westpac CEO Anthony Miller says improving literacy and numeracy is one of the nation’s most pressing challenges and will unlock opportunities for a better future.
“When we invest in education, we’re investing in Australia’s future,” Miller said. “Today, one in three Australian kids is not meeting the benchmarks we’ve set in numeracy and literacy.”
Miller pointed out that this gap almost doubles in some of Australia’s most disadvantaged communities.
“Every child deserves the chance to unlock their potential, no matter where they live or what challenges they face, and that starts with the basics-being able to read and do maths,” he said.
“We’re refining the focus of Westpac Foundation and uniting all our philanthropic and community investment programs to drive a greater impact and scale.”