Victoria has reached an agreement with the federal government on the Better Schools Plan that will see the state's schools receive an extra $12.2 billion of funding over the next six years.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has released her plan for school funding reform as part of the federal government's National Plan for School Improvement. Here we summarise the key details of the government's proposed new funding scheme.

You have more than your fair share of decisions to make when choosing a school for your child, from its sector, gender and ethos, to some of the more practical considerations like location.

Every now and then, questions arise about the right age for children to start school. Some worry about the best age for primary school entry, others about the maturity level required before children can (or should) progress to secondary school.

The federal government's annual report detailing initiatives to close the gap between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous population has found that a number of the goals listed in the 2011 report have seen improvement.

The preliminary results from the 2011 NAPLAN tests are looking promising, with more than 90 per cent of students who took part in the literacy and numeracy testing meeting the minimum national standard.

There are also scholarships provided from time to time by various outside organisations, which are open to students from both government and non-government schools.

Information on the International Baccalaureate (IB)