australianeducator_winter2022

A fresh start, a fairer future

Hope for a better future

After nine long years of public education neglect, we are looking forward to a new era for our public schools.

The AEU congratulates prime minister Anthony Albanese and the new Labor government on their election win. Given Labor’s long-held commitment to public education, we have high expectations that the new government will work diligently with us to address the systemic inequality that escalated under the previous government.

In his victory speech, the prime minister shared two principles that will underwrite his government. He said no one will be left behind “because we should always look after the disadvantaged and the vulnerable”. Equally, no one “will be held back, because we should always support aspiration and opportunity”.

It is by investing in public education, that Albanese’s vision will be become a reality for every child in Australia. And the Labor Party’s promise of fee-free TAFE and its Early Years strategy will revitalise the early childhood education and TAFE sectors.

THE FIRST 100 DAYS

On National Public Education Day, 26 May, the AEU held a summit to set the scene for the government’s first 100 days. For the first time in more than a decade, the prime minister of Australia acknowledged Public Education Day by providing a public statement for our summit.

This provides hope for the future, hope that we can work together to realise Labor’s election commitments and hope for comprehensive and respectful consultation on future public education policy and school funding settings.

Australian Educator (ISSN: 0728-8387) is published for the Australian Education Union by Hardie Grant Media. The magazine is circulated to members of the AEU nationally.

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But hope is not enough: we need action now. We expect the new government to engage with the AEU to set out the timetable for achieving a minimum of 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) within the next round of bilateral agreements with states and territories.

We expect to resolve a range of professional issues that must be addressed: planning for the workforce needs of the future, addressing current workforce shortages, secure work, professional autonomy and attraction and retention.

All of these things, and more, must be on the agenda. The new Labor government has a real opportunity to change the way that education policy is developed and implemented by ensuring it does so in partnership with teachers and other educators.

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South Melbourne Victoria 3205

Tel: (03) 9693 1800

Fax: (03) 9693 1805

Email: aeu@aeufederal.org.au facebook.com/AEUfederal @AEUfederal

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We support the Labor Party’s election commitment to “build a better future”. It is a future that must have a strong, fully funded public education system at its heart.

A key priority for the AEU will be the next National School Reform Agreement (NSRA), due to be renewed at the end of 2023. The agreement, a joint deal between the federal government and all states and territories, delivers needs-based funding in return for certain reforms.

The funding is calculated using the Schooling Resource Standard, which includes a base level of funding plus loadings for students with higher needs.

But only one per cent of public schools receive 100 per cent of their SRS calculation, while all private schools receive the full amount and, in some cases, more.

It is critical that teachers are genuinely consulted about the agreement because it includes reforms that can escalate workloads. Teachers’ knowledge and experience of what really counts is vital.

NO TURNING BACK

The past few years have been extremely tough for members who’ve worked hard during very difficult times.

Many are exhausted from the often combined effects of COVID-19, staff shortages, class and school closures, and spending time in recuperation and isolation, or caring for families and friends.

But the election has brought a renewed sense of optimism, with the Australian people delivering a vote of confidence in preschools, public schools and TAFE, and the fundamental principle of equity in education.

The AEU looks forward to working with the Albanese government to help set the agenda for a positive, inclusive education policy to help right the wrongs resulting from the Coalition government’s decade of neglect.

And as a union, we will fight for the resources and policy settings to ensure that a high-quality education is delivered for all, regardless of their background or circumstances.

We support the Labor Party’s election commitment to “build a better future”. It is a future that must have a strong, fully funded public education system at its heart.

Know your union

With a federal office and branches or associated bodies in every state and territory, the AEU represents more than 198,000 members industrially and professionally.

AEU FEDERAL

120 Clarendon St, Southbank, VIC, 3006

Phone: +61 3 9693 1800

Email: aeu@aeufederal.org.au

Web: aeufederal.org.au

AEU ACT BRANCH

Branch president

Angela Burroughs

Branch secretary

Patrick Judge

40 Brisbane Avenue

Barton 2600

Phone: 02 6272 7900

Email: aeuact@aeuact.org.au

Web: aeuact.org.au

AEU SA BRANCH

Branch president

Andrew Gohl

Branch secretary

Leah York

163 Greenhill Road

Parkside 5063

Phone: 08 8172 6300

Email: aeusa@aeusa.asn.au

Web: aeusa.asn.au

AEU VIC BRANCH

Branch president

Meredith Peace

Branch secretary

Erin Aullich

126 Trenerry Crescent

Abbotsford 3067

Phone: 03 9417 2822

Email: melbourne@aeuvic.asn.au

Web: aeuvic.asn.au

NEW SOUTH WALES TEACHERS FEDERATION

President

Angelo Gavrielatos

Advertising manager

Kerri Spillane

Tel: (03) 8520 6444

Email: kerrispillane@ hardiegrant.com

Printer Ovato

42 Boorea Street Lidcombe NSW 2141

Audited circulation: 119, 252 (1 October 2020 to 30 September 2021)

Copyright rests with the writers, the AEU and Hardie Grant Media. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior permission of the copyright holders. The opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily the official policy of the AEU.

General secretary

Maxine Sharkey

23-33 Mary Street

Surry Hills 2010

Phone: 02 9217 2100

Email: mail@nswtf.org.au

Web: nswtf.org.au

Federal president

Correna Haythorpe

Federal secretary

Kevin Bates

AEU NT BRANCH

Branch president

Michelle Ayres

Branch secretary

Adam Lampe

3/8 Totem Road

Coconut Grove 0811

Phone: 08 8948 5399

Email: admin@aeunt.org.au

Web: aeunt.org.au

AEU TAS BRANCH

Branch president

David Genford

Branch state manager

Brian Wightman

1/32 Patrick Street

Hobart 7000

Phone: 03 6234 9500

Email: support@aeutas.org.au

Web: aeutas.org.au

QUEENSLAND TEACHERS UNION

President

Cresta Richardson

General secretary

Kate Ruttiman

21 Graham Street

Milton 4064

Phone: 07 3512 9000

Email: qtu@qtu.asn.au

Web: qtu.asn.au

STATE SCHOOL

TEACHERS UNION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

President

Pat Byrne

General secretary

Mary Franklyn

1 West Street West Perth 6005

Phone: 08 9210 6000

Email: contact@sstuwa.org.au

Web: sstuwa.org.au

Correna Haythorpe AEU federal president

News in brief

Supporting equity in ECEC

A new report has found that children in remote and outer regional areas are “significantly” more likely to experience developmental vulnerability before they start school.

More than 63,000 children were assessed as developmentally vulnerable when they started school in 2021, according to the report, Supporting All Children to Thrive –the importance of equity in early childhood education, released by independent early childhood lobby group The Front Project.

Analysing Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) data, the report found that children in the most disadvantaged socioeconomic areas were twice as likely to be developmentally vulnerable (33.2 per cent compared to 14.9 per cent) as children in the most advantaged socioeconomic areas. Vulnerability in very remote areas soars, with nearly one in two children vulnerable compared to one in five in major cities.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have high levels of vulnerability (42.3 per cent are vulnerable compared to 20.6 percent for non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children) and a greater percentage of children from a language background other than English experience

Learning disaster resilience

33.2% of

in the

to be developmentally vulnerable Compared with 14.9% of children in the most advantaged socioeconomic areas

developmental vulnerability (25.3 per cent) than children from an English-only language background (20.8 per cent).

The Front Project CEO Jane Hunt says too many children are being held back from their full potential, not because of lack of ability, but lack of opportunity and support.

“While some important steps forward have been taken in early childhood

education and care (ECEC) policy over the last 12 months, more work is needed to ensure Australia’s ECEC system is high quality, accessible and affordable for all families, no matter their background or where they live,” she says.

The AEDC data classifies children as ‘on track’, ‘at risk’ or ‘vulnerable’, depending on how they score in five areas of development: physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills (school-based) and communication skills and general knowledge.

Children who are experiencing developmental vulnerability demonstrate a much lower than average ability in at least one area.

By Grade 3, developmentally vulnerable children are a year behind their peers on NAPLAN (the national literacy and numeracy assessment that students undertake in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9). By Grade 5 they are, on average, two years behind their peers on NAPLAN, the report says. Evidence shows that these students are, in turn, less likely to finish school, and are more likely to experience unemployment and ill-health throughout their lives.

The Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience has produced a teachers handbook explaining how to help young people who have been affected by natural disasters.

The handbook outlines the principles of disaster resilience education, which aim to build skills and confidence and enable young people to make a positive contribution to the safety and resilience of themselves and others, as well to places and the natural environment.

The institute says the guidance provided by the handbook is informed by more than a decade of research.

tinyurl.com/4hwks2c5

children

most disadvantaged socioeconomic areas are likely

More PD for better ICT learning

Improving the quality of information and communication technology (ICT) learning in schools depends on adequate in-service professional development for teachers, an OECD report says.

The report, What makes students’ access to digital learning more equitable?, reviews data from the annual Teaching and Learning International Survey of teachers. The data shows that disadvantaged students have less access to digital learning opportunities both at home and at school. Many disadvantaged schools also have inadequate digital technology, which affects both the quality of teaching and learning. “If we expect teachers to effectively make use of the digital resources they have, they need to be properly trained in how to use ICT in the classroom, both pre-service and in-service,” the report says.

Peace is union business

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has called for a new “social contract” covering jobs, rights, wages, equality and inclusion as a step towards lasting peace.

The ITUC says more than 60 conflicts are underway around the world and in recent years an estimated 25 million people have been forced to flee their countries, while tens of millions more have been displaced internally.

“At a time when global tensions, exacerbated by Putin’s war, are high, trade unions – as the largest democratic and representative force on earth – are at the forefront of defending democracy, ensuring rights, avoiding armed conflicts and overcoming the devastating impacts of war on people’s lives,” the ITUC says. It says a new security framework, based on United Nations principles, is necessary to avoid the atrocity of war.

Playing for results

New research has found that school sport improves academic performance. University of Sydney researchers reviewed 115 studies worldwide and found that one to two hours of school sport per week boosted academic results. Improvements were strongest in science and maths.

The review, Sport Participation and Academic Performance in Children and Adolescents, says that skills learned in sport, such as problem solving, are more readily applied in maths and science subjects.

“The framework must address the ideological, social and economic causes of conflicts and hold to account those who are responsible for initiating and sustaining wars and for committing war crimes,” the ITUC says.

“Where people are deprived of the economic security of decent work, where workers’ rights and other human rights are trampled, where billions of people have no option but to work in the informal economy, where lies and propaganda replace truth, the hope and promise of peace in the world is far from within reach,” the ITUC says.

Australian unions’ proud history in opposing war, supporting national liberation and promoting international worker solidarity is detailed in a fact sheet produced by the Australia Institute’s Carmichael Centre.

“Peace is trade union business,” the fact sheet says. “The history of the Australian labour movement’s anti-war and antioppression campaigns makes clear that a union movement united in solidarity against fear, fascism and hatred begins with showing solidarity in the workplace.” tinyurl.com/yjfj5r4e

NAIDOC

9

26 August

David Edwards

Alison Pennington

Pasi Sahlberg

Adam Rorris

IN SHORT

Marking a new beginning with hope and action

The AEU’s public education summit, held in the week after the federal election, was a critically important first step towards reclaiming the agenda for public schools, early childhood and TAFE.

The election result has provided a sense of hope and opportunity for the future of public education, says AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe but “we can’t sit back and wait for things to happen”.

The summit marks the beginning of the AEU’s work with the new federal government, she says.

“While the political landscape may have changed, the issues affecting public education remain the same.

“We do not have two years of preschool for children before school, there is deep inequality in school funding, we have major workforce issues, and the privatisation agenda and funding cuts run deep for TAFE.”

The summit was held on Public Education Day, which celebrates the outstanding commitment of teachers and support staff in preschools, schools and TAFE.

Haythorpe shared a message from prime minister Anthony Albanese that emphasised the importance of public education and acknowledged the “dedication and hard work” of teachers and support staff.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus also acknowledged the significance of the

day, telling the summit she was a “proud product of public education” and that she would always fight to defend it.

McManus says while Labor’s election policies – such as improving women’s equality at work, the implementation of Kate Jenkins’ Respect@Work report, paid domestic violence leave, and “a big sweep” of policies about secure jobs – are welcome, various crises facing Australia need urgent attention by the new government. These include the rising cost of living, low wage growth, housing and climate change, and reforms are needed in health and education funding, she says.

“None of us can be complacent, we can’t sit back and think the Labor government is just going to fix it. Because they won’t. We’re going to have to campaign, we’re going to have to fight for it,” McManus says.

A “bigger discussion” is also required about wages and the need to rebalance the bargaining power of working people, she says.

KEEP YOUR PROMISES

Pasi Sahlberg, professor of education at Southern Cross University, told the summit that the new government needed to examine the state of education before

// The AEU held the National Public Education Summit on 28 May to mark the beginning of its work with the new government.

// The summit was an important first step towards reclaiming the agenda for public education.

// New prime minister Anthony Albanese has acknowledged public education as “one of the bedrocks of an equal and successful society” in a letter to the AEU.

Public

COVID-19 as well as the after-effects of the pandemic.

He says the worsening problems with public school funding, inequality and the wellbeing of teachers and students were exacerbated by the pandemic.

He outlined three recommendations for the new education minister.

Sahlberg says Australia tends to hold an inquiry or make a declaration and then fail to make use of it. In education, these forgotten documents include the Gonski review from 2011, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, made in 1990, and the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration in 2019.

He recommends revisiting each of the documents – which focus on excellence and equity and fulfilling children’s rights to a quality education – and implementing them.

His second recommendation is to take steps to reverse the growing inequality in education.

Public schools must be funded according to the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) and we need to accept the positive association between equity and quality education, Sahlberg says.

He also called for an end to the use of public funds for private schools. “It breaks my heart that Australia continues to be the only country in the world that is spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on schools that don’t really need it. Why do we do that?”

Finally, Sahlberg recommends that the new government work to

PM Albanese endorses public education’s role

The new prime minister has thrown his weight behind Australia’s public education system, teachers and support staff, recognising their vital role in combatting disadvantage and building “a better future”.

Anthony Albanese has acknowledged public education as “one of the bedrocks of an equal and successful society”.

In a statement for Public Education Day, he said: “a healthy, respected and valued public education system is one of the best ways we have of ensuring that no one is held back, and no one is left behind”.

“The last few years have been tough for public education – that we’ve come through the pandemic is in part a testament to the dedication and hard work of teachers and support staff all the way from kindergarten through to TAFEs,” he said.

The prime minister said a strong public education system would provide the foundation for a better future for Australia.

understand the teaching profession.

“We need to improve working conditions in public schools, make sure teachers have time to collaborate and pay them what they are worth.”

100% SRS IS A MINIMUM

Senior economist Adam Rorris, who has completed comprehensive research projects into school funding, says the Albanese government must embrace the principle that the SRS is the minimum level of funding essential for public schools. It is not an aspirational standard.

Rorris says the new four-year funding agreement between the Commonwealth government and the states and territories, which is due to begin in 2024, must include full funding for public schools – 100 per cent of the SRS.

He also called for a partnership between the federal, state and territory governments to provide buildings and facilities in public schools.

“Public schools need infrastructure investment that is on par with the average investment in the private school sector,” Rorris says.

TRANSFORM WITH TAFE

Restoring funding to TAFE to re-establish it as an important part of Australia’s public education system is another compelling priority for the new government, according to Alison Pennington, senior economist at the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work.

“If we don’t move quickly to rebuild the TAFE system, the $92.5 billion dollars in annual economic benefits that flow from it every year are at risk,” she told the summit.

Taking a world view

Pennington says TAFE must be central to rebuilding industry policy. There should be a more proactive approach to workforce training and planning, strong education for jobs pathways and more comprehensive quality apprentice training and qualifications, rather than shortterm training.

“We should prepare ourselves for highquality vocational, hands-on education that combines high theory and high education with the capacity to make and do stuff” to transform post-secondary education, she says.

“There have been countless reviews, but we should look at how we can better integrate both universities and TAFE systems into the future.”

START EARLY

Universal access to early childhood education delivered by a well-supported and properly funded workforce underpins the success of students in schools and TAFEs, says Georgie Dent from independent not-for-profit organisation The Parenthood.

She told the summit that it is time for a meaningful conversation about the structural reform needed in the early childhood sector.

“There’s a lot of evidence that when children start school behind, they stay behind. Early learning changes the trajectory of a child’s life: their education, employment and health outcomes,” she says.

The Parenthood is also calling for improved workforce planning and appropriate pay and conditions to help deal with severe staff shortages in the sector.

Australia has been missing in action internationally on education matters, but the Albanese government could turn that around.

Education ministers and teacher representatives from 35 countries meet annually to share ideas and work on issues at the International Summit of the Teaching Profession, but Australia’s education minister has never attended.

“That tells us a lot about the last nine years of the Coalition government,” says Education International (EI) president and former AEU federal secretary Susan Hopgood. “They would never listen and learn from others.”

EI general secretary David Edwards (pictured above) urged the new Labor government to work with education systems and union leaders of other countries because “it’s a strength to collaborate, not a weakness”.

He says there’s an opportunity to participate in the United Nations’ Transforming Education Summit in September, “the first time in history that world leaders will come together to make commitments to quality public education”.

Australia could take a role in shaping a different world that supports aspiration and opportunity, says Edwards.

The Albanese government should restore Australia’s commitment to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals by meeting global foreign assistance targets; commit to working in partnership with education unions internationally; agree to an ambitious plan of action against climate change; and set an example of what respectful and honest education looks like, including the voice of Indigenous peoples, he says.

PHOTOGRAPHY IMAGE UNITED (TONY MOTT)

If I were education minister…

Haythorpe

Q You’ve been a fierce advocate for public education for a long time, what’s your agenda for change, particularly for schools, over the first quarter?

A “It’s actually very easy because there’s a union called the AEU with 198,000 members who work in preschools, schools and TAFES, and they’ve got a manifesto for public education.

Given that I know that manifesto was built in consultation and with the democratic participation of the members of the union, I’m going to adopt it.

We’re going to stop a number of things: NAPLAN, gone. Online Formative Assessment Initiative, gone. Negative changes to the Australian curriculum, gone. Teach for Australia, gone. Funding for school chaplains, gone. The list goes on.

Education activists and experts put on ministerial hats and engaged in a hypothetical to present their education priorities for the new federal Labor government.

The outgoing Morrison government oversaw a decade of funding neglect and failed support for public education in preschools, schools and TAFE. But, as former prime minister Paul Keating famously said, “When the government changes, the country changes”.

AEU federal secretary Kevin Bates says education support staff, teachers and education leaders have never faced

greater demands on their time, or their personal and professional energy.

“Most student needs are met, but at a significant personal cost. And while expectations are high for the new government, patience is running out,” he says.

Bates asked four education experts and activists to imagine they had been appointed education minister and to outline their plan for public education.

Then we’re going to establish a national education summit focusing on public education, particularly equity in education. It’s going to profile Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education, working with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders of our community. It will also include the teaching profession, via the AEU, and the many academics and researchers with knowledge and experience in school funding, inequality, and the impact of compound disadvantage for students.

From that summit , we’ll set up a genuine partnership with the AEU so we can work together and develop the policy and funding settings that we know are critically important for public education, the teaching profession and the children of Australia.”

Correna

AEU FEDERAL PRESIDENT

PHOTOGRAPHY IMAGE UNITED (TONY MOTT)

Q You’re no stranger to working within and with governments, what would you change immediately to unleash the full potential of Australia’s public education system?

A “I would think about what is not needed, that’s a much harder thing to do. What are the things schools should stop doing because they have nothing to do with their core mission?

In many of our schools and communities, people are so occupied with organising other things that they need help to do what they’re actually supposed to do.

I would also establish an international advisory council. We’d have the best experts from here and around the world to advise the government and the education minister on critical projects.

I was on an advisory council for the Prime Minister of Scotland and the education minister at the time said he was very grateful for the insights from his advisors because they told him the things he didn’t necessarily want to hear.

This is exactly what an independent international council can do. An independent council would mean this government could be much better prepared to do the work that should be done.”

David Edwards

Q You bring years of leadership on the international stage to your job, what changes would you prioritise in the Australian education system?

A “What would be interesting and important to do at the beginning of the administration is to really trust the professionals to lead and to do their job, and remove obstacles that get in the way of them doing that. Then we need to ensure they don’t burn out by giving them the supports they need.

This isn’t rocket science, it’s something that is documented and proven.

This new administration should, for the first time in 12 years, take part in the conversations we’re having around the world. And the prime minister should make a statement about what Australia has learned through the pandemic, what has to change, and how we transform that.

Yes, funding. Yes, infrastructure. And people. Make a commitment to the teachers and the education workers of Australia and put the resources behind it. Stop the revolving door.

Teaching shouldn’t be something you do on your way to some other profession. Education work is a real profession and needs to be treated that way. And a global platform for a national conversation that can elevate that.”

Q How will your government restore TAFE to its rightful place as the premier provider of vocational education in this country?

A “Under current financial arrangements, TAFEs are working on a shoestring, only employing enough teachers to deliver what they absolutely must.

We would guarantee that a minimum of 70 per cent of all VET funding goes to TAFE. Since 30 per cent of that funding is federal, the rest goes to state and territory governments so we must ensure they do their fair share as well.

Part of that funding should be used to employ teachers and support staff in permanent positions.

Contestable funding must go. We need to allocate an annual budget suitable to operate and improve the infrastructure of TAFEs, because many campuses around the country are in very old buildings and use outdated technology.

We have a real opportunity to ensure we guarantee the right funding, that we guarantee the way apprentices and trainees, and all of our students, are looked after, and that all our teachers and staff can continue their good work.”

Pasi Sahlberg

PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, SOUTHERN CROSS UNIVERSITY

EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL GENERAL SECRETARY

Michelle Purdy

FEDERAL TAFE PRESIDENT

Yes, funding. Yes, infrastructure. And people. Make a commitment … and put the resources behind it. Stop the revolving door.

David

Edwards / Education International

Heartfelt optimism for lasting change

There are early indications that the change of government in Canberra could be transformative for First Nations peoples.

Anthony Albanese began his term as Australia’s 31st prime minister pledging to do things differently.

Claiming victory on election night while standing in front of the Australian, Aboriginal, and Torres Strait Islands flags, Mr Albanese committed to the Uluru Statement from the Heart “in full”.

“We can answer its patient, gracious call for a voice enshrined in our constitution. Because all of us ought to be proud that amongst our great multicultural society we count the oldest living continuous culture in the world.”

National Aboriginal and Torres

Strait Islander Principals Association (NATSIPA) president Dyonne Anderson is optimistic that the new government can bring about reform and influence change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

She told the National Public Education Summit that NATSIPA is excited to work on solutions with the Albanese government.

Anderson, who is principal of Cabbage Tree Island Public School in NSW, says NATSIPA has identified seven key priorities for the government to work on with First Nations educators.

Pledge to listen and learn

Opening the summit, AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe shared a quote from this year’s AEU federal conference statement:

“The AEU acknowledges elders and custodians of our diverse nations and countries. They are the knowledge holders and educators of our communities. We pay respect to the law, sky and waters of these nations and ensure our future generations continue to look after country.

“We are committed to ensuring the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are at the forefront of all decision making, and all schools and workplaces are culturally safe environments.”

Haythorpe told the AEU’s Yalukit Yulendj committee and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members at the summit of the AEU’s commitment to listen and learn from them. “It is by your leadership that we can be brave, and we can make change.”

Dyonne Anderson

These include:

• Providing more public preschools

• Inserting respect, valuing and inclusion of language, culture and identity as a foundation in the curriculum

• Using initial teacher education, standards and registration to establish a culturally proficient teaching workforce

• Creating a national strategy to prioritise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers in schools

• Introducing a major overhaul of processes to eliminate racism, to be driven by First Nations peoples and backed by the education department

• Delivering more mental health resources including school counsellors and First Nations approaches

• Offering better and more appropriate support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander out of home care students.

Anderson says that fairness and self-determination must be the new government’s priority.

“It is time to have a more diverse and inclusive Australia. It is time to be courageous in our recognition for what is right,” she says.

“History has not been kind to our First Nations peoples. And our education system has been complicit in telling a story where much is left unsaid.

“We have the chance to change that,” Anderson says.

History has not been kind to our First Nations peoples. And our education system has been complicit in telling a story where much is left unsaid. We have the chance to change that.

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Principals Association

Preparing for consent

The introduction of mandatory consent education in schools next year needs appropriate resourcing to ensure its success.

BY CHRISTINE LONG

In early 2021 former Sydney private school student Chanel Contos invited her peers to share their stories of sexual assault when they were at school. The invitation created a deluge of responses. Within 24 hours, 200 Instagram followers had shared their stories, or experiences of someone close to them. At the time of writing, more than 45,000 people have signed a petition calling for consent education to be included in sex education in Australian schools to younger students. A further 6756 people have shared their testimonies via Contos's website, teachusconsent.com.

AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe says the Contos-led campaign highlighted a previously hidden issue and the critical role that schools can play in preventing sexual harassment and violence in the community.

“Making homes, schools, and workplaces safer for women and girls

// Consent education is set to be mandated in all Australian schools next year.

// A national approach to address current gaps is critical.

// Teachers are well-placed to deliver effective consent education but they need to be properly resourced.

should start with educating students about consent early,” says Haythorpe.

The student push for reform led state and federal education ministers to commit to mandating age-appropriate consent education from 2023.

While consent is not a new addition to the curriculum, there is scope to improve the way it is communicated to students.

A national approach that addresses some of the current gaps is critical, says Maree Crabbe, director of the violence prevention initiative It’s Time We Talked.

“One of the issues is that the nature, the quality, and the quantity of education around relationships and sexuality that Australian children and young people have received varies enormously across different states and territories, within different regions, even within any given school. To be effective, consent education needs to reflect the reality of students’ lives,” she says.

“Young people have been crying out, for a long time, for relationships and sexuality education that better equips them for their lived experiences, that addresses the influences that shape them and relates to the real world.”

Crabbe says teachers need to be supported to deliver consent education. “There needs to be curriculum standards that very clearly outline what should be addressed and curriculum materials to support teachers to deliver that content in age-appropriate, sequential ways.

Dr Melissa Kang says consent education begins with building a child's emotional intelligence and self-awareness from an early age.

“We know that teachers can deliver this content really well when they are properly trained and supported.”

Welcome to Consent, a book published in 2021, seeks to address some of the gaps in consent education for young people and develops a pathway for beginning conversations at an earlier age.

The book, co-authored by adolescent health experts Dr Melissa Kang and Yumi Stynes, introduces the concept of consent to young children by comparing it to borrowing or loaning a T-shirt. It also tackles topics such as sexting, horniness and consent, and power, gender, and consent.

The co-authors have written a nuanced guide to help students read body language and understand “mutual enthusiasm”, fortify their boundaries, and give themselves permission to be uncertain about whether they want to give consent.

Kang says it begins with building emotional intelligence and the micro-skills of self-awareness, so children are attuned to their bodies and their feelings from an early age.

“If we can do that from the youngest of ages when they first learn to talk and label things, we’d be giving our children a much better head start when it comes to consent,” she says.

Equipping children with those microskills helps build a feeling of agency, confidence in communication, and

self-awareness, all of which are vital in navigating consent, Kang says. Contos advocates consent education that is holistic and includes concepts such as slut-shaming, toxic masculinity, sexual coercion, enthusiastic consent, and queer sex education.

Both Crabbe and Kang believe that consent education needs to consider the age at which students are engaging with pornography and how that influences their ideas about sex.

An Our Watch study – Pornography, young people and preventing violence against women background paper, 2020 – found that, on average, young men view pornography three years before their first sexual experience, and for young women it’s two years.

SUPPORTING CONTENT DELIVERY

Crabbe says the delivery method for consent education also needs to be carefully considered.

She points to international evidence that consent content delivered by a teacher with quality pedagogy is preferrable to a lecture by an external presenter because students are given an opportunity to interact and discuss their thoughts and concerns in the classroom.

Kang believes effective consent education relies on supplementing knowledge and information in practical ways, which can include engaging students in role-playing exercises, writing scripts, or making short videos.

“Getting them to put what they learn into practice offers the best chance of changing behaviour,” she says.

Haythorpe says effective delivery of consent education relies on teachers being well-supported and well-resourced.

“That’s going to require the Commonwealth to step up and take a leadership role in terms of supporting the profession to deliver consent education.”

In March, Labor committed to investing $77 million on teacher training and professional development in consent education.

“We need to make sure that consent education is fully resourced, and that support is provided for ongoing professional development for teachers across Australia. This way teachers will be equipped to talk about sexual consent and respectful relationships in an age-appropriate way with their students and also support students who may be experiencing this type of violence to seek help,” Haythorpe says.

Resourcing needs to consider, too, that teachers may also be affected by domestic or sexual violence, she says.

In May, the Fair Work Commission gave its provisional backing to an Australian Council of Trade Unions proposal calling for annual entitlements of 10 days’ paid family and domestic violence leave for workers covered by the award system.

“Departments have a fundamental responsibility to ensure that appropriate support mechanisms are in place in terms of family and domestic violence leave and counselling provisions to assist any member who is experiencing this,” Haythorpe says.

“There also needs to be processes for dealing with any complaints by parents and, as consent education is embedded in the curriculum, resources to support its implementation in classrooms.”

Christine Long is a freelance writer.

Maree Crabbe

It's Time We Talked

Young people have been crying out, for a long time, for relationships and sexuality education that better equips them for their lived experiences ...

Sharing a love of language

Aboriginal educator Jannette McCormack has created innovative career and language pathways for students in Alice Springs and surrounds.

BY LEANNE TOLRA

The challenge and reward of teaching a reluctant student was realised for Aboriginal educator Jannette McCormack when one of her more difficult charges chose to become an educator.

“He used to play around a lot and be silly in class, but I’ve got him interested now and he’s reflecting on himself. He’s in Year 11 and he’s evolving and learning, but he’s good at language and his mother is an interpreter so I think he will do well.

“I really wanted to see a young man step up and become a teacher; our young men have been through so much,” she says.

McCormack, who is the 2022 Arthur Hamilton award winner, has spent more than 30 years teaching First Nations students in Alice Springs public schools. The award was presented at the AEU Federal Conference by AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe.

“Jannette McCormack is a long-serving AEU member who is committed to ensuring that all Aboriginal and Torres

IN SHORT

award recognises his contribution by celebrating the successes of educators who have followed in his footsteps.

// The award celebrates educators who demonstrate a commitment to the provision of high quality education to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

// McCormack was recognised for developing an innovative language pathway for Central Australian Aboriginal secondary students.

Strait Islander students have the right to high-quality education throughout their lives,” says Haythorpe.

Arthur Hamilton was a proud Palawa man, educator and union activist who advocated for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to be given access to high-quality public education. The annual

McCormack’s most recent contribution is the development of an innovative language pathway for Central Australian Aboriginal secondary students with linguist Dr David Moore. She heads the Arrernte Secondary Project at Alice Springs Language Centre, teaching students the local Arrernte language and other local dialects and supporting them to apply for language-based work after completing Year 12.

The program has helped students to become more engaged with school, increased attendance rates and offered diverse opportunities for her students to incorporate their own language in further study and employment.

Language Centre principal Susan Moore says McCormack supports Arrernte students to contribute to and participant in their own and broader society. Her work is giving students the confidence to enter into language workplaces after schools.

// Jannette McCormack is the winner of the 2022 Arthur Hamilton Award.

Jannette McCormack Alice Springs Language Centre, NT

CHANGING LIVES

“Jannette has spent her career committed to ensuring that all Aboriginal students have access to a publicly funded education system. She communicates with Aboriginal families to give extra support for improving student attendance at schools,” Moore says.

Moore met McCormack when they attended a South Australian boarding school and says the friendship sparked her own interest in Aboriginal languages.

“She’s a very strong Aboriginal language speaker and she knows the significance and pride of knowing who you are, and that it is a crucial part of identity and culture. She knows how important it is in young people’s lives as they try to establish their identity.

“Jannette has always valued education and knows that it can be life-changing for young people. We work with a lot of students who come from generational poverty or families that have never been in the workforce.

“The language centre organises a lot of workplace visits, to places where strong First Nations people are working and using their language and culture skills to help other people. And we find that is quite inspiring for young people.

“Everyone recognises that Jannette is a great role model for First Nation students, but she realises that is important for them to have other good role models, too.”

Moore says McCormack has helped local language speaking students to feel proud of their identity, language and culture by supporting them to achieve the Certificate II and III in Applied Language in Arrernte or their own language and to complete Stage 2 Australian Languages.

“In 2020 she taught 10 students who completed the Second Language Learner Pathway in Stage 2. This was the first time this pathway had been taught in Australian Languages and Jannette helped to develop the resources to allow the course to be taught.”

McCormack is a proud Arrernte woman who grew up in Alice Springs and says she knew from her first years in college that she wanted to be a teacher.

“I grew up on a cattle station called Hamilton Downs, west of Alice Springs; I lived there with my parents in the 1960s and 70s. I went to Alice Springs and stayed at a Lutheran mission when I was in primary school,” says McCormack.

“My family used to stay in a trailer park and for holidays we used to go back to the bush and the station.”

NATURAL LANGUAGE LEARNERS

“I did my first stint with students as a teacher’s assistant and I found that, when the students came and started speaking language, it was helpful that I could speak with them about things. I guess it all just came from there, and that’s what made me want to be a teacher,” McCormack says.

McCormack began her career at Yiparinya School in Alice Springs and says she is proud of the way that pathways have opened up for Aboriginal students.

“Over the years, I’ve found Aboriginal students are natural language learners because they grow up learning to speak both their mother tongue and English.

And multicultural students in our primary schools, who grow up in a household with more than one language, pick up Arrernte quickly. Sometimes it’s harder for students who only speak English to learn Arrernte, but we are proud when they try,” she says.

McCormack has supported three school-based trainees to become Arrernte educators and they now work in Alice Springs schools. She has also supported a Pertame student (Southern Arrernte) to begin working as a Pertame apprentice at Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education. Her student received a merit A+ in Australian Language in 2020.

She is a mother of three and a grandmother of six and says her Elders have inspired her while English language teachers have mentored her and encouraged her to pursue the Arrernte language pathway she has followed.

“Jannette has also supported the development of the Arrernte bush garden next to the Language Centre,” says Moore. “This garden allows students to learn about bush foods and medicines in real life and to be able to see, taste, smell and care for the plants.

“Students and their families often have to travel great distances to see and learn about some of the endangered plants. When they are in the garden they can reflect on their culture while they are learning Arrernte literacy by reading the names of the plants. It’s also a wonderful chance for them to gain cultural knowledge from Elders when they visit the garden,” Moore says.

I’ve found Aboriginal students are natural language learners because they grow up learning to speak both their mother tongue and English.

Arthur Hamilton Award

(Left) Arthur Hamilton Award winner Jannette McCormack has spent more than 30 years teaching FIrst Nations students in Alice Springs public schools.

Leanne Tolra is a freelance writer and Australian Educator sub-editor.

A champion of change

On Susan Hopgood’s first day on the job as a newly qualified maths teacher, she was handed a union membership form. She signed up immediately.

It was her first step in a 48-year career as a teacher and union activist, committed to public education and to fighting for fair and decent working conditions and equality for women and girls.

Hopgood retired in March after 17 years as the AEU’s first female federal secretary. She also stepped down as ACTU vice-president. But she will continue to represent teachers on the world stage as president of Education International, the worldwide federation of teacher unions.

AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe sat down to talk with Susan about her long career.

Q What motivated you to become actively involved in the union?

A When I started teaching [at Preston East High School in Melbourne], the union was fighting to improve working conditions that affected me enormously. Class sizes and teaching hours were two issues.

When you have class size of 43 and you’ve just started teaching (I was 22), you’re really motivated to improve working conditions. You can see the effect it has on your ability to work with every student in your classroom, and also the stress on you as a teacher.

My school had a very active campaign – I think I went on my first strike in the first week or so.

There was also an active sub-branch that included some very experienced teachers and unionists who brought us all along with them, which was a really important lesson for me. When I went to my next school, it seemed like a natural thing to put my hand up to be one of the union reps because of what I’d learned.

From there, I was involved with union members beyond my school, attending regional meetings and meeting union reps from around the state.

There were women who were very purposeful in encouraging other women to take the next step and so I stood for state council.

When I was elected, it broadened my knowledge about union issues. That was actually a big step.

I later joined the union as a full-time women’s officer. At that time, unions had collectively decided to employ women’s officers to address the direct and indirect discrimination against women in teaching and in the union. The role was also focused on girls’ education.

Q Looking over your career, what are the significant issues for you?

A The ones that stand out are the ones that changed women’s working lives. We’re still not there, but there were some massive wins in those early days.

The win for superannuation for all women was one example. I’ve told this story over and over and people just can’t believe it. When I started teaching, I was not married. I joined the superannuation scheme like everybody else. But when I married, I received a polite letter from the superannuation fund saying, “You’re a married woman and you are no longer eligible to be a member of the superannuation scheme and here’s your money back.” Not even with interest, can you believe that?

There was an inferior scheme at the time called the Married Women’s Fund, which everyone said not to bother with.

The direct result of that is that many women of my era who are now retiring from teaching don’t have enough superannuation to give them financial security.

Susan Hopgood

Former AEU federal secretary

When I came onto the state council, it was predominantly male. And that’s changed enormously. I’m very proud of my small part in that.

While women did eventually get access to superannuation there are still so many disadvantages. Women take leave and have gaps in their careers, often due to caring responsibilities and their superannuation suffers.

So, the gains made in superannuation for women are very, very important but we’ve still got a way to go.

The changes around part-time employment for women were another important issue. At one time, women who worked part-time could only be casual employees, not permanent.

We also made great inroads in changing the career structure from one based on seniority – which disadvantaged women – to one based on merit. While there are still problems with merit-based processes, the change did remove some of the structural discrimination.

The moves to begin to address discrimination and sexual harassment in the 1980s were significant, as were women’s achievements within the union. When I came onto the state council, it was predominantly male. And that’s changed enormously. I’m very proud of my small part in that.

Q You smashed the ceiling by becoming the AEU’s first female federal secretary. What’s your advice to women looking to step up?

A My advice is not necessarily to women but to systems: to departments and the union. You’ve got to address the challenges for women and look at why they are not represented. I don’t accept that it’s about women not having the confidence to do it (I think people have stopped saying that).

It’s not that women don’t want to put their hands up. We live in a society where

women are still the primary carers – for families, their children and, increasingly, for older relatives. Unless you confront those challenges, then it’s more difficult for women to step into leadership positions.

The pandemic is a good example of this. We know that in so many areas, women bore the brunt more. In teaching, for example, and the move to remote learning, teachers were at home like everybody else, including their children and their families. And their workloads and family burdens increased. So, I think it is about the systems addressing the issues to enable more women to take leadership positions.

Q How have you managed the challenge of balancing work and family?

A I have a very supportive family. My partner Craig was a teacher, he understands what we’re fighting for. He’s been an incredible support. We have two children and Craig played an important part in providing the family support that allowed me to travel my path.

But yes, balancing work and family has been a big issue, particularly when

I started traveling. I’ve always found it difficult to be away from the family. I have missed out on some of my kids’ milestones because I wasn’t there – and there’s a little sadness about that.

Q What’s driven you through your career. What or who has been most influential?

A As a unionist and educator, I’ve always wanted to achieve fairness and equity, social justice. For me, that is very much through public education. So that’s driven me: the importance of public education and the role it plays to provide opportunities for all.

It’s also about those who have actively encouraged me. You often hear women in leadership positions asked, “How did you get there?”.

For me there wasn’t any plan to be federal secretary of the union, or president of Education International.

In some ways it was by chance. But that was because of the opportunities provided by other women and some men too. For example, [former AEU federal secretary] Rob Durbridge encouraged me to see myself as a potential leader. But right

throughout my career, it has been women working together with us, providing support, and pushing us to make the next step. That’s the very important part of it for me.

I feel incredibly honoured that I’ve had these opportunities and that I’ve been able to do the work that I have with the most magnificent people – true leaders, change agents, truly committed people.

Q As president of Education

International you are very active on the international level. What’s next for you?

A I will remain president of Education International until my term finishes in 2024.

It’s been very difficult to travel during COVID, of course. A positive is that we didn’t have to get on so many planes. The pandemic has forced us to look at ways of meeting online and, as a result, I think we’ve come together more often. That’s also brought some people into our work who haven’t been able to travel to meetings in the past. This was also true for the AEU at national and state level.

So, we find that many of our member organisations have more of their members engaged in our work. Those online connections are critical because international work relies on people connecting with one another, listening to one another, sharing experiences and challenges, and being able to work together to make the changes necessary for us to achieve education, fairness and justice for all. Now that we’re opening up, we’ll have more opportunities to meet face-to-face. I don’t think we’ll move away from coming together online, because we recognise that has provided important opportunities.

Susan Hopgood (pictured with Correna Haythorpe) retired in March after 17 years as the AEU’s first female federal secretary.

Q Until recently, we’ve had nine years of a Coalition government in Australia, determined to dismantle public education and TAFE. And internationally, you’re dealing with education systems destroyed by war and corrupt governments. How do you remain optimistic?

A Throughout all my 48 years, I’ve found that teachers in the union are generally positive people because we want to achieve change. And I think we recognise

that, to get change, you have to see what can be achieved.

I remember visiting a school in India and there was such poverty in this school. They didn’t have much, but the kids were absolutely delighted to be there and wanted to learn. That’s what gives you the desire to be positive and create change. If all we do is talk about how bad it is, it’ll continue to be bad. It’s critical that governments (at federal and state level) fully and fairly fund public schools to

ensure all children have opportunities to reach their full potential. It’s important to tell the story, but it’s also important to demand change.

We are meeting those challenges by mobilising, including community campaigning and links with colleagues internationally.

I am pleased and proud to have played a part in the union's move over the last decade to become campaign focused at national level.

Susan Hopgood Former AEU federal secretary

As a unionist and educator, I’ve always wanted to achieve fairness and equity, social justice. For me, that is very much through public education. So that’s driven me: the importance of public education and the role it plays to provide opportunities for all.

Flooded schools find a new normal

BY CHRISTINE LONG

School communities on Australia’s east coast are still struggling to recover from the devastation caused by the floods earlier this year. Almost 1350 schools were forced to close and some areas recorded more than their annual rainfall in a week. It was Queensland’s worst flooding since 2011.

As the waters subsided, it was clear that eight northern New South Wales schools and six Queensland schools were significantly damaged.

Australian Educator spoke to two teachers whose schools were seriously affected and another who reflects on the 2011 Queensland floods.

IN SHORT

// Floods in February and March forced the closure of almost 1350 schools in NSW and QLD, with 14 significantly damaged.

// Staff and students in affected areas have shown extraordinary resilience, but uncertainty about the future of their communities is likely to take its toll.

The Rivers Secondary College

LISMORE, NORTHERN NSW

On the morning of Lismore’s worst flood on record, Chris Williams was out in his boat rescuing people.

Williams, the executive principal of The Rivers Secondary College, responded to the desperate pleas of people sitting on their roofs or trapped in their homes as floodwaters rose to 14.4 metres in the NSW Northern Rivers town on 28 February.

“There were hundreds of guys in tinnies, dodging underneath powerlines, getting people out of their homes. The impact of the flood on the town was absolutely horrific,” he says.

The college’s Richmond River campus in North Lismore – the site of the original Lismore High School, which opened in 1918 – was inundated by floodwaters, damaging the entire campus.

About 200 of its 700 students, along with 200 students from the college’s other two campuses and about 50 staff lost their homes and possessions.

A second flood less than a month later hampered recovery efforts.

The Richmond River campus was closed while demountable classrooms were installed and its students moved to the Lismore High campus.

Manual timetabling was completed in a week, the curriculum was juggled, and bus runs were reorganised. Class sizes were stretched and students in Years 7 to 10 began attending four days a week so the Lismore campus could support 1200 Richmond River students.

Chris Williams

Rivers Secondary College, NSW

HELPING HANDS

Heart-warming acts of generosity and stellar feats of coordination have helped students and staff, who have a long list of losses and needs.

“Our uniform supplier went under and there was limited supply from the warehouse. Staff were buying clothing in similar colours on their credit cards because that’s what the kids connect with: the uniform,” says Williams.

The college secured about $30,000 from the Vincent Fairfax Foundation to replace stationery, backpacks, lunchboxes, and drink bottles.

There was more support in the form of vouchers and funds from schools and organisations across the state and via the New South Wales Secondary Principals Council. “We’ve been able to get those to the families in most need and that’s been the biggest strength and support,” says Williams.

In the thick of the crisis, the school relied on its campus canteens to feed students. “We were doing breakfast, lunch, and take-home meals for anyone who needed them.”

Williams says that while counselling is available for students and staff, the uncertainty about the future of the school, peoples’ homes, and the town is likely to take its toll. Many families are still living with other families or in caravans and COVID-19 continues to spread.

“Teachers do a great job of looking after kids’ wellbeing and ensuring they get what they need for their education – always have done and always will –however finding a place to call home and the feeling of connection is going to be the challenge,” says Williams.

The

Our uniform supplier went under and there was limited supply from the warehouse. Staff were buying clothing in similar colours on their credit cards because that’s what the kids connect with: the uniform.

IMAGES GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY THE RIVERS SECONDARY COLLEGE; ISTOCKPHOTO

(Top) Scenes from Lismore in February and March 2022, after floods hit the region; (middle) classrooms at the Richmond River campus of The Rivers Secondary College were inundated; (bottom) a second flood in less than a month hampered the town's recovery efforts.

Milpera State High School

BRISBANE, QUEENSLAND

Most of the classrooms at Milpera State High School, in Brisbane’s south-west, went under water thanks to the same ‘rain bomb’ that hit Lismore in February.

Principal Julie Peel says 14 of its 17 classrooms were affected. “We had somewhere between 20cm and one metre of water through every groundfloor classroom.”

Peel has worked at the English language intensive high school for 17 years and was a teacher during a previous flood in 2011. “The staffroom looked like a filthy washing machine in 2011, everything was strewn. It was very muddy, and I just cried.”

There was no time for tears as the 2022 floodwaters subsided and she focused on finding a temporary home for the school.

A brainstorming session with her assistant regional director led to an approach to Yeronga State High School, an inner-city school with a strong sense of social justice, with a request to share its site.

“The school wanted their kids to learn the value of giving and caring for others and they said without any doubt they wanted us in their school.”

The Milpera students relocated within a week. “That’s the power of people who give extra in their jobs in a crisis, just to make certain it’s done for students.”

It became part of the learning experience for the students who were encouraged to expand their language skills and make comparisons between the schools.

Meanwhile at the Milpera site, the state government organisation QBuild and a private company worked 12-hour

days, seven days a week to repair the classrooms.

Staff and students returned at the beginning of term and 40 new enrolments lifted student numbers to almost 200.

The experiences of incoming students help put the loss of its resources into perspective, says Peel.

“We are enrolling so many people who are from Afghanistan and the Ukraine who have lost their home, their country, and their families are divided. That brings a lot of this into perspective for us.”

We are enrolling so many people who are from Afghanistan and the Ukraine who have lost their home, their country, and their families are divided. That brings a lot of this into perspective for us.

Julie Peel Milpera State High School, QLD

(Clockwise from top left) Milpera State High School in Brisbane flooded in early March; QLD's Lockyer Valley underwater in early 2011; recovery efforts in the Lockyer Valley lasted more than 18 months; Milpera students were forced to relocate to another school while classrooms were repaired.

Looking back: Grantham State School

LOCKYER VALLEY, QUEENSLAND

Libby Brain was an itinerant teacher dividing her time between several schools when the Queensland town of Grantham was hit by a 3m wall of water on 10 January, 2011.

The experience was devastating for people living in the low-lying area of Grantham. Twelve people died in the floods.

“A lot of people climbed up onto the railway line and ran – they were running from the water as it was coming,” says Brain. “It was pretty horrific.”

Grantham State School, which is on higher ground, didn’t flood, although water ran through the school grounds. It became the emergency evacuation point for people who had fled their homes.

“They were in all the classrooms and people had brought their dogs, cats, and birds. There was even an owl,” says Brain.

Joan Quinn was the principal at Mt Whitestone State School, a twoteacher school in another part of the Lockyer Valley.

“My school itself wasn’t flood-affected, but some of the families in the school were. I had one family in Grantham who lost everything.

“We had to deal with more than the flood damage. For the families in my school, it was the grief at losing their livelihoods, their houses and their community.”

The situation led to some rapid adjustments at the beginning of the school year.

Brain returned to the classroom so that Grantham’s then teaching principal could concentrate solely on her leadership duties for two weeks.

Two weeks turned into years, says Brain. “As time went by, I became very involved with the students and their experiences, and I felt that it was important that I be there for them and create a sense of continuity.”

“Even though the school wasn’t damaged, the lives of many of the families needed to be rebuilt.”

RECOVERING SLOWLY

Brain says the losses suffered by the children in her Prep–Year 1 class –from siblings to friends to their homes –often came out in their drawings.

“The pictures were dark, and they would have lots of water rushing over them,” says Brain.

But over time the healing process was evident in the children’s drawings.

Brain says some depicted rescues by planes or figures floating skyward holding balloons. “They started including more light and colour. They resolved the problem in their drawings and that seemed to help them resolve the problem in their memory.”

The Australian Army was part of an intense recovery effort over 18 months and donations to the school included school supplies, and teddy bears to comfort students. High-profile visitors included Prince William, then Governor-General of Australia Quentin Bryce, children’s author Mem Fox and country music artist Gina Jeffreys.

Counselling was available for teachers and children and their families, but not everyone took up the opportunity. “In the early stages there was a large influx of support from guidance officers. Toowoomba regional office pulled them in from different areas and they would talk about how to best meet the needs and cope with some of the distressing situations.”

Now retired, Quinn says it took about two years to get some stability back.

“Your life never goes back to what it was. You have to adjust to the new normal.”

Libby Brain Grantham State School, QLD

A lot of people climbed up onto the railway line and ran – they were running from the water as it was coming. It was pretty horrific.

Christine Long is a freelance writer.

Music is a powerful complementary learning experience rather than a nice, but non-essential, part of the curriculum.

BY CYNDI TEBBEL PHOTOS MICHAEL AMENDOLIA

Why music matters

Research has demonstrated that a quality music education has a positive effect on a child’s learning and social development.

Yet as arts subjects – particularly music – are increasingly sidelined, many students are missing out.

Maurie Mulheron from the Centre for Public Education Research points to results from Champions of Change: the impacts of the arts on learning, a US government study from 1999 that he says is still relevant more than 20 years later.

“It showed that if you can engage children in quality music education – learning to read music and play an instrument, taught by a professional music educator – the social, economic and educational outcomes are far in excess of children not given those opportunities,” says Mulheron.

Social indicators such as employment, relationships and mental health were also shown to rise exponentially for children with intellectual disabilities and those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds in low-SES schools who learned music.

STRIKING THE RIGHT NOTES

Reading music and playing instruments hastens the development of “executive functions”, says Dr Anita Collins, a researcher and writer in the field of brain development and music learning. These skills assist planning, problem solving and resilience and can be low in children who grow up in challenging circumstances, says Collins, an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Canberra.

Collins says that even teaching children to clap to a beat and recognise changes in rhythm can improve their fine and gross motor skills and create a body-brain connectivity. She believes this leads to “higher-level learning” and is key to raising levels of literacy and numeracy.

“My work is about helping people connect the dots between music and all other learning, so they understand that it develops the whole child’s brain, and that’s the foundation for the rest of their learning,” says Collins.

// Quality music education has a positive impact on learning and development, research shows.

// Learning music helps with problem solving, resilience and can improve motor skills.

// More investment is needed to prevent music programs being sidelined.

Dr Anita Collins University of Canberra

If we put in a music program for every child from K-2, we know it’s going to help their language acquisition and development, so fewer children will need literacy support.

Instrumental as anything

It’s not unusual for professional musicians to choose a second career to fall back on. For Evan Wilkins, teaching became the just-in-case solution to guarantee a more consistent living – if or when gigs and private tutoring dried up. But it gradually grew into a full-time passion.

“I was still kind of going with my music career when I trained to be a high school teacher, so I didn’t want to commit to a full-time position straight away,” says Wilkins.

He started off as a casual, working two days a week “just to see how it all panned out”. Two days gradually turned into five, and within four years he went from teaching seven to 14 classes a week.

Now in his eighth year as full-time music teacher at The Jannali High School in southern Sydney, Wilkins says that of all the types of teaching he’s done, he believes music to be the most therapeutic for students, especially those in their younger years.

Apart from the simple pleasure of moving to rhythm, learning basic instruments helps develop fine and gross motor skills, he says. And because learning music is like learning another language, Wilkins says it enriches proficiency in areas of learning such as short-term memory.

NOTE BY NOTE

The Jannali High School’s music program is based on three key education experiences: performance, composition, and listening.

There’s a new vocal group and an established school concert band that

offers students two days of specialist tutoring each week, then group rehearsals with a band master to put it all together.

“We incorporate a lot of technology as well, to keep up the kids’ interest and to make music education more relevant to the 21st century,” says Wilkins.

Classes go beyond the Western canon too and explore music from other countries and Indigenous cultures.

Wilkins thinks that learning the fundamentals of music from an early age prepares students for the opportunity to further their education with elective courses or lessons outside of school.

With this solid grounding, he says, “they’re already a cut above the rest”.

We incorporate a lot of technology as well, to keep up the kids’ interest and to make music education more relevant to the 21st century.

Evan Wilkins

The Jannali High School, NSW

(right) Evan Wilkins during band practice, with students from from The Jannali High School.

WHISTLING IN THE DARK

While music education is part of the Australian curriculum, it’s definition and practice can vary considerably between states, says Dr Rachael Dwyer, an educator and researcher at the University of the Sunshine Coast, who collaborated with Collins to evaluate the importance of quality music and arts education for a 2019 report, Music Education – A Sound Investment, commissioned by The Tony Foundation.

Rolling out more and better music programs means convincing cashstrapped schools and education departments of the benefits. Dwyer says we have the knowledge, skills and expertise, but we need significant, sustained investment.

“That includes teacher education; building a cohort of people paid to undertake the training and who are prepared to live not just in cities, but regions and rural and remote areas.”

DRUMMING UP SUPPORT

Collins likes to use a business lens to advance the case for music education.

“If we put in a music program for every child from K-2, we know it’s going to help their language acquisition and development, so fewer children will need literacy support,” she says.

“It’s the same for how much time teachers spend dealing with kids with poor executive functions. Time is money, so there is a cost-benefit if we invest early.”

Sound advice

Before Alison Pennington became a senior economist at the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work, she taught music at Grange Primary School and Woodville High School in suburban Adelaide.

“My parents were folk artists who played in bands, so music was part of our community. It was how we expressed the experience of life, the struggles,” she says.

Pennington picked up the flute in primary school, through a statesponsored public schools music program that offered free lessons and affordable instrument hire. She was accepted into Woodville High School’s special music program, where she segued from flute to voice and fell in love with jazz.

“I developed a strong appreciation for improvised music and that handballed me into the next part of my life.”

While studying at Adelaide's Elder Conservatorium of Music, Pennington was offered a short-term vocal and choral teacher role at Woodville High.

“I benefitted so much from public music education. Giving back was part of closing the loop and what music is all about," she says.

“There’s a strong relationship between the discipline and the focus you harness in music, and the voice you develop. You become an agent in the world, rather than someone at the mercy of conditions you can’t control.”

She says her music education has helped her overcome many obstacles in life.

“Providing a space for young people to express themselves, and to connect, is one of the most important ingredients to navigating disadvantage. Becoming a musician isn’t going to pay the bills, but it gives you the tools you need to navigate the world.”

While music remains a major influence, Pennington is also motivated by economics. Both disciplines are creative, she says, “like flowing rivers intertwined”. “The job of an economist is to absorb and reflect on the complexity of life and produce analysis that helps people make sense of that complexity.”

Cyndi Tebbel is a freelance writer.

PHOTOGRAPHY MICHAEL AMENDOLIA; ISTOCKPHOTO

The best kind of wagging

Demand for specially trained school support dogs is growing as we emerge from years of disruptions.

BY MARGARET PATON

Justus shadows Bell in her class of Year 7 students with autism.

“Soon after Justus first came onto the scene, student attendance definitely went up in my class, but a few kids will need more than just a dog to turn up.”

Bell uses Justus to boost students’ empathy skills, too. She can quieten and calm her class “very quickly” by saying they need to be quiet, patient and kind for Justus.

“For kids that need a sensory break, he’s there for a scratch, pat, or snuggle,” she says.

Meanwhile, Charlie, who’s about to retire, has been visiting a feeder primary school to support a self-regulation program, which won him – and the school – two awards last year: an RSPCA award for outstanding service to the community through the service of an animal and a Bendigo Bank community choice award.

His handler, educational assistant Jodie Toy, had volunteered as a puppy educator for Assistance Dogs Australia (ADA) in 2013. Assigned the then-eight-week-old Charlie, she trained him for 18 months, then returned him to ADA for more training before he started work at the school.

Education support dogs have padded up and down the hallways at Coodanup College, about 80km south of Perth, for eight years – and they have made a big difference to student wellbeing and results.

Staff at Coodanup, a Year 7-12 school in a low socioeconomic area with 855 students and 169 staff, link the dogs to improvements in school attendance, student confidence, motivation, participation and prosocial skills.

Three Labradors, Justus, Charlie and newcomer Vino, work up to four days a week with individual students or classes.

Teacher Bek Bell says: “Our school has a cohort of students who are dysregulated on a daily basis; who come from a home life of generational poverty and often just don’t want to come onto school grounds. The dogs are a tool to help encourage some of them to engage with learning.”

“If I spot a student who’s starting to escalate, Charlie and I will go up to them and I’ll say, ‘Can you hold onto Charlie for a second while I do this?’, to help bring the student back to the present.”

The dogs are also part of the school’s positive behavioural support program and students are able to earn rewards to “buy time and have their photos taken with the dogs”.

Introducing education support dogs to a school needs some careful thought and planning, says Toy.

There needs to be appropriate risk assessment and risk management and

a policy specific to the dog, for example. Toy says she’s happy to share her plans with other schools.

“The whole school needs to be educated about how to act around an educational support dog (ESD) and the dog learns it’s a privilege, not a right, to interact. It could take a dog handling team up to a year to feel their school is synched with that,” says Toy.

BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS

Researcher Dr Christine Grové, from Monash University, says COVID-19 has increased the need for wellbeing support for students and teachers and “dogs are one part of the toolkit”.

But she notes that the use of school support dogs is a complex field of study and much of the evidence to date is qualitative.

“We can’t say definitively that ESDs are more effective to improve students’ wellbeing and social-emotional learning than traditional treatment like cognitive behavioural therapy or a school counsellor – they shouldn’t replace those,” she says.

But Grové can point to her own positive experience, training her labradoodle to work with her as a school psychologist seven years ago.

“Kids are really nervous to see school counsellors, so a dog is a helpful way for them to see us. It breaks down the barrier for high-risk students who aren’t accessing support.”

A CHOCOLATE SOLUTION

Educational support needs for the 64 students at Bullimbal School were becoming “more complex and diverse”, and the school was looking for new ways to connect them to learning, says deputy principal Emma Kirby.

The K-12 school in Tamworth, NSW with 42 staff began an extensive two-year process with not-for-profit Assistance Dogs Australia (ADA) before chocolate labrador, Inka, arrived.

“We consulted with our school community, gained approval through our director, did extensive risk assessments, went through ADA panel and screening process, and undertook suitability interviews until we were matched,” says Kirby.

Then COVID hit.

Principal Brett Pearson says the pandemic delayed his and Kirby’s trip to Sydney for handler training, but they secured special approval a few weeks later and all the effort has paid off.

“Inka has been really effective for students who are reluctant to attend. She’ll meet them at the car or bus and walk them through the gate to help them transition to school and from class to class. It’s very difficult to be cranky at her cute brown face as she’s wagging her tail,” says Pearson.

Inka also helps build students’ external motivation to develop functional skills and compliance during occupational therapy, says Kirby.

“She has been trained to help a student follow steps to prepare carrots and zucchinis, cutting and spiralising them. The whole time the student was cooking for Inka, who quite graciously ate the product of their cooking.”

She also works with class groups, attends parent and enrolment meetings,

Resources

Assistance Dogs Australia assistancedogs.org.au Therapy Animals Australia therapyanimals.org.au

allows students to groom her and even accompanies senior students when they access post-school programs.

Kirby says Inka has an “amazing skillset” and is regarded as a “valuable staff member who takes her job very seriously”. Schools, too, should be serious about the job they see for their would-be ESD, says Pearson.

“If you’re really clear about it, and the school will support the staff member who’s the handler, and the dog supports student learning programs, then I’d highly recommend going down the line of ADA for an educational support dog.

“But, if you’re just after a nice, touchyfeely dog in the school for students to pat, that’s a whole different conversation.”

The dogs are a tool to help encourage some [students] to engage with learning … For kids that need a sensory break, he’s there for a scratch, pat, or snuggle.

Bek Bell Coodanup College, WA

Margaret Paton is a freelance writer

Staff at Coodanup College in WA say the school's three Labradors have improved student wellbeing and academic results.

Reading the signs

BY CYNDI TEBBEL

Earlier this year conservative Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed one of many ‘curriculum transparency’ bills across the country, which allow state residents with no connection to schools to object to library books and other educational materials.

It’s just one salvo in a campaign from members of America’s extreme right wing to create friction and divisiveness, and maintain the fear of the ‘other’.

Randi Weingarten president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) says that unlike book bans in the past –which were about discrete issues such as evolution and science or so-called obscenity – today it’s “all of the above”.

Prohibited concepts now include equity, diversity, systemic racism, sexual assault and abuse or any subject that, according to Texas Republican legislator Matt Krause, “might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex”.

PEN America, a non-profit organisation that advocates for freedom of expression, says recent book bans in the US cover more than 1000 titles by more than 800 authors. Almost half of them feature prominent characters who are people of colour, and one-third include LGBTQI themes and protagonists.

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Lesléa Newman’s Heather Has Two Mommies, Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials have all faced scrutiny and expulsion.

Randi

It’s all political, but it has huge non-political ramifications. At a time when we need to build a recovery and help our kids with mental health issues, the right wing of our country is trying to sow division and distrust, to get rid of public education as we know it.

Teachers and parents in the United States are joining forces to fight sweeping book bans introduced by right-wing culture warriors.

Weingarten American Federation of Teachers

PARENTS AGAINST BANS

Weingarten says bans are occurring in about half the states, which affects about two million students. “It’s bad because it’s based on the premise of fear of the ‘other’, and the way you create a community and build relationships is to see the ‘other’, not have the fear of the other.

“It’s all political, but it has huge nonpolitical ramifications. At a time when we need to build a recovery and help our kids with mental health issues, the right wing of our country is trying to sow division and distrust, to get rid of public education as we know it.”

The good news is that polls show that most parents (around 80 per cent) are against the bans because they don’t believe it helps children learn, feel safe and prepare for the next stage of their lives. “I hope they vote on these issues,” says Weingarten.

There have been some well-publicised instances of schools and teachers that have come under fire for breaking bans,

but Weingarten says most of it has been done “to harass and bully teachers” rather than laying charges, and few AFT members have been disciplined.

“We’ve made it clear to all of our members that if they’re engaged in teaching honestly and accurately, we’re going to defend them against these attacks, in lawsuits and the court of public opinion. We’ve put more money into our legal defence fund to do that.”

The AFT is also campaigning across the US, working with parents’ groups “who are fighting this like we’re fighting it”.

“Last week, one parents’ group had a Banned Book Reading Club, and we were part of that. And we’ve launched a campaign Reading Opens the World. So while they’re banning books, we’re giving away one million books.”

We’ve made it clear to all of our members that if they’re engaged in teaching honestly and accurately, we’re going to defend them against these attacks ...

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye have all faced scrutiny under sweeping book bans in the United States.

Cyndi Tebbel is a freelance writer.

Randi Weingarten

American Federation of Teachers

Mind over marketplace

Australia’s shop-around attitude to schools erodes trust in educators to build smarter young people and stronger communities.

BY LEANNE TOLRA

Constant political tweaking at the edges of Australia’s public education system and competition between schools have failed to deliver equity and quality. A system overhaul, that starts with deep trust in our teachers as professionals, is the only way forward, says a leading academic.

Trust drives better teaching practice, better schools and better results for students, says Professor of Education at Southern Cross University, Pasi Sahlberg.

“For as long as teachers feel that they are not trusted within in a school, which means that they are not considered as professionals, it’s going to be very hard to make the changes we so urgently need to make,” says Sahlberg, co-author of In Teachers We Trust: The Finnish Way to World-Class Schools. The book, written with US teacher and author Timothy Walker, showcases a system internationally recognised for positive, equitable student outcomes and a rewarding working environment for teachers, based on a culture of trust.

“Nordic education systems are modelled on the principle that education is for public good and that this benefits everyone. When we interview young teachers, they say they want to work in a place where they feel valued and bring knowledge and skills to their jobs. But teachers in the Australian system are not trusted and too many things in their work are decided or controlled for them,” says Sahlberg.

“Politicians should not blame teachers for declining education results. It is the system that fails too many teachers to make the mark.”

While much of Sahlberg’s work praises the Finnish school system, he

In Teachers We Trust: The Finnish Way to World-Class Schools by Pasi Sahlberg and Timothy D. Walker is published by Norton Professional Books

recognises that the Australian education system, despite some fundamental, fixable flaws, is robust and filled with talented professionals.

After all, he brought his young family to Sydney to take up a post at the University of New South Wales in 2018 and his two sons have spent their formative years in Australian primary schools. It’s giving him a strong perspective on both the micro and macro reforms needed.

“We have one of the world’s most examined, researched and reviewed school systems, but when it comes to taking the evidence and respective recommendations seriously, we find ourselves in the same old debates and confrontations over and again,” he wrote in a recent article in the Griffith Review, just as he made the move to Lismore in rural NSW.

Sahlberg says the commodity culture of Australian schools is at the core of the problem. Telling parents to shop around for “better” schools and a view that education should be “selected for the personal benefit our children and our families”, is the antithesis of the Nordic system in which parents have complete faith in what their teachers do, and the system within which they operate.

“One of the first questions I am asked is, ‘Which school did you choose for your children’? This is something that a person moving to Finland would never be asked, because the neighbourhood school is a good enough school for everyone.

“This marketplace mentality, that has been so deeply built in Australia during the last 15 to 20 years, probably even longer than that, is part of the problem. We even hear the federal minister saying to parents, ‘If you’re not happy with the quality of your own school, shop around’. I don’t understand why it is my responsibility to find a good school for my children.

“In Finland our schools are not designed around what adults need, they are designed around children’s needs. For example, school readiness in Finland doesn’t mean whether the child is ready for school, it means whether the school is ready for that child.”

Shorter lessons with regular 15-minute play breaks, healthy meals supplied by schools to ensure equity and understanding of health and nutrition, and primary school teachers who spend a number of years with the same group of children rather than teaching a single year level, are just some of the structural differences.

From rural NSW, Sahlberg is concerned that his sons might not be offered a

music teacher as a normal part of their education, or that the teacher instructing them in maths might be teaching out of their area of expertise. These are also concerns that a parent in the Nordic system would rarely face.

“In Finland and some other Nordic countries, when principals are hired, one question they are asked is, ‘Would you be would you be willing to accept part of your professional responsibility to be associated with the performance of the other schools around you’?

“It’s big-picture thinking that says, ‘These are our kids, these are our

schools, these are our communities and as an educator I am trusted to have responsibility within my community’.

“In the Nordic culture, we see young people more holistically as individuals, and their wellbeing and health is a part of their general education. Now, at global level, the OECD and UNESCO are having the same conversation.

“Health is becoming a central 21st century skill alongside thinking skills and useable academic knowledge. More and more, we are recognising internationally that education is a service and a contribution to the advancement of

humanity, not just the economy.

“Education leaders around the world are saying that the best way to ensure an inclusive and equitable education for all children is to follow the simple principle: politicians and authorities should be held accountable for making sure that there is a good enough public school for every child in every neighbourhood.”

Leanne Tolra is a freelance writer and Australian Educator’s sub-editor.

In the Nordic culture, we see young people more holistically as individuals, and their wellbeing and health is a part of their general education.

Pasi Sahlberg Southern Cross University

Telling parents to shop around for “better” schools is the antithesis of the Finnish system, Pasi Sahlberg says.

The lingering effects of trauma

Lauren Duncan fuels her passion for teaching and behaviour management by reading the latest research, listening to education podcasts and learning from her peers.

BY MARGARET PATON

Team-teaching in the Northern Territory helped Tasmanian teacher Lauren Duncan hone her skills in teaching kids who have experienced trauma.

“I picked up a lot from my co-teacher about behaviour management around teaching kids with trauma, plus restorative practices from [education consultant] Adam Voigt,” she says.

Duncan, who leads professional learning at Glenorchy Primary School in Hobart, says one of the first goals with a student in distress is to attempt to shift their mindset.

“If I want a learner to do something, I give them a choice, but I always lead with the thing I don’t want them to do. I’ll say, ‘I will send you to the office, or you can just sit down and do this task’, because the last thing you say will stay in their mind.”

Some days, she doesn’t get it right. Learners still have meltdowns, which, she says, can relate to what’s going on in their home lives.

“We have a few families with a background of trauma. Gentrification is taking hold in our area, so some families are priced out of housing. They’re homeless, living in their cars, but still sending their kids to school. We have a lot of children at our breakfast club,” she says.

At Glenorchy, 20 per cent of the 300 students have a diagnosed disability, about one-third of students are either refugees or migrants. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students make up about 15 per cent of the school population. The school’s ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) value is 887 (the benchmark is 1000).

CALMER CLASSROOMS

Glenorchy Primary implements restorative practices and the Calmer Classroom philosophy. These trauma-informed approaches help teachers to develop compassion, empathy, and to establish better relationships with learners.

This year, Duncan doesn’t have her own class, but part of her role is to help peers develop and implement individual learning plans for their students with disabilities or additional learning needs. By 10am each school day, she’ll have notched 10,000 steps, often having put out several ‘brush fires’ when big emotions bubble to the surface in classrooms.

“When I’m talking to such a student, I won’t come to them face on. I’ll be side-on, and crouch down to their level, if it’s a little kid. That way, they won’t feel threatened.”

Duncan says when students are exhibiting signs of extreme stress, it is

Why do you teach?

We want to hear your tips for engaging young minds. Email educator@hardiegrant.com if you have something to share. You can provide a written piece or we’d love to interview you.

important to focus on the future rather than on what they have done wrong.

“Spotlight what they can do in the future to prevent it, to restore relationships they’ve broken. Have strategies to manage feelings rather than leaving them thinking they’ll always get into trouble.”

While students may look like they’ve calmed down after a few minutes, the physiological effects can often linger.

“New research shows that for some of these students, it’s reliving trauma that could have stemmed from their home environment and may take days for them to truly be classroom-ready,” she says.

Duncan is in her eighth year of teaching, a member of the AEU Tasmania branch council and belongs to union committees that deal with workload, new educators and EBA negotiations.

“When I moved from the Northern Territory, I took a $10,000 pay cut. Tasmanian educators are the lowest paid in the country – that’s not OK. We’re all doing the same job, so I’m passionate about pushing for appropriate workloads and higher pay for Tasmanian teachers.”

Lauren Duncan

Glenorchy Primary School, TAS

Margaret Paton is a freelance writer and a casual teacher.

STAND WITH STAND WITH FARMERS IN FARMERS IN TIMOR LESTE TIMOR LESTE

Twenty years after the end of Indonesian occupation, farmers in Timor Leste are still suffering from a lack of infrastructure and low agricultural production. This has resulted in high rates of poverty and malnutrition.

Climate change is making the situation worse, with the country affected by destructive droughts and floods.

To face these challenges, rural communities are creating strong and democratic farmers’ unions and cooperatives.

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA is supporting them to defend their rights to access land, learn about sustainable farming practices and collectively organise to find their own solutions.

With your support, rural communities can win their struggles around food security, environmental sustainability and workers’ rights, and help create a new era for Timor-Leste’s development.