Newsmonth #4 2015

The newspaper of the NSW Independent Education Union and the NSW/ACT branch of the IEUA (vol 35 #4) June 2015

Feature

News

Induction is a right p12

Nepal, an ongoing commitment p17

Books

Review, giveaways p22

Perseverance pays off After 14 months of negotiations, the Union is finally in a position to recommend a ‘yes’ vote to the new Catholic systemic schools enterprise agreement (EA).

The protracted negotiations have resulted in an EA that protects existing conditions and provides salary increases and benefits for all staff.

IEU General Secretary John Quessy said the EA that members will be presented with “looks nothing like the original employer proposal of April last year”.

Mr Quessy said the employers’ original document, which offered diminished conditions, had been withdrawn thanks to the resolve and determination of the IEU membership.

The Union had been able to campaign vigorously against diminished conditions due to the support and unwavering resolve of the membership.

‘Yes’ vote recommended “On behalf of the officers and Executive, I want to thank and congratulate members on the stand that they have taken and their unwavering tenacity. Your persistence has won the day. We can confidently

recommend a ‘yes’ vote in the upcoming ballot.”

The IEU is now involved in the final drafting of the 250-page document and employers will provide access to this proposed agreement shortly.

After such a long wait members can rightly expect time to consider its contents and the Union has recommended a vote be conducted early next term however we hope to see new pay rates and back pay flow before the term break.

“Your persistence has won the day. We can confidently recommend a ‘yes’ vote in the upcoming ballot.”

The new EA includes a pay rise of 2.27% backdated to the beginning of January 2015, with a further increase of 2.5% from January 2016 for teachers in NSW. For teachers in the ACT, employers will match the offer

in government schools, this includes 1.5% pay rise backdated to October last year and a 1.5% pay rise from April this year with ongoing increases of 1.5% each six months.

General employees will receive a pay rise of 2.27% from 1 July 2015. The 2.5% increase in 2016 will be brought forward to January to bring the payment dates in line with teachers.

Guaranteed support for graduate teachers and their mentors as well as other protections for teachers seeking accreditation are new features of the proposal.

Built in protection There is protection built in for support staff wages and conditions for both existing and new staff, with maintenance of the current arrangements for payment of higher duties for those acting in a higher classification.

More details on page 3, 4.

Early childhood accreditation: Choose your destiny Next year teachers working in the early childhood sector will be part of the BOSTES accreditation process, the same as school teachers.

Current teachers will be ‘deemed’ Proficient from 1 January 2016, and from 1 October 2016 anyone entering the profession will have to undergo the accreditation process.

How BOSTES will administer this is a work in progress.

An early childhood panel discussion at the Securing Our Future Best Practice Induction and Mentoring Conference held on 21-22 May focused on accreditation.

Most participants agreed that accreditation will give early childhood teachers the professional base they

need to prove their worth. Max Grarock, Teacher Learning Network Victoria Program Manager, said it was vital teachers told BOSTES now, during the consultation period, how the induction and mentoring process should be run in early childhood education.

“We must choose our own destiny,” Max said.

To that end, the IEU is encouraging early childhood teachers to vote at the BOSTES Quality Teaching Council (QTC) elections.

This year will be the first time that an early childhood teacher can be voted onto the QTC to represent the sector.

The IEU hopes that all early childhood teachers register to vote for their representative.

More stories: pages 10, 13

Newsmonth

(vol 35 #2) March 2015

Contents Executive reports News

Update for ACT early learning centre staff

2-3

4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16-17

Feature

12-14

International

15

Reports 6, 7, 21

Reviews Milestones

Gloria Taylor Deputy Secretary

With the enterprise agreement (EA) process for Catholic systemic schools drawing to a close, the Union is seeking a rapid resolution to EA negotiations for teachers and other ACT early learning centre (ELC) staff.

Despite opposition by the Union, the Archdiocese refused to include teachers and other ELC staff in the new EA. Instead the Archdiocese has proposed a specific agreement called the Catholic Education School Age Care and Early Learning Centre Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the ELC/SAC EA).

The objective of the Union is now to ensure that the new arrangements maintain parity in rates of pay with schools for teachers and support staff.

Our long term aim is to bring ELC members back under the larger systemic agreement.

22 18-19

Member benefits 23 Newsmonth is published eight times a year (two issues per term) by the NSW ACT Independent Education Union.

Executive Editor: John Quessy (General Secretary) for and on behalf of the IEU Executive and members Managing Editor: Bronwyn Ridgway Journalist:  Sue Osborne Graphic Design: Chris Ruddle Online Journalist: Daniel Long Contributions and letters from members are welcome. These do not reflect endorsement if printed, and may be edited for size and style at the Editor's discretion. They should be forwarded to: Newsmonth 485-501 Wattle Street ULTIMO NSW 2007 GPO Box 116 SYDNEY NSW 2001 Tel: 8202 8900 Toll free: 1800 467 943 Fax: 9211 1455 Toll free fax: 1800 804 042 Email: ieu@ieu.asn.au www.ieu.asn.au

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It is important that members are not disadvantaged by any change of conditions under the new arrangements now or into the future. The Catholic Commission for Employment Relations (CCER) on behalf of the Archdiocese has informed the Union that the ELC/SAC EA will generally reflect conditions that are settled in the systemic schools agreement.

The IEU is satisfied with the outcomes of the systemic negotiations and we wish to see the benefits flow on to ELC staff.

The IEU currently awaits a revised draft classification structure for ELC staff. A further proposal relates to contract renewal processes for directors. The Union will consult with members about these and any other proposals.

In response to our request for further negotiations, the CCER has proposed a meeting this week. Subject to resolution of outstanding issues, they expect to move quickly to a final settlement proposal. For further information ELC members in the ACT should contact their organiser.

Slow progress towards a new EA for staff in NSW independent schools Liam Griffiths Assistant Secretary

The Union has been frustrated by the slow progress made in finalising negotiations for a new enterprise agreement for staff in NSW Catholic independent schools.

The Catholic Commission for Employment Relations (CCER), representing all Catholic school employers, had signalled a desire to bring all the current separate agreements for teachers into a single combined agreement with a common set of conditions and entitlements, albeit with different salaries schedules to apply to individual schools or groups of schools.

This has not proven to be contentious given that there is no diminution of entitlements or conditions of employment.

The status quo is to prevail for all schools. However following a round of consultations with members specifically in relation to the salaries offer over the 2015 and 2016 timeframe made on behalf of the various groups, some differential outcomes have posed problems.

These problems involve the transition from a current 13 step incremental scale to the 3 Band Standards model, which currently operates in a few Catholic independent schools.

Pay dispute There is a dispute relating to an attempt to pay rates lower than those which would apply in comparable 3 Band schools. A small number of individual schools have also raised questions concerning the quantum of salary increases proposed for their school.

The Union has written to and met with CCER concerning these anomalies but has yet to receive a satisfactory response. The Union has undertaken to meet further with CCER before the end of Term 2 to try to finalise an agreement.

Support staff In relation to support and operational staff,the Union is pleased that proposed increases of 2.5% per annum to salaries and allowances will be paid as percentage increases on current rates, not as one off payments of salary as had originally been proposed.

Negotiations continue with CCER around the inclusion of IT staff in any new agreement with appropriate salary bands and duties established at various levels of engagement.

Further drafting of documentation for both the teachers and support and operational staff agreements is required before any new agreement can progress to a vote.

The Union is hopeful of achieving this in the coming weeks to enable the consideration of back payment of salaries to occur as soon as possible. The IEU will keep members informed of any developments as soon as they occur.

“A long time in the making:

Member resolve wins through” It’s been 14 long months coming but the Union has now reached agreement with Catholic employers on an Enterprise Agreement for teachers and general staff that it can confidently recommend to members.

A consolidated version of the 250 plus page document has been agreed by diocesan directors and it will shortly be circulated to employees for consideration prior to a ballot hopefully in the first weeks of Term 2.

The Industrial Instrument that the IEU will recommend bears no relation to that initially proposed by Catholic employers in April last. Those core conditions stripped out of their original proposal have been replaced and will be retained. Fundamental conditions like promotions positions, uninterrupted lunch breaks for teachers and paid rest breaks for support staff as well as those entitlements reflected in various Work Practice Agreements are enshrined in the proposed EA. Negotiations in the past 14 months have been difficult and protracted but members should not underestimate that it has been their resolve, determination and willingness to take action that has secured the success, which this proposal represents.

What we will support is a good agreement. Although it delivers only meagre pay increases it retains, and in places, strengthens conditions. For the first time professional development that is a requirement of the employer must be offered during designated school hours. Support for teachers working towards accreditation at proficient level (and their mentors) is guaranteed and there are other protections built in.

Support staff (now described as General Employees in recognition of the wide variety of classifications covered) also have previous conditions retained and there will now exist an enforceable entitlement for the appointment of senior clerical staff.

The proposed EA brings almost all school employees over 11 dioceses under a single agreement for the first time and there are changes to a number of core provisions. Teachers will transition from an incremental classification scale to one which reflects levels of accreditation; Graduate (2 steps), Proficient (5 steps) and for those who seek higher levels of accreditation the classification of Highly Accomplished Teacher.

A number of general staff will translocate to new classifications with a compressed pay scale allowing for faster progression and higher pay. The existing arrangements for clerical, administrative and school assistants are retained.

The most significant change is to the accumulation and use of various forms of leave, notably sick and carers leave. For teachers the annual allocation will reduce from 25 to 15 days per year (from 2016) and leave will be progressively accrued. To offset this a range of compensation measures will be introduced. The current cap (previous six years of unused leave to a maximum of 150 days) will be abolished, an additional 15 days leave (pro rata for part-time) will be credited once only in 2016, evidence requirements are significantly relaxed and one day of “Special Leave” for family/community events will be available. Leave for occasions like family weddings, graduations will be more easily accessible.

The quantum of leave for general staff will not change however any staff with less than 15 days of accumulated leave will be credited additional leave to bring them up to 15 days once only in 2016 (pro-rata for part-time) The relaxed evidence requirements and access to 'Special Leave' applies to these classes of employees also.

All staff will now have access to their full leave accumulation for their own illness or to care for family or household members. This is potentially a significant

benefit for many members and removes the previous restrictions.

Unfortunately the above leave arrangements will not apply in the diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes as that employer has at the time of writing refused to accept an additional day of 'Special Leave' hence the Union has declined to allow changes to the status quo without the full suite of compensation measures. It is regrettable that members in the most isolated school communities have been refused access to the leave they are most likely to need.

A NewsExtra outlining the key features of the proposed agreement will arrive in schools shortly and the IEU website will provide a detailed analysis particularly of those aspects of salaries, wages and conditions which will change if the EA is endorsed by vote.

Union organisers will be visiting schools to explain the proposed EA and to answer member questions in coming weeks. In the meantime we are negotiating with employers to introduce the new rates of pay and make appropriate back payments prior to the vote and subsequent processing of the agreement through the Fair Work Commission.

We have the makings of an agreement with the capacity to be an excellent scaffold on which to built in future negotiations.

On behalf of the officers and Executive of the Union I thank and congratulate members on their patience and persistence through this long and trying period. Your resolve and perseverance has resulted in an Agreement that will enhance your conditions now and into the future.

John Quessy General Secretary

Pre 2004 school teacher accreditation scheme Mark Northam Assistant Secretary

The BOSTES bulletin (of late May) has provided certainty of understanding regarding the transition of pre 2004 teachers into BOSTES as of 1 January, 2018.

The bulletin states: “The pre 2004 school teacher accreditation scheme will recognise that

your skills, knowledge and expertise meet the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers at the level of Proficient Teacher . . . the scheme does not involve provisional/conditional accreditation, or a Proficient Teacher report demonstrating achievement against the Standards.

The scheme is only available to pre 2004 teachers who have not had a break of five years or more and are accredited by 31 December 2017”.

BOSTES clarity to be reflected in practice As part of the recently completed negotiations with the Catholic Commission for Employment Relations (CCER), the IEU will be meeting with the various Catholic

dioceses to ensure that what BOSTES has clearly enunciated is reflected in practice.

Commonality of expectations is achievable as all teachers, permanent, temporary and casual classroom teachers, executive teachers, principals responsible for teaching and learning; teachers who may teach outside the classroom, such as teacher counsellors, teacher librarians and teacher careers advisors, will (by NSW legislation) have to be accredited to teach.

It is critical that unwieldy processes (not required by BOSTES) do not gain credence.

a loyal workforce. A further dimension of the understandings reached in discussions with CCER will be a joint IEU/ CCER briefing with BOSTES to clarify any misinterpretations which may exist.

In addition, BOSTES is convening a Working Party to develop the Policy to Accredit Non-Accredited Teachers. The IEU will be part of this process and will be insisting on fair procedures to support a seamless transition.

Must get the process right An imperative exists to get this process correct. That is the smooth transition of newsmonth - Vol 35 #4 2015

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New Catholic Systemic Schools Enterprise Agreement

IEU recommends a ‘YES’ vote Following a prolonged dispute, the IEU and Catholic employers have reached agreement on a new enterprise agreement covering teachers and support and operational staff in NSW and ACT Catholic systemic schools. The Union can now confidently recommend members vote ‘YES’ for this EA that protects existing conditions and provides salary increases and benefits for all staff.

As the EA merges a number of agreements, it is complex and over 250 pages long. The IEU is now working on the final draft of this massive document with the Catholic Commission for Employment Relations (CCER). The Union has been advised that the employers intend to provide employees with the document as soon as practicable this term. We will recommend to employers that voting occurs early next term to allow time for members to review the EA. The voting will occur electronically with some capacity for phone voting.

The purpose of this NewsExtra is to highlight the outcomes for teachers and general employees. A supplement to this document will be included in this mailout for members in the ACT. Further detailed information will be available on the IEU website www.ieu.asn.au. * Please note that in this new Agreement, the term General Employees is used to refer to all existing categories of support and operational staff: administration, clerical, classroom support, assistants, as well as maintenance/outdoor, cleaning and other staff not employed in a teaching capacity.

Pay Rises Teachers in NSW will receive a pay rise of 2.27% backdated to the beginning of January 2015 with a further increase of 2.5% from January 2016.

For teachers in the ACT, employers have now agreed to match the DEC offer to government school teachers, this includes 1.5% pay rise backdated to October last year and a 1.5% pay rise from April this year with ongoing increases of 1.5% each six months.

As teachers are well overdue for their pay rises, the employers have agreed to pay the backdated increases prior to the ballot.

General employees will receive a pay rise of 2.27% from 1 July 2015 and this will be paid in the processing of the EA in the Fair Work Commission. The payment of 2.5% will be brought forward to January 2016 to bring the payment dates in line with teachers.

SUMMARY OF OUTCOMES After more than 12 months of a strong campaign and tough negotiations, the EA now delivers the following outcomes and improvements for members: Teachers’ Working Conditions • Maintenance of Work Practice Agreements (WPAs), preserving hard-won entitlements that can only be changed by agreement between the Union and the individual Diocese • Protection of all conditions contained in the WPAs including RFF and limits on class sizes • Retention of a 30-minute uninterrupted lunch break with a new process to ensure any variations are agreed by individual teachers • Provisions to ensure that professional development that is a requirement of employers must be offered within designated school hours • Guaranteed support for Graduate teachers, including appropriate release for both the Graduate teacher and their mentor/s • Protections for Graduate teachers seeking accreditation at proficient level • Retention of Assistant Principal, Coordinator and Religious Education Coordinator positions.

General Employees Issues • Protection of support staff wages and conditions for both existing and new staff • Maintenance of the current arrangements for payment of higher duties to employees acting in a higher classification for more than one day 4

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• Retention of the right of progression for Level 2 and 3 employees • Introduction into the EA of now enforceable entitlements for the appointment of senior clerical staff • Restoration of a solid base of protections and entitlements for support and operational staff, many of whom have not been previously covered by an enterprise agreement since the move to the federal system of industrial relations • Introduction of a Broken Shift Allowance for Cleaners and Bus Drivers • Protection of existing minimum start provisions for part-time employees.

• Maintenance of the paid tea break for employees working three hours.

Fair Procedures • Retention of fair procedures for staff subject to complaints with new streamlining of processes which ensure access to relevant file documentation • Agreement to establish a Union/Employer working party to consider process issues and best practice in handling complaints.

Catholic Ethos • Agreement on improved wording concerning the expectations and requirements of staff. Professional Issues The Union and Employers have also agreed: • to have ongoing discussions during the life of the agreement in relation to VET teachers • to commence discussions in regard to a Diocesan-wide framework for Teacher Performance and Development with an employer undertaking to consult with the Union where the Diocese is currently developing a framework.

Personal/Carer’s Leave for Teachers The EA changes the annual quantum of Personal/Carer’s Leave for teachers from 25 days to 15 days per year, but the removal of the cap on accumulation will benefit most teachers immediately and others over time. Further the EA includes compensatory measures that significantly enhance flexibility for taking leave and in providing evidence. These include: • all current teachers will receive a one-off grant of 15 days leave (pro rata for part-time teachers) at the beginning of 2016 in addition to the leave that accrues in the course of 2016 • new teachers will also receive an extra 15 days (pro rata for part-timers) on commencement (unless they are rolling over leave entitlements from another Catholic employer) • existing leave accruals are retained as well as the new Personal/Carer’s Leave entitlements • the current requirement to produce proof of illness for every day absent after the first two days sick leave will be relaxed to the following: evidence will not be required for the first three days personal/carer’s absence each year. For subsequent absences due to illness or injury, evidence may be required for each absence of two consecutive days or more. For subsequent absences due to other forms of Personal/Carer’s Leave, evidence may be requested at any time • special leave of one day per year will be available for family commitments in addition to the 15 days personal/ carer’s leave (this will not accrue) • compassionate leave will also remain – three days on the death of a member of the family or household or two days in the case of serious illness.

Personal/Carer’s Leave for General Employees Support staff will retain their current quantum of 15 days per annum, but accumulation of Personal/Carer’s Leave is now uncapped. Support staff will also benefit from the reduced requirements to produce medical evidence (see above) as well as the same right as teachers to the one day per year special leave (also outlined above). Access to Carer’s Leave will be unlimited from the total accrued Personal/Carer’s Leave.

The Agreement also compensates for progressive accrual:

• existing full-time and part-time employees who have less than 15 days accrued will receive a once off allocation to bring them up to 15 days (pro rata for part-time) • staff newly employed prior to 1 March 2016 will also receive a once off allocation to 15 days (pro rata for part-time).

Teacher Classification Structure The EA introduces a standards based pay scale from 2016 that provides accelerated progression to the top of the scale for Graduate teachers employed after 2014 and introduces the new classification of Highly Accomplished Teacher (HAT).

The new salary scale will compress the nine incremental steps to seven. They are divided into Graduate (two steps) and Proficient (five steps).

In order for Graduate teachers to progress to Proficient level, they must have two years full time teaching and be accredited at Proficient level. During this period, Graduate teachers will continue to attract annual percentage increases. The new standards scale will however produce very significant salary increases over the span of the Agreement.

Transitional arrangements for existing teachers Teachers employed prior to 2014 will continue progressing through the existing incremental model and transition to the standards model over time. The model is based on the Agreement in NSW government schools, however the Union has ensured that there will be no delay in progression.

Teachers in the NSW part of the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn will also continue to progress on the incremental scale during this transition period. A Savings Clause ensures that no one will lose any salary as a result of making this agreement.

HATs A new voluntary classification level will be introduced for those accredited by BOSTES at Highly Accomplished Level with a salary of $101,614 in 2016. There is no limit on the number of HATs. Casual teachers The new scale is advantageous and enhances salaries.

General Employees Classification The existing classification and progression arrangements for support staff (clerical and administrative staff and school assistants) have been retained for both current and future employees. Employees due to progress to a higher level will do so at their currently anticipated progression date.

In respect of most other General Employees, the translocation arrangements will mean that employees move to a new classification that is generally higher than their existing classification. For this reason, future progression will take place 12 months after the date of commencement of the EA. All current modern award employees will move to a higher rate of pay, and future employees in classifications currently under the modern award will be employed at those higher rates.

The current five step structure for maintenance and outdoor staff will be compressed to a three step scale, meaning that future employees, or current employees not yet at Level 5, will move to the highest rate of pay in a shorter period of time. All existing Level 5 staff will translocate to a new classification structure that has been established on top of the existing rates of pay; for existing full-time Level 5 staff this can mean increases of up to $5,103 pa upon commencement of the EA. Most, if not all staff received interim increases in July 2014. For staff not due to translocate to a higher rate of pay, the general 2.27% increase to the rate of pay will apply from the first pay period after 1 July 2015 (or backdated from the Agreement commencement if after 1 July). All General Employees will then receive a further pay increase of 2.5% brought forward to the beginning of January 2016.

ACT Supplement The Union is now confident that the proposed EA delivers good outcomes for members in ACT schools in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn. The EA preserves conditions for teachers and general employees and delivers some significantly improved outcomes.

This supplement focuses on issues specific to the ACT, but should be read in conjunction with the NewsExtra that highlights a number of features of the EA that will apply across NSW and the ACT. Teacher Salaries And Classifications Your employer has agreed to match the DEC proposal to government school teachers, that includes a 1.5% pay rise backdated to October last year and a 1.5% pay rise from April this year with ongoing increases of 1.5% in October 2015 and in April and October 2016.

These increases are higher than the NSW settlement and will result in teacher salaries that will sit 2% above NSW rates at the top of the scale in 2016. In this flat wages environment this is a solid benefit for teachers in the ACT. The EA introduces a standards based pay scale from 2016 that provides accelerated progression to the top of the scale for Graduate teachers employed after 2014.

In order for Graduate teachers to progress to Proficient level, they must have two years full-time teaching and be accredited at Proficient level (‘Full Registration’ in the ACT). During this period, Graduate teachers will continue to attract annual percentage increases. The new standards scale, however, will produce substantial salary increases over the span of the Agreement.

Teachers employed prior to 2014 will transition to the NSW scale, but have the advantage of ACT percentage increases. The exemplar teacher classification will

no longer exist. Access to the top of the scale will be available to all.

HATs A newly voluntary classification level will be introduced for those accredited by the Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) at Highly Accomplished Teacher (HAT) Level with a salary of 6% above Band 2 (Proficient Teacher) Level 5 (top of the scale). This will be significantly higher than any special remuneration currently being paid to HATs in the ACT Catholic systemic schools.

Promotions Positions The percentage salary increases outlined above will also apply to promotions positions.

Early Learning Centres Despite opposition by the Union, the Archdiocese refused to include teachers and other early learning staff in the new EA. Instead the Archdiocese has proposed a specific agreement called the Catholic Education School Age Care and Early Learning Centre Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the ELC/SAC EA). Our objective is now to ensure that the new arrangements maintain parity in rates of pay and conditions with schools for teachers and support staff.

Our goal is to bring ELC members back under the larger systemic agreement.

The Archdiocese has confirmed that the ELC/SA EA will generally reflect conditions that are settled in the systemic schools EA. A further meeting has been proposed between the IEU and employers in the week beginning 15 June. The Union will consult with members during the negotiating process.

Work Practices Agreement The Work Practices Agreement for teachers in the Archdiocese has been fully maintained and will remain as an annexure to the EA. Refer to the NewsExtra for other improvements in teacher conditions.

Personal/Carer’s Leave The NewsExtra outlines benefits for both teachers and general employees in the new Personal/Carer’s Leave. Leave is now fully accumulative with more flexible arrangements and less demanding evidence requirements.

General Employees Salaries and Classifications General Employees will receive a pay rise of 2.27% backdated to 1 July 2015 and a further payment of 2.5% brought forward to January 2016.

While the payments and classifications present as a new scale, the salaries and progression arrangements are commensurate with existing arrangements for support staff (clerical and administrative staff and school assistants). Employees due to progress to a higher level will do so at their currently anticipated progression date.

The new scale delivers substantial increases for other categories including building maintenance, grounds maintenance, cleaning staff, caretakers and canteen and shop staff. The EA includes 15%+ increases for some classifications. No worker will be disadvantaged.

Refer to page 4 for information about retention and improvement in conditions.

Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes The proposed new enterprise agreement includes some important changes to Sick and Carer’s Leave for both teaching and non-teaching staff. The Union believes these provide significant overall improvements to the accumulation and taking of leave and will be of great benefit to members.

However at the time of writing, your employer, the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes, has not agreed to the full suite of the compensation package and therefore they propose to maintain the status quo in regard to leave.

At issue was the inclusion of a new type of leave called “Special Leave”, a single day to be used for family or community events where scheduling the timing is beyond an employee’s control. Things like a family wedding in Sydney or a child’s graduation.

The Union is disappointed that the diocese has refused to accept this new condition as an entitlement for all employees particularly as it has the potential to most greatly benefit those in isolated communities. We hope that they will reconsider their position and adopt

the full package of new leave arrangements which are detailed in the enclosed NewsExtra.

In the meantime, ALL current leave entitlements remain unchanged for employees in the Diocese of WilcanniaForbes.

No seat on the AITSL board for IEU The IEU federal body (IEUA) has been advised that it’s request for an Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) board position has been declined. The IEUA sought the vacant position based on the premise its representation of the independent education sector (Australia wide) is a vital and necessary function of the Union.

Members interests cannot be best served when classroom practitioners do not have a voice.

Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne’s rejection of the IEUA’s application will only fuel a perception that AITSL is a body not of and for teachers.

AITSL is a public body which is funded by the Australian Government and Minister Pyne seems to be the sole member of the company.

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers would be better served by a genuinely representative body that provides for a classroom voice.

The AITSL Board, as of 2 June 2015, is: Name Position Professor John Hattie Chair Mr John Fleming Deputy Chair Dr Michele Bruniges Leadership and management of

government school systems Mr Rob Nairn School leadership Dr Geoff Newcombe Leadership and management

of non- government school systems Mr Stephen Elder Governance, including audit,

risk and finance Ms Melanie Saba Regulation and accreditation of

initial teacher education courses Professor Tania Aspland Initial teacher education Mr Trevor Fletcher Teacher practitioner Dr Jennifer Buckingham Public policy Mr Tony Cook Government liaison

Minister’s announcement on the new AITSL board just this week, Why does the board no longer have a teacher representative”?

No answer was supplied during the debate.

The recent Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group review of teacher education, which will be administered by AITSL, recommends tighter checks and balances on student teachers.

The IEU largely accepts this review and welcomes it as a useful document to work from.

The review recommends improvements on the practicum for student teachers and high levels of mentoring and support for beginning teachers. The Union welcomes the focus on these issues.

However, industrial representation on the board of AITSL is required to make sure teachers’ needs are being met in a realistic manner, and AITSL requirements are relevant to the day to day work of the profession.

During debate in the Senate on June 4, Senator and former teacher Deborah O’Neill said, “I refer to the

Mark Northam Assistant Secretary newsmonth - Vol 35 #4 2015

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Lismore’s inaugural TeachMeet a success A dozen eager environmentalists gathered for TeachMeet in Lismore during May, an informal new style of professional development hosted by the IEU. TeachMeets bring together teachers to share their ideas of best practice. This allows teachers to go away from this short form of two-hour professional development with ideas and resources to use and share in their own classrooms and schools.

The Lismore TeachMeet attracted both IEU members and non-members from across the Northern Rivers school community to share two to seven minute presentations about their activities in environmental sustainability.

The Byron Community College presented their toolkit of sustainability learning activities and resources that can be infused into a cross-curriculum of subject areas. St Francis Xavier Primary School Ballina shared how they went about

applying successfully for a local council grant to reduce playground waste and the importance of getting the whole school community involved in the project.

Cape Byron Steiner School has been involved for many years now in environmental sustainability with everything they do at their school – “it’s what we do” – presenter Gavin Colley said.

Gavin went on to present an amazing environmental education ecosystem that forms the very essence of Cape Byron Steiner School’s structure, everything from solar powered classrooms to composting toilets. This had the rest of the TeachMeet participants in enviro-heaven.

Thank you to IEU Officers Amy Cotton and Keith Heggart who contributed to the TeachMeet, with Amy presenting a slideshow of the IEU’s new office building in Sydney being retro-fitted for environmental efficiency and minimal impact.

Keith’s presentation involved a short film titled Justice Citizens: An Environmental Film Voice. This film was developed by secondary school students to examine the water quality of the Nepean River at Penrith. Students interviewed and filmed the Nepean Waterkeepers, took water samples from the river, tested these samples and followed up with letter writing to the local council, drawing attention to the water quality issue in their local environment.

The IEU thanks all the participants at the inaugural Lismore TeachMeet and looks forward to further TeachMeets on the north coast in future.

Steve Bergan, Organiser

Present Tense Wages under review Kendall Warren Organiser Modern award review The Fair Work Commission is currently undertaking a review of all modern awards, including the award that applies in the private college sector, the Educational Services (Post-Secondary Education) Award 2010. This review is in line with the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The IEU has made a wide-ranging submission to this review, and we hope to effect changes to the award that will benefit IEU members in the sector. In particular, the Union is seeking to amend the sections of the award that relate to

notice periods for casuals, the casual daily rate, and recognition of experience.

The Union is seeking information from members who may have been unjustly affected by the current provisions of the award. Specifically, we want some members to make a statement that we can include in our submission. If you are willing and able to assist, please contact the IEU. Award rate increases As well as the four yearly award review, the Commission also recently heard the annual national minimum wage case, and granted a general increase of 2.5%. This increase will flow through to all awards, including the post secondary award, meaning that the annual salary at the top of the scale will increase to approximately $58, 720 per annum, and all other rates will increase by a similar amount. These increases will take effect from 1 July.

futureperfect NSW ACT Independent Education Union

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Agreement making In recent months, your Union has been busy negotiating agreements, in particular with Navitas English (formerly known as ACL), and with UoW College (attached to the University of Wollongong). Both negotiations have been productive so far, and it is hoped that an acceptable settlement can be reached in the near future. A fuller report on both negotiations will be given in the next edition of Present Tense.

In the coming months, the Union will commence bargaining with several other colleges, including UWS College, EF, Access, Sydney College of English, Specialty, Universal, SELC and Insearch.

If you are an IEU member at any of these colleges, now is the time start encouraging your colleagues to join the IEU. It is no surprise that the Union is able to get the best outcomes at those colleges with the strongest union density.

The Fair Work Act includes provisions for good faith bargaining, under which an employer must negotiate for an agreement where it can be demonstrated that a majority of employees wish for this to happen. If you would like to know how this can be applied in your workplace, contact your Union, the IEU. Seminar postponed The IEU had hoped to hold our annual seminar for employees in the private college sector, but unfortunately there was insufficient demand for the proposed date on 18 May. The seminar will therefore be rescheduled for later in the year, most likely in October or November.

ELICOS for members look out future perfect in your inbox

First Class

Protect your brand this standing might not only endanger your current employment, but future roles as well.

By agreeing to undertake employment at a school, you’ve agreed to support the school’s ethos. If your employer is a religious organisation, your internet presence needs to be in line with that ethos as well.

Amy Cotton Professional Officer

Like it or not, teachers are highly visible members of the community. No matter where we go, there’s always a member of our school community there, be it a student, ex-student, parent or colleague.

Teachers in regional towns have felt the pressure of visibility for years. However with the widespread availability of cheap smart phones and the ease of posting to social media, now being ‘spotted’ somewhere can mean a digital trail of your movements is created.

Without your permission, written or pictorial posts about you can be uploaded quickly to the internet and there is very little that can be done to control that.

Yes, the main source of information about you on the internet is you and your friends/family.

Photographs and posts by you and your friends need to be carefully thought through. You are considered a role model by society and posts that contradict

Common problematic situations include: • posting or commenting on an issue in a manner that contradicts the school’s ethos • promoting an event or petition that contradicts the school’s position • posting photos that break an expected dress code or show you breaking the law (eg, taking drugs, irresponsible driving) • indicating that your private living situation or relationship contradicts the school’s ethos, and • negatively commenting on or contradicting the educational style of your school, eg publically dissenting regarding the pedagogical style or strategic plan of the school.

Other situations might endanger your employment too, such as: • Posting about your students/their parents, even

if it is funny or nice (you are breaking confidentiality)

•

•

commenting negatively about your workplace or colleagues posting on a sick day, and being ‘friends’ online with parents or students (including ex-students), even if they are family or long-term friends.

In short, you need to monitor your digital presence. Even if you never use social media, your friends/family and students do.

Google yourself and work out the source of information there. Have a conversation with your friends and family about the need to protect your career.

If you are unhappy with your digital presence, the best tactic is to ‘bury’ the bad information by creating a deluge of good information – create a blog, get on Twitter and Facebook and post positive education stories.

After a while, the negative images/posts will drop down the Google search result list.

The Union’s new Pedagogy in the Pub: AntiSocial Media course explores the legal issues facing teachers and support staff. To find a session near you, visit www.ieu.asn.au

New PIP: Anti-Social Media

Thirty-one members at Liverpool Catholic Club were the first to experience the new course added to the Pedagogy in the Pub program: Anti-Social Media on 1 June.

The session was run by Organiser Karen Forbes and Professional Officer Amy Cotton.

The title of the course reflects the danger that social media poses to an education professional’s career.

While it’s important that social media be used constructively by students, teachers and schools alike, there are some risks that school employees need to mitigate through responsible use.

The course explores examples of poor online practice by workers but focuses on issues related to the education sector.

A member attending the course said, “This course opened my eyes to the risks of posting online”.

To find out when this course is coming to your area, visit www.ieu.asn.au or contact your organiser.

Organiser Karen Forbes recounts a tricky social media situation newsmonth - Vol 35 #4 2015

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The backbone of the science department She’s not a teacher but Pam Waller loves enthusing kids about science, and showing them its fun and relevant to everyday life.

Pam has been the lab technician at St Paul’s High School Booragul, near Newcastle, for 15 years.

She used to work in industry and as a university research assistant, but began volunteering at school when her children were younger and eventually was employed as a science assistant in a high school.

“I enjoy the variety. Okay, we do the same pracs every year, but I’m always looking out for ways to make things fun.

I buy toys the teachers can use to show scientific principles in a fun way.

“I used to help out, showing the children how to do chemical techniques properly, such as how to use a pipette correctly.

“However, now the school is too big, and the responsibilities I have for chemsafety take so much time that it does not allow me any time to do this.”

Pam said because lab technicians in schools often work alone they can feel isolated and misunderstood.

“We don’t have anyone to talk shop with. A lot of people, even in the science department, don’t appreciate how much preparation we are doing behind the scenes [including snake handling, stick insect wrangler and fish feeder at some schools].

“The responsibilities for the hazardous register and the chemsafety are huge. I could kill someone with a spelling mistake.

“But as we often work alone, it’s not always acknowledged or registered by school communities.”

Pam has been an IEU member throughout her career and said the support of the Union has done much to alleviate the feeling of isolation.

“My father was a HR manager and antiunion. So it was a big step for me to join, but I’ve never regretted it. It’s often the only support lab technicians have and the Union is always at the end of the phone to offer advice.

“I think for all lab technicians the IEU would be a great help.”

“The responsibilities for the hazardous register and the chemsafety are huge.”

Sue Osborne Journalist

SUPPORTSTAFFCONFERENCE

WORK WELL Keynote speaker

Dan Haesler, an international keynote speaker, educator, writer & consultant

Mercure Sydney | 818 - 820 George Street, Sydney

Contact Cassie Barnes on 8202 8900 or cassie@ieu.asn.au 8

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Peak body celebrates 21 years The Professional Teachers’ Council (PTC) NSW celebrated at its 21st Annual President’s Dinner in Sydney recently.

So much has been achieved since its genesis, including bringing together 45 specialist professional teachers’ associations in NSW. Representing the IEU were Professional Officer Amy Cotton and Communications and Media Officer Bronwyn Ridgway, who attended alongside representatives from professional teachers associations throughout the state.

Guest speaker was Dr Roslyn Arnold, Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Sydney.

Her message focused on “why teachers will always be essential to students’ learning: empathy, care, and attunement.”

Dr Arnold spoke of empathetic intelligence, a concept that she has researched, developed and written about extensively.

“Empathically intelligent practitioners demonstrate a number of qualities, attributes, predispositions and abilities, in particular those which contribute to enthusiasm, capacity to engage others, expertise and empathy.

“Such practitioners are sensitive to the function of attunement and mirroring as affirmation and a means of modulating response.”

In explaining its relevance in education, Dr Arnold said, “Underpinning the theory

Amy Cotton IEU Professional Officer and Director of English Teachers’ Association, Rosalee Whiteley Vice President of PTC NSW and representing English Teachers’ Association and Susan Gazis, PTC NSW Board member also representing English Teachers’ Association.

“The development of the theory of empathic intelligence has been influenced by scholars, researchers and practitioners in cross-disciplinary fields of human interaction.

“Empathic intelligence is grounded in practice and intrinsically mobilised by speculation and imagination. It can be, therefore, both a defining and an enabling theory when practised by deeply reflective professionals.

“The complexities of inter-subjective and intra-subjective engagement affirm

“These associations are a community of support vital to isolated teachers, or those new to teaching a particular key learning area.” of empathic intelligence is a philosophy which believes in the inherently personcentred nature of effective pedagogy, and a psychology which understands human development as dynamic, experiential, inter-dependent, self-driven and selfenhancing.

Member survey:

HSC Notes from the Marking Centre

belief in the power of relationships to mobilise tacit abilities for deep learning.

Such engagement draws on intelligent caring and empathy as principled strategies and hope as an enabling affect in transformative learning,” Dr Arnold said.

Amy said: “Being a member of a

teaching association has multiple benefits”.

“These volunteer-driven organisations represent the profession, each of whom are tireless advocates on behalf of their members on topics as varied as curriculum, assessment, accreditation and workload expectations.

“Members can access great professional learning opportunities via subject specific professional development but also informal mentoring.

“Also, these associations are a community of support vital to isolated teachers, or those new to teaching a particular key learning area.”

The IEU recognises the important advocacy work by the PTC NSW and its member associations conduct on behalf of the teaching profession. The Union looks forward to working alongside the PTC NSW, particularly at a time when accreditation is integral to teachers’ progression and remuneration within the profession.

The Union is asking HSC teachers to subjects as to which types and what quality complete a short online survey regarding of responses are graded in particular ways.

BOSTES’ HSC Notes from the Marking Many teachers do not have the ability to Centre. A link to the survey is on the IEU participate in HSC marking, and certainly website: www.ieu.asn.au. can only mark one section a year, so Some members have teachers are extremely reliant indicated to the Union that on the HSC Notes giving “Teachers are there is a diminution of the extremely reliant insight into the expectations quality of feedback found in of students as well as on the HSC Notes transparency of the marking the HSC Notes documents.

The purpose of the survey is giving insight into process. to gain a preliminary indication the expectations of This survey’s results will as to whether the quality to the Union as to students as well as indicate of the feedback provided whether there is widespread transparency of the concern amongst HSC in the BOSTES HSC Notes allows teacher members to marking process.” teachers, and whether further make sound professional action is required. judgements relating to HSC students’ Amy Cotton Professional Officer progress.

It’s important that the HSC Notes provide clear guidelines to all teachers of HSC newsmonth - Vol 35 #4 2015

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Early childhood teachers should register to vote For the first time early childhood teachers are able to vote in the BOSTES Quality Teaching Council (QTC) elections.

The QTC is the peak body that represents working teachers at BOSTES. It advises BOSTES about quality teaching initiatives and accreditation policy.

This year will be the first time that an early childhood teacher can be voted onto the QTC to represent the sector.

However, all early childhood teachers need to register to vote. They can do this by following this

link: http://www.nswteachers.nsw.edu.au/about-us/ quality-teaching-council-qtc/election-of-teacherrepresentatives/ The IEU hopes that all early childhood teachers register by noon, Friday 9 October. Don’t let that due date slip away – register now and vote for your profession’s future representative.

Amy Cotton Professional Officer

Spitting the dummy IEU Officers were among the crowd calling for the Federal Government not to cut paid parental leave on 1 June . The protest was organised

by Unions NSW in North Sydney, outside Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey’s office. I June is International Day of the Child.

Save the date ECS Conference Saturday August 29

For bookings and inquiries contact Iva Coric professionaldev@ieu.asn.au or 02 8202 8900 10

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Rep’s spotlight Solidarity in a small town “I was very proud of the whole school, as virtually everyone committed to take part, and it was a very unifying event for us.”

An IEU Rep for 20 years, Wendy Hill has no recollection of industrial action at McAuley Catholic Central School in Tumut prior to the recent Catholic dispute.

So when the whole K-10 school stopped work last year, and resolved to take part in the one-day stoppage on 28 April, it was big news in the 6000-strong town.

“If you go on strike in the city, you can be a bit anonymous. But here everyone knows us and knew we were going on strike,” Wendy said.

“I was interviewed in the Tumut and Adelong Times and they wanted to know specifically why our school was going on strike, not the ‘party line’. We had to be committed to explaining to people what we were about.

“I was very proud of the whole school, as virtually everyone committed to take part, and it was a very unifying event for us.”

Joining the Union was a given for Wendy back in the early 90s when she started her career. Both her parents worked in the public system; her mother was a teacher

Prize prompts exploration

and her father a principal.

“Both were in the Union and it was just what you did. I always tell new teachers about the benefits the Union has won for us, like smaller classes, RFF, long service leave, sick leave and pay increases.

“If you’re happy to accept those benefits, then you should be happy to join the Union. You can’t sit back and let others do it for you.”

While she is committed to the cause, the learning support teacher enjoys the social aspects of attending the South East

Branch and Council meetings as well.

“It’s good to stay in touch with teachers from other schools and get the latest information. At Council we get a chance to raise issues at our schools, even if it’s a small thing, we can share.”

Sue Osborne Journalist

Join the online conversation Join the IEU social group & keep up to date with us... www.facebook.com/ieunswact twitter.com/#!/IEUNSWACT

Despite a decade as a teacher Phoebe Scali is still not on a permanent contract, so the security of IEU membership is important to her.

Phoebe recently won an iPad mini which was an incentive prize to members to update their details with the IEU. It’s crucial that we have the most upto-date contact details for all members so we can best serve them, so if yours have changed recently let us know.

Phoebe is an English teacher at Marist College Kogarah but since last year she has been teaching special needs and ESL. Marist Kogarah is a huge school catering for 1100 boys, with 110 funded special needs students and 84% from a nonEnglish speaking background, so Phoebe’s job is a big one.

“I’m really enjoying it . . . the boys are beautiful here.”

Phoebe joined the IEU when she was still a university student and said while she’s never had to call on its help, she appreciates the support.

“The recent [Catholic] campaign showed how important it is to be in the Union.”

A large contingent from the College attended the stop work rally in the city last year.

Phoebe said the school has a strong Chapter with excellent representation from Organiser Marilyn Jervis and Rep Neil Brotherton.

“Marilyn has been a great resource for a number of staff.”

Phoebe has never used an iPad before so she’s looking forward to exploring it for professional and personal use.

“I might get some good tips from the boys,’’ she said. newsmonth - Vol 35 #4 2015

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Securing Our Future Conference Induction and mentoring must be entitlements

“Is teaching the profession that eats its young?”

The aim of the IEU’s Securing Our Future, Best Practice Induction and Mentoring Conference on 21 and 22 May was to ensure better conditions for early career teachers and their mentors were placed squarely on the political and industrial agenda.

Nearly 200 people, including practitioners in schools and early childhood settings, academics and employers attended on both days of the Conference, held at the University of Technology’s Aerial Function Centre in Sydney.

IEU General Secretary John Quessy said the Union had an obligation to advocate on behalf of early career teachers and their mentors.

BOSTES and the Teacher Quality Council in the ACT were “abrogating their responsibilities to the profession” if they did not establish minimum standards for induction and mentoring, John said.

The plight of teachers in early childhood settings, or in casual and temporary 12

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work, who had no access to stable and continuous relationships with colleagues and employers, particularly need to be addressed, he said.

“Any serious form of induction or mentoring is nigh impossible in these circumstances.

“The casualisation of the workplace, most particularly in the first five years after graduation, ensures many beginning teachers have no access to a formal mentor and are without rights to release time.

“Induction and mentoring must be an industrial and professional entitlement.”

IEU Federal Secretary Chris Watt said there were serious industrial implications to the Conference, and there were “unbelievably serious consequences from not doing this stuff right”.

“It’s not just about the profession it’s about the children in the classroom,” Chris said.

“The profession can only grow if issues around induction and mentoring are looked at. I congratulate the Branch for taking the

initiative and putting it squarely and firmly on the political and industrial agenda.”

Keynote speaker Sean Kearney, Associate Dean in the School of Education, Notre Dame University, said up to half of new teachers leave the profession in the first five years after graduating.

“Is teaching the profession that eats its young?” he said.

Induction can reduce teacher attrition rates by 20%, which would save governments a lot of money.

Dr Kearney estimates that $240 million a year is wasted by not retaining beginning teachers. That figure does not include the cost of their university education.

Keynote speaker Philip Riley, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, Australian Catholic University, presented his detailed findings on how schools understand mentoring, and how it differs from coaching and supervision.

“Mentoring should be seen as helping someone, not supervising them,” he said.

Associate Professor Peter Hudson from Queensland University of Technology and Dr Suzanne Hudson from Southern Cross University emphasised the importance of mentoring for young teachers, and challenged their audience to mentor a real life case study.

Dr Neville Ellis, Lecturer, School of Education at the University of NSW, explored how mentoring can be used as a dynamic collaboration process for effective professional learning.

Numerous workshops throughout the conference explored various aspects of induction and mentoring in school and early childhood settings.

More coverage of this conference is coming in the June copy of IE Magazine and in a video on the IEU website.

Sue Osborne Journalist

Fighting the Princess Diana syndrome Accreditation proved to be the dominant topic at the Exploring Issues in Early Childhood workshop held during the IEU’s Securing Our Future Best Practice Induction and Mentoring Conference held on 21-22 May. The panel discussion revolved around the nitty gritty of how accreditation, induction and mentoring can work in the early childhood sector.

It's understood that from 1 January 2016 teachers working in the sector will be ‘deemed’ Proficient, and from 1 October 2016 anyone entering the profession as a new teacher will have to undergo the accreditation process, the same as a school teacher.

How BOSTES will administer this is a work in progress, as many members of the workshop panel agreed.

They also agreed that accreditation will give early childhood teachers the professional base they need to prove their worth.

Lismore Preschool Early Childhood Education Support Officer Lynette Funnell said everyone would have minimum standards to work from.

Albury Preschool Director and IEU ECS Vice President

“We must choose our own destiny.”

Gabe Connell said early childhood teachers suffered from the ‘Princess Diana Syndrome’. Princess Diana was described in the press as a kindergarten teacher although she had no qualifications.

“She was just someone kind who liked working with children. We have to prove our value, and accreditation will help. It might lead to pay parity [with school teachers].”

Lyn Connors, KU Regional Office Mayfield Area Manager, said many teachers were trained to teach 0-12, so having accreditation which was relevant to both school and early childhood would give them more flexibility.

“At the moment they are forced to choose between school or early childhood, but this allows them to move from one or the other and back again,” Lyn said.

Who would provide induction and mentoring and oversee the accreditation process for new teachers, particularly in stand alone rural and regionals settings, was a major question.

Max Gracock, Teacher Learning Network Victoria Program Manager, and Lynette both said it was vital teachers told BOSTES now, during the consultation

period, how the induction and mentoring process should be run in early childhood.

“We must choose our own destiny,” Max said.

Gabe said deemed teachers would need training themselves on how to mentor others.

Lyn suggested stand-alone centres could form networks to share mentors.

Carol Burgess, NSW State President, Early Childhood Australia, said finding mentors for early childhood teachers was a serious issue, which BOSTES needed to recognise and address.

Gabe said it was important that release time for professional development was mandated, otherwise it would be a problem dealing with parent committees.

IEU ECS Officer Verena Heron said the IEU was working on enterprise agreements that included provisions for time release for professional development and mentoring, and the IEU sits on the working party at BOSTES developing the accreditation process.

Sue Osborne Journalist

Feeling the warmth in the room

The warmth in the room was palpable when preservice teachers Kym Baird (University of Sydney), Morgan Howard (University of Notre Dame), Leah Maree Jacobs (University of Sydney), Amy Marfleet (University of Notre Dame) and Danielle White (University of Notre Dame) took to the stage.

The five final-year teaching students took part in a panel session at the IEU’s Securing Our Future, Best Practice Induction and Mentoring Conference on 21-22 May, talking about their fears, expectations and needs as they approach their first year in the profession.

Danielle, who is training in secondary Maths and History, said the support she felt from experienced teachers in the room was great and she hoped to get the “same vibe” when she started teaching.

“The big thing I’ve taken from today is that there are induction processes in place and

we won’t be alone. Most teachers want to help and encourage us,” she said.

Morgan Howard, studying secondary English and History, said he had learnt how important it was to have an induction.

“Today I’ve learnt it is important to ask questions and build relationships. The sink or swim approach doesn’t work any more,” he said.

“At uni it’s about getting the best marks as an individual, but in schools it’s about working in collaboration with other staff.”

Amy Marfleet, studying early childhood education, said it was a great idea to hold a conference on induction and mentoring.

“It’s good to see that schools are trying to find out how they can improve their induction and mentoring process, and seeing what other schools and systems are doing to support students.

“Any chance teachers have to network is a good opportunity.”

“The sink or swim approach doesn’t work any more.”

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Missed out on the Securing Our Future Conference? You can still be involved The IEU’s Securing Our Future Conference held in May at the University of Technology, Sydney was a great success, with many of the participants describing the event in glowing terms. The IEU feels that this is a vitally important conversation to continue, and for this reason the conference was ‘livetweeted’ by IEU officers and participants.

Twitter is popular among teachers as a way to share thoughts, ideas, frustrations and resources. Users communicate via tweets, which are 140 character snippets.

Other users can follow their peers, or follow specific hashtags that refer to events. Popular hashtags in NSW at the moment are #qanda (referring to the ABC TV show) and #auspol (referring to Australian politics). In the past, TV shows have had their own specific hashtags, like #mkr for My Kitchen Rules.

Live tweeting is becoming more and more popular at conferences, and especially educational conferences. Live tweeting is when, while taking part in keynote presentations or workshops, participants tweet their thoughts about the event.

It’s sometimes also called ‘back-channelling’.

It’s a way for participants to share what they feel are the important take-aways from the conference. The IEU tweeted about the Securing Our Future Conference using the hashtag #secure2015, and reached almost 5000 people over the course of two days, as well as generating more than 20,000 separate interactions.

If you want to find out more about what happened at the conference, or more about mentoring for early career teachers in general, then you can search Twitter for the hashtag #secure2015. The IEU has also collated some of the most popular tweets into a Storify (basically a curated list of tweets). You can access them below.

Storify of the conference day one: https:// storify.com/keithheggart/securing-ourfuture-2015 Storify of the conference day two: https:// storify.com/keithheggart/securing-our-future2015-day-two

Keith Heggart Organiser

Many questions about accreditation Gabe Connell Vice President ECS As we move closer to teacher accreditation in the early childhood sector there are many questions we need to ask ourselves.

• What is it going to look like?

• What will the process be?

• Who will be the teacher accreditation authority?

• How will be able to access the required amount of BOSTES accredited professional development?

• How will our services be able to afford this?

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These are just the beginning questions.

As we move through the process there will be a lot more.

The IEU is looking at all these issues very closely and is representing our sector very strongly in all forums. We are so lucky to have this support and we will be guided through this very complex process.

Last month I was lucky enough to attend the Securing Our Future Conference run by the IEU. The ongoing theme throughout the two days was mentoring and the importance of mentoring for new teachers – not just in the first couple of years while they work towards their Proficient status but ongoing. The statistics we heard about beginning teachers leaving the profession were alarming. The cost of this was even more alarming. One of the problems we will face in the early childhood sector is

how will we mentor beginning teachers through the process and beyond when we will also be new to it. We also need to consider how we will do this in an already time poor environment.

We need to consider seriously how we can work this into our enterprise agreements into the future because we will not be able to do this without time allowance and money.

Current research has proven that teachers who stay in the profession and excel are those who have had strong support from their schools and services and have been involved in an ongoing mentoring program.

We need also to ask ourselves what is good mentoring? Can this be learnt? If so how? Training is imperative.

At the conference I was privileged to be able to attend a workshop run by two

teachers, Maria O'Donnell and Clare Fletcher, from St Mary McKillop College in Canberra. They said they had a visionary principal who saw the absolute value in mentoring beginning teachers and supported them through training and the establishment of an amazing mentoring program. While this is in a secondary school, I believe we can learn a lot from this program and the basic philosophies behind it will cross over all sectors.

There is a lot for us to consider as we move into 2016 and beyond.

Labour bites Paid domestic violence leave

Tasmanian bootmaker Blundstone is encouraging other businesses to follow its lead and offer employees paid family violence leave.

From July, the company will give its 90 workers in Australia and New Zealand 10 days a year of paid leave if they experience family violence.

Leave will also be available for people who are caring for family violence victims but do not directly experience it themselves.

Blundstone’s chief executive Steve Gunn believes family violence leave should become a universal entitlement, and businesses should take the initiative to offer it without being forced to by law.

“This is a massive societal problem, so we need to be doing whatever we can to highlight it, and to do our best to help people who are affected by it and hopefully reduce its incidence,” he said. (Source: ABC) Doctors oppose child detention laws

Government’s mandate as the new session of parliament opened following the national election.

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) accused the government, run by a Conservative Party majority, of “claiming that it cares about standards” while really carrying out an “extended and accelerated privatisation of our school system”.

This Queen’s Speech “entrenches inequality”, said Blower. Deploring “a generation of stressed pupils, with teachers working 60 hour weeks, too little of which is spent doing work which is of relevance to pupils”, Blower went on to say that accountability is the over-arching issue, and it is currently way out of hand.

“We are testing children within an inch of their lives and the vibrancy and love of learning that should be at the centre of the curriculum is all but lost,” she said.

“Trade unions are an important part of the fabric of this country,” she said, adding that working people fought long and hard for the right to be represented fairly and to challenge injustice in the workplace. “To try and legislate to take that voice away is shameful and one which will be challenged,” she warned. (Source: Education International)

Exchange postcard

Mississauga adventure

Vale, Joan Kirner.

Doctors are calling for the government to amend the Australian Border Protection Act to allow doctors to publicly disclose failures in detention health care.

Dr Paul Bauert, Director of Pediatrics at Royal Darwin Hospital, says he and his staff have ethical concerns about sending children with psychological disorders back to Nauru and other centres.

“We’re in a bit of an ethical bind in that we recognise that this is causing ongoing damage and probably permanent damage to many of them,” he said.

He has called on the AMA to review its policy on asylum seekers and to ramp up opposition to the Federal Government’s anti-whistle blower laws.

Dr Bauert called for an end to the detention of children and the need for doctors to identify vulnerable children in light of allegations of sexual abuse on Nauru.

Doctors claim they have a right and a responsibility to blow the whistle.

(Source: Herald Sun) Queen’s speech causes criticism

Teachers’ unions in the United Kingdom are fiercely criticising the education policy included in the Queen’s Speech, outlining the

Joan Kirner often described as the “working class girl made good” was Victoria’s first and only female premier.

Her death in May is mourned by the labour movement, by those involved in the movements she championed (Emily’s List for example) and by those in the community with a deep sense of social justice and equality.

Her upbringing instilled these values along with an unswerving belief in educational opportunities for all. A long time advocate for public education, she was president of the Australian Council of State School Organisations until she entered the Victorian Upper House in 1982. By 1985, she was a front bench minister, moved to the lower house in 1988 and realised a life ambition when she took over the education portfolio introducing staged and widespread reforms including reduced class sizes and increased retention rates.

By 1989 Joan was deputy premier and on John Cain’s retirement with the state in economic decline she accepted what was the poison chalice of becoming premier. Kirner never accepted the inevitability of the defeat of her government and even the conservative press acknowledged after Jeff Kennett’s election that Victoria’s economic recovery began under her premiership.

After politics Joan remained active in public service and her death is a significant loss. (Source: SMH)

Our time in Mississauga is going by really quickly and we have been taking advantage of every free weekend we have to travel and catch up with our family and friends who live in the Ottawa area (and some in the Greater Toronto Area).

Our children, Hayden (11) and Lara (9) have settled in to their new school and have made some good friends who live in the neighbourhood. At first, they found the move challenging but now are enjoying the Canadian lifestyle. The winter was long, we had lots of snow so we took advantage of all things winter, like skiing and skating.

For Easter we travelled to Albany, NY to spend time with our dear friends. We toured the area and on Easter Sunday took part in the Great Easter Egg Hunt that was held on the field of a high school nearby. As you can see we were lucky enough to get a photo with the Easter Bunny.

The Mother’s Day weekend (May 8-11) we travelled to Ottawa to take part in the CLEE Conference.

The secondary teachers visited Sir Guy Carleton Secondary School (vocational school) in the morning, had lunch at Dow’s Lake with all the exchange teachers and their families, then strolled along the

lake to take in all the beautiful tulips. On Saturday the group toured the Parliament building, enjoyed a native experience, took a double deck bus tour and had dinner at a restaurant in the Byward Market.

On our way home to Missassauga we stopped in Kingston, Ontario to have lunch with my mother, my aunt and my cousins for Mother’s Day. During the May long weekend, we travelled to Cleveland, Ohio where we visited the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We then visited the Ford Museum in Detroit before heading back to Mississauga via Windsor, Ontario.

We have so many more adventures planned and look forward to sharing them with everyone.

We are extremely grateful to our exchange partner and her family as well as Helen Gregory from the IEU and Carol Wilkins from CEEF here in Ontario for facilitating this exchange.

Diane Lefebvre works at Radford College in the ACT and has exchanged to St Edmund Campion Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario. Diane is Canadian and emigrated to Australian 18 years ago.She is an IEU council delegate for the ACT Monaro Branch.

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IEU supports Nepali people At the recent IEU Supporting Our Future Conference, all 32 speakers and presenters were asked if they would agree to donate the money that would have been spent on their ‘speakers’ gifts’ to the APHEDA Nepal Appeal.

APHEDA is the overseas aid agency of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. All

speakers agreed on this initiative and the IEU was able to give $1000 directly to the Nepal Appeal.

IEU Officers personally donated $1000 to SOS Children’s Villages International to help Nepali children and families recover from the earthquakes and help rebuild their communities and lives.

“Kathmandu valley is unimaginably destroyed! It is the most terrible quake we have ever experienced. Chilling cold, plus rain, lack of tents and [continuous] jolts is sufficient to scare people. It has disturbed even rescue work…”

Bishnu Rimal President of General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT)

APHEDA NEPAL APPEAL DONATE TODAY! With over 8,600 people confirmed dead, and over a million children said to be ‘severely affected’.

Nepal needs our help.

Nepali unions are organising immediate assistance and are calling for global union support.

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA is working with the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) and “The situation is really tough - no milk for the children, no water, very limited food and medicine.

The rebuilding process of Nepal is going to be long and difficult. So many basic facilities are gone homes are gone, schools are gone, our hospitals are overwhelmed.”

UNI Asia and Pacific Director, Rajendra Acharya

Union Network Nepal Liaison Council (UNI NLC) to provide the following immediate support:

• Water and food supply

as loss of thousands of lives. Many of the world heritage buildings have been reduced to rubble. This is a huge disaster for one of the poorest nations which was already struggling to improve the living standards of the poorest of the poor.

A major 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on April 25th 2015 causing unprecedented destruction of infrastructure and homes, as well

Your support is very much needed at this time. Whether large or small, every contribution counts in the effort to rebuild the lives of people in Nepal.

• Medical treatment for injured • Temporary tent and housing

SOLIDARITY NOT CHARITY GIVE GENEROUSLY TODAY I want to support I want to do more, I want to become a

NEPAL EARTHQUAKE GLOBAL JUSTICEAPPEAL PARTNER I PLEDGE THE FOLLOWING EACH MONTH: $10 $25 $50 $100 My own amount $_____ ( min.$10 ) YES, I would like free membership of Union Aid Abroad for the life of my donation and agree to be bound by the rules of the Association.

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OR, I WISH TO MAKE A ONE OFF DONATION: $30 $50 $100 $250 Other amount $_____ First name

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By signing this Direct Debit request you acknowledge having read and endorsed the terms and conditions governing the debit arrangements between you and APHEDA Inc. as set out in our Direct Debit Request http://bit.ly/APHEDA_DirectDebit Service Agreement overleaf.

I would like some information about wills & bequests

D.O.B

I would like to subscribe to Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA’s email bulletin

Donations to Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA are tax deductible.

DONATIONS FREECALL 1800 888 674 or 02 9264 9343 Please complete this form and post to: Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA, Level 3, 377-383 Sussex St, Sydney NSW 2000 office use only dm pl ap

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CETOP main projects 2005 – 2007 India – acquisition of land in Ladakh, building of Shara Nursery School and purchase of school bus.

2007 Solomon Islands – involvement with building of school community building.

2008 Nepal – refurbishment of hospital in Deurali post Maoist insurgency.

2009 Nepal – establishment of two medical camps with supplies and team of doctors, nurses and helpers from Australia and Nepal.

2009 – 2010

Nepal an ongoing and broadening commitment The earthquakes on 25 April and 12 May killed 8,693 people and injured 22,221 others. Earthquakes registered 7.8 and 7.3 magnitude and it’s estimated that more than 90% of schools were destroyed in the worst-hit districts of Gorkha, Sindhupalchok, Nuwakot and Rasuwa District. After the first earthquake, 13 districts were declared ‘priority affected districts’.

UNICEF claims approximately 32,000 classrooms were destroyed and 15,352 classrooms were damaged after the earthquakes. Schools across the districts worst hit by two major earthquakes in Nepal reopened recently.

The Education Ministry ordered that classes be held in temporary classrooms as most school buildings were damaged and many unsafe.

Delivering directly to Nepal Cranbrook School in Bellevue Hill, through Cranbrook Explorers and Travellers Overseas Partnership (CETOP), jumped into action within 24 hours of the initial quake. With the support of Headmaster Nicholas Sampson, CETOP called on the wider school community to ‘dig deep’ and help through donations. It was for the people of Nepal they knew well after working on community-based projects in the region for the past decade. Within six weeks CETOP raised $90,000 to help the people of earthquake ravaged Nepal. Contributions are still flowing in; two other schools contributed to the CETOP earthquake appeal, Oxley College, Bowral and Ascham School, Edgecliff.

On 19 May, Cranbrook Housemaster and geography teacher Robert Lock was interviewed by Peter Switzer on Sky News Business about the extraordinary support CETOP has given Nepal. Their discussion focused on the earthquake appeal where Robert Lock could say that every dollar given to CETOP goes directly to help the people in Rasuwa, one the worst affected areas.

“CETOP has been committed to projects in northern India and Nepal for the last 10 years. Work in these areas needs consistency and continuity to be effective; commitment must be long term. So when a tragic disaster of this magnitude occurs, CETOP’s longstanding connections with communities made it possible to respond and deliver appropriately and successfully.”

CETOP was originally a teacher initiative, which aimed at extending classroom learning and help develop social awareness through direct involvement in fundraising, trekking and community projects. By taking students into ‘the field’, CETOP has given Cranbrook students a direct and invaluable experience with communities abroad.

Robert Lock told Newsmonth that the most recent generosity and support from Cranbrook’s students, teachers and parents was built on personal experience and commitment. Support for CETOP projects begins early in

the Junior School, boys from Year 6 to Year 12 travel to CETOP projects in India and Nepal where boys and their parents become supporters of the projects.

“The boys travel with Cranbrook staff and World Horizons to trek and help with the various projects, most notably in the two schools CETOP has built in Nepal the Jeremy Madin/Kalchitt Primary School in the Rasuwa District and in Ladakh, the Shara Nursery School. Parents are invited to join treks to assist and enrich understanding and support for CETOP endeavours.

“Cranbrook teachers make their own commitment where biannually a group of teachers travel to Ladakh to run professional development and training for teachers. Our Cranbrook teachers pay for their own trips and give of their time and professional expertise.”

The primary school in Kalchitt was built by local people, but the building process was overseen and carefully monitored by architect and CETOP President Renate Carius. It was built in consultation with local people in a location accessible to children from surrounding villages. This region was recognised to be in an earthquake belt so the school was constructed to survive severe tremors and quakes.

While in the recent earthquakes villages throughout the region were devastated and the valley torn apart, the Jeremy Madin/Kalchitt Primary School remained structurally sound with only minor cracking of nonstructural walls.

Since the earthquake, CETOP President, World Horizons representatives and an experienced ICU nurse travelled to Nepal to directly deliver the proceeds of donations. They distributed bundles of corrugated iron sheeting to villagers for immediate temporary shelter prior to the monsoon rains. The villagers will be able to recycle the materials to rebuild their houses.

CETOP’s contribution to the Roofs for Rasuwa project has provided shelter for approximately 5,500 people. Together with three other small group providers, the project has given shelter for an estimated 11,500 people.

Since the April earthquake, CETOP has received hundreds of kilos of medical supplies that are now being delivered to the Rasuwa District. The supplies are greatly appreciated at the Chitti and Jhib Jhibe medical outposts, where medical resources are limited to non-existent. There is little to no other medical support, no equipment and no specialists; the work of doctors and nurses there remains very difficult.

IEU Rep David Berridge said, “As a member of Cranbook’s Chapter, staff are fully supportive of the school’s efforts in raising money for CETOP projects including building schools and providing infrastructure in Ladakh and Nepal.

It’s a heartfelt and long term commitment for many of us.”

Bronwyn Ridgway Communications and Media Officer

India – establishment of Chamsen women’s self-help group in Nubra Valley, Ladakh.

Construction of factory for processing sea buckthorn juice with proceeds going back into health and education in the area.

2010 India – Shara Nursery School in Ladakh compound wall and gates project and water bore pump constructed. Teacher in-service education conducted.

2011 Nepal – support for three burns victims covering operations and rehabilitation.

An ongoing project in Nepal, junior school dental camp covering eight schools.

Donation to Bittang monastery for Mandala painting, school infrastructure projects including hand washing and lighting projects.

2012 India – inaugural free outreach dental camp in Ladakh covering three villages.

India – teacher in-service at Shara Nursery School in Ladakh. Funding for supply of windows and doors for rebuilding of 25 houses in Hanu (north west of Ladakh) destroyed in floods two years earlier. Funding for school bus shelter, solar bath/shower and kitchen upgrade, second free outreach dental camp.

2013 Nepal – support for REED teacher training of four schools over three years in Rasuwa District.

Nepal – construction of Jeremy Madin/ Kalchitt Primary School, Rasuwa District Nepal.

2014 India – biannual teacher in-service at Shara Nursery School, Ladakh and construction of school’s playground.

Nepal – after completion of buiding, the official opening of Jeremy Madin/Kalchitt Primary School, Rasuwa District and studentto-student tutoring (Senior Cranbrook boys teaching local students).

India – third free outreach dental camp in Ladakh for five villages, Gya, Igoo, Shara, Putkse and Sharnoos.

Nepal – support for three schools providing scholastic materials, art supplies, benches, tables, desks, two outreach dental camps, support for refurbishment of local chorten.

2015 Nepal – fundraising delivers over $90,000 of assistance directly to those affected by the earthquake, including corrugated iron to villagers for shelter and rebuilding homes; medical supplies delivered to Chitti and Jhib Jhibe medical outposts. newsmonth - Vol 35 #4 2015

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The IEU continues to honour its loyal and long-serving members in workplaces all over NSW and the ACT with 30-year badges.

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Facebook feedback June 2015 Securing Our Future Conference Ariane: A great couple of days. Thank you.

Louise: What an outstanding Conference. One of the best Professional Development opportunities I have attended in recent years. Excellent presenters with great information to share. Thank you IEU.

not those with literacy and numeracy rates lower than our own.

Lyn: This system is outstanding . . . why won’t governments act on early childhood? As a teacher in this field for 28 years it is progressively getting worse not better.

Could Sweden teach us a thing or two about early childhood education?

Debbie: I always believe we should be looking towards models of education at the highest standard,

Is it time to ditch the classics and install mandatory Mandarin into our classrooms?

Maree: And will the MP lead by example?

Stephen: Ridiculous.

Computer to mark NAPLAN creative writing test MJ: Never send a test to do the job of a teacher.

I’m totally cool with being a conscientious objector to this form of anxiety driven testing.

Join the conversation facebook.com/ieunswact

Letter to Editor Dear Editor Congratulations on the Securing Our Future Best Practice Induction and Mentoring Mentoring Conference 21-22 May and many thanks to Amy [Cotton] for her splendid organisation. I think the mentoring idea’s time has come and hope schools will have the ability to fund worthwhile work and not just tick a box induction and mentoring programs.

The IEU publications app Read this issue on your iPad now.

Just visit iTunes, search for 'IEU' and download the free app.

No iPad? View the issue online at http://publications.ieu.asn.au

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Not only were we able to attend, travelling from Canberra, but the Union’s hospitality was amazing – it is 32 years since I’ve had such treatment!

Best wishes Liz McGinnis IEU Rep Marist College Canberra

Seeking recognition for expanding roles

Pam Smith

Principals Organiser Catholic sector principal members have welcomed progress in the negotiations for an enterprise agreement (EA) for teachers and support staff and look forward to the recommencement of discussions in regard to the EA for principals.

In particular, principals seek recognition of the diverse and expanding nature of their roles, including the workload pressures noted in the 2014 ACU/Teachers Health Fund research project on the health, safety and wellbeing of principals and assistant principals.

IEU Principals Branch will consult with its Catholic systemic principal members in advancing the EA negotiations.

One of the IEU’s major focus areas is enhancing access to professional development and the Union is pleased to recommend the Teacher Learning Network of which the IEU is a member.

Information on TLN has been provided at recent Principals’ Branch meetings and further details are at www.tln.org.au

Examples of TLN courses include Working with Challenging Parents and Being a Caring Teacher … with a Tough Class.

The IEU valued meeting with many principal members at the Securing Our Future Conference Best Practice Induction and Mentoring held on 21-22 May and looks forward to opportunities to follow up issues arising from that conference at school and/or system levels.

As in previous years, the IEU also welcomed the opportunity to support the Australian Catholic School Principals’ Conference which this year was held in Dubbo on 20-22 May. The Union provided a donation to the conference and a ‘best wishes’ letter to participants.

Input by IEU principal members has also been welcomed at the IEU women’s forums held in Newcastle on 12 May and in Gosford on 14 May. As previously noted, the contribution of Shoalhaven Region Anglican Schools Principal Lorrae Sampson was a highlight of the IEU women’s forum at Nowra in March.

IEU Principals’ Branch will hold its Term 2 meeting on 1 August at the Union’s Parramatta office and also looks forward to other opportunities to meet with its principal members across sectors at school, system or regional levels.

Union filling the training gap

Carolyn Collins

Vice President Support Staff I applaud the Union’s initiative to offer more professional development for support staff in 2015, as our employers offer little.

PIPs are a valuable way in which the Union is rolling out professional training for support staff. Keep an eye out for the following PIPS and meetings as they do apply to support staff: Environmental Sustainability, TeachMeets, Anti Social Media and women’s regional forums.

These are an ideal way of networking with other school support staff and we look forward to seeing you at any or all of these. The need for PD for support staff is paramount for us to deliver professional outcomes for our children.

For instance, classroom support staff are expected to work with children with special needs, but more often than not without specialised training.

We are at the coalface, but are often left out in the cold when it comes to PD. Our biannual conference will be held on 21 August 2015, so please include it in your

diary, as exciting things are already being planned for this conference. Bravo to the Union for its foresight!

Employers need to recognise support staff’s experience, years of service, commitment and training. We continue to be held back in progressing up the incremental steps. If the work we do reflects a certain step, surely it is right and just that we are paid at that level.

Some unscrupulous employers say, "We can only have one person at that step in each school" or "We had better change your role so it reflects the step you are currently working in."

Why? It just doesn’t make sense! Why put barriers in front of valuable and hardworking staff? I couldn’t imagine employers accepting this way of thinking in their jobs.

Along with teachers, our workloads are increasing and our work time is seriously compressed. At a local level we need to participate in a democratic conversation about the direction of support staff in the education community.

We need to support each other. Schools would not function without the integrity and hard work of support staff. A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work is all we are asking!

Join the online conversation Join the IEU social group & keep up to date with us... www.facebook.com/ieunswact

Education Act changes impact on Union

ACT Minister for Education Joy Burch

Leah Godfrey Vice President ACT The Government Schools Education Council and Non-Government Schools Education Councils are set to be abolished by the ACT Minister for Education Joy Burch.

They will be replaced by expert focus groups formed to advise the Minister as needed. The IEU has maintained a ministerial position on the NonGovernment Schools Education Council since its inception in 2004.

The Union has expressed concern about the new arrangements which, by the nature of their intended governance, will become reactive rather than proactive.

Other proposed changes to the Education Act included modifying the definition of Critical Incident and Critical Incident compliance changes in regards to the identity of the school as Government or Non-Government.

There are major concerns that there will be Federal funding cuts the ACT Budget for schools.

Early learning centres Early learning centre (ELC) staff in Catholic systemic schools are concerned about being left out of the current enterprise agreement negotiations.

Staff in those centres will continue to be covered by the current EA. Members in schools with an ELC should spread the word and encourage their ELC non-member colleagues to join the IEU. Contact your organiser if you have any questions or concerns.

2015 QUALITY TEACHING COUNCIL ELECTION REGISTRATION TO VOTE The Quality Teaching Council (QTC) advises the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards about quality teaching initiatives and accreditation policy.

The QTC is actively engaged with work to support teacher’s accreditation, professional development and the approval of initial teacher education programs.

The election for the 11 practising teacher and principal positions on the Quality Teaching Council will be held in the second half of this year. For the first time, an early childhood teacher will hold one of the practising teacher positions.

Accredited teachers and any applicants for voluntary accreditation will be automatically included on the electoral roll.

All other eligible persons will need to complete an online registration form. To find out if you are eligible and to register, follow the links under ‘About us’ at www.nswteachers.nsw.edu.au.

The opportunity to register closes at 12 noon on Friday 9 October, 2015.

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Book review

THE DROWNINGS’ ARGUMENT Australia’s inhumanity: Offshore processing of Asylum Seekers Published by Labor for Refugees Situations such as the tragic plight of thousands of Rohingya people fleeing persecution in Myanmar; the arguments over the mental and physical wellbeing of asylum seekers excommunicated on Manus Island and Nauru and the recent reports of sexual abuse of adults and children in detention can only evoke feelings of anger and shame among humane citizens in Australia.

The Drownings’ Argument is a small but powerful book that presents facts and logic about those who seek asylum and the policy of mandatory indefinite detention. The eight contributors to this text provide cogent detail, humanity and sanity.

The book’s sponsors, Labor for Refugees, are campaigning for the abolition of “the current regime of cruel and inhumane measures” to be replaced by “high quality programs” where the humanity of the seekers is recognised, legitimate claims are protected, honest and ethical leadership exists, Australia’s international obligations are satisfied and that costs are effective.

Julian Burnside QC argues that the policy of ‘stop the boats’ based on an apparent concern for the refugees is hypocritical as those who do not drown become destined for mandatory detention and placed in situations where mistreatment can and does occur.

Misha Coleman from the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce discusses the economic costs of the current policy of offshore detention, which are estimated to be at least twice the cost of onshore detention. This does not include the associated costs to physical and mental health.

Ben Saul, Professor of International Law at Sydney University, questions if offshore processing can achieve policy aims and be cost effective, when more humane and effective alternate policy is possible.

Professor James Hathaway, international refugee law expert, points out that Australia only hosts 0.1% of the world’s refugee population; that we are the 13th largest economy and that most of the responsibility for protecting refugees is carried by the poorest countries.

He urges that Australia takes the lead in persuading governments to be collectively responsible for those people who become refugees.

Pamela Curr from the Asylum Seeker’s Resource Centre describes the response by Italy, where a humane response to drownings was enacted.

Anna Burke, Labor MP for Chisholm in WA, argues that there has never been a crisis and calls for factual argument to replace emotional hype. Independent research, Marg Hutton, outlines why a call to an end for offshore mandatory processing is not ignoring the

tragedy of drownings, but how it compels us to react more compassionately to calls for help and to stop the demonisation of those affected.

Melissa Parke, MP for Freemantle, questions why we punish people who have survived the boat journeys, rather than working to prevent their need to take such perilous trips.

Tony Kevin, a former foreign affairs public servant, discusses the price we pay as a nation with reputation and relationships with close neighbours such as Indonesia, and more globally. He questions whether Australia is violating its duty of care to those people sent offshore.

Refugee advocate, Kate Jeffries, states that the restriction on refugee family reunions is a factor that contributes to the number of people who come by boat.

She argues for a more compassionate approach to family reunions and that funding is allocated.

Whether you are for, against or confused about offshore processing I heartily recommend this book as a source of thought, hope and argument without rhetoric.

Patricia Murnane IEU Executive Member Sacred Heart Primary School, Cabramatta

June giveaways

Are You Seeing Me? Author: Darren Groth Publisher: Woolshed Press Three copies to give away

Justine and Perry are embarking on the road trip of a lifetime. It’s been more than a year since they watched their dad lose his battle with cancer, leaving 19-year-old Justine as the sole carer of her disabled brother. Now the twins’ reliance on each other is set to shift. Before they go their separate ways, they’re seeking to create the perfect memory. Teachers’ resources for this book are available at www.randomhouse.com.au/teachers

Sherlock, The Complete Series 1- 3 Special edition BBC (M)

Three DVDs to give away

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman star in the Emmy Award winning BBC series. This set includes every episode from all three series plus five hours of special features included commentaries, outtakes, interviews and more.

Giggle and Hoot’s Best Ever ABC DVD (G)

Three DVDs to give away

This special DVD brings together all your favourite songs and adventures from Jimmy Giggle, Hoot and Hootabell. With separate playlists for day and night you can sing and dance with your owl pals during the day or wind down before bed at night.

To enter one of these giveaways, write your name, membership number and address on the back of an envelope clearly marked with which giveaway you wish to enter and send it to Newsmonth, GPO Box 116, Sydney, NSW 2001 by 26 June.

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NGS Super wins best fund 2015 (Insurance)

Bernard O’Connor NGS Super Chant West is an independent rating agency which analyses all aspects of the operations of industry, retail and corporate superannuation funds. It determines annual awards in various categories such as Super and Pension Fund of the year, Best Fund: Investments, Member Services, and Insurance to recognise excellence in the superannuation industry and reward winning funds for their work and innovation. Chant West Director, Warren Chant, has stated that, “Ultimately, the people who will benefit are individual fund members who will achieve better outcomes from their super.”

NGS Super was selected this year as Best Fund (Insurance) as a result of the new benefit design introduced on 1 July 2014. The other finalists in the Insurance category were: AMP Signature Super, Care Super, Catholic Super, Commonwealth Bank Group Super, Equip, Plum, REST, Telstra Super and Uni Super. It was pleasing for the Fund to receive this recognition after much thought and effort was put into the new design which will certainly benefit the Fund’s 100,000+ members.

Insurance provided through superannuation funds is a member benefit gained from the wholesale scale of the Group Life and Salary Continuance policies.

Some features of the award winning design when compared to the previous insurance policies include: • A five year Income Protection period as a default. On advice from our actuarial consultant, an increased period of payment replacing lost salary was considered more beneficial than the previous two year default payment

period. Income Protection insurance is in place for members who are unable to work in their own occupation due to illness or accident but are not permanently incapacitated from working in any occupation. The new five year benefit payment design should provide NGS Super members with greater security in times of illness and accident until such time as they are able to return to work.

• Life Cover: the new design significantly increases the quantum of payment for certain age groups and reduces the quantum for other age groups. In short the default cover for death in the under 25 age group has been significantly reduced; the default cover for ages between 25 and 55 has been greatly increased. Cover for members over age 60 to 74 has also been reduced. A 40 year old with five units of NGS Plus Standard cover would now have $550,000 of life insurance. The design takes into consideration the fact that members in the increased cover group are more likely to have taken on mortgages and/or child rearing responsibilities and this is the time that higher levels of cover are needed most.

• Disability cover: Total and Permanent Disability payments have been reduced for most age groups because the five year extended Income Protection payment period will make up for lost salary. Disability cover has now been completely separated from Death cover using a different payment table for different ages.

The new benefit scheme is strictly user pays based on age and the number of units applicable. It provides NGS Plus category for white collar workers; NGS General for workers who engage in manual labour.

The Best Fund 2015 (Insurance) award demonstrates a significant achievement and recognises innovation as NGS Super management actively pursues the best interests of Fund members. For more information visit www.ngssuper.com.au

(Important information: The information in this article is general information only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making a financial decision, please assess the appropriateness of the information to your individual circumstances, read the Product Disclosure Statement for any product you may be thinking of acquiring and consider seeking professional advice.)

NSW ACT IEU Executive John Quessy General Secretary Gloria Taylor Deputy Secretary Carol Matthews Assistant Secretary Mark Northam Assistant Secretary Chris Wilkinson President St Joseph’s Catholic College East Gosford Louise Glase Vice President Non-Systemic St Patrick’s College Campbelltown Bernadette Baker Vice President Systemic St Mary’s Cathedral College Sydney Carolyn Collins Vice President Support Staff St Michael's Primary School Nowra Gabrielle Connell Vice President ECS Albury Preschool Kindergarten Leah Godfrey Vice President, ACT St Jude’s Primary School Holder Peter Moore Financial Officer De La Salle College Cronulla Marie MacTavish Financial Officer St Joseph’s Primary School East Maitland

General Executive Members John O’Neill Carroll College Broulee Ann Rogers ASPECT South Coast School Corrimal Pat Devery St Mary’s Cathedral College Sydney Marty Fitzpatrick St Francis Xavier’s Primary School Ballina Ralph Hunt The Armidale School Armidale Denise McHugh McCarthy Catholic College Tamworth Patricia Murnane Sacred Heart Primary School Cabramatta Michael Hagan Mater Maria College Warriewood Tina Ruello Catherine McAuley College Westmead James Jenkins-Flint St Brigid's Primary School Marrickville

PD and Conferences Calendar Holiday Period: 29 Jun: IEU’s Accreditation at Proficient workshop, Ultimo 3 Jul: IEU’s Starting Strong, Ultimo Term 3 Wk 2: 20 Jul – 24 Jul 24-25 Jul: HTA: State Conference, Camperdown Wk 3: 27 Jul – 31 Jul 27 Jul: PIP Maintenance of Accreditation at Proficient, Ultimo Wk 6: 17 Aug – 21 Aug 21 Aug: Support Staff Conference, Ultimo 17 Aug: IEU TeachMeet, Ultimo Wk 7: 24 Aug – 28 Aug 29 Aug: Early Childhood Sector Conference, Ultimo Wk 8: 31 Aug – 4 Sept 1 Sept: PIP Anti-Social Media, Ultimo Holiday Period: 22 Sept: Accreditation at Proficient workshop, Ultimo

25 Sept: Starting Strong, Newcastle 30 Sept – 2 Oct: MANSW Annual Conference, Hunter Valley Term 4 Wk 8: 23 Nov – 27 Nov 25 Nov: IEU TeachMeet, Ultimo Key: PIP = Pedagogy in the Pub MANSW = Mathematical Association HTA = History Teachers’ Association TeachMeets Various locations in NSW/ACT Pedagogy in the Pub (PIP) Various locations through NSW/ACT. Topics include: Anti-Social Media Dealing with Difficult People Maintenance of Accreditation at Proficient Work Hoarse: Voice Care An Indigenous Perspective Check www.ieu.asn.au for updates

NSW Independent Education Union is endorsed to provide QTC Registered Professional Development for teachers accredited at Proficient Teacher.

Reps Training 2015 Topics covered will include: Current Issues Teacher Performance and Development – Industrial implications Analysing your membership

Understanding you Agreement.

Both introductory and Advanced courses will be offered including: 31 July Griffith (tba)

Check www.ieu.asn.au for updates

Our locations

Sydney 485-501 Wattle Street, Ultimo NSW 2007 (02) 8202 8900 Parramatta 12-14 Wentworth Street, Parramatta NSW 2150 (02) 8202 8900 Newcastle 8-14 Telford Street, Newcastle East NSW 2302 (02) 4926 9400 Lismore 4 Carrington Street, Lismore NSW 2480 (02) 6623 4700 ACT Unit 8, 40 Brisbane Avenue, Barton ACT 2600 (02) 6120 1500 newsmonth - Vol 35 #4 2015

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THERE IS NO WEALTH LIKE PEACE OF MIND. OK, LOTS OF MONEY WOULD BE NICE TOO. We all know money can buy us freedom.

But nothing can free the mind like knowledge.

That’s why we’re dedicated to educating our members. It’s all about empowerment.

By this we don’t mean sending you a yearly letter stuffed with information.

From the start of your career through to retirement, our people are there to guide you along the way.

We have dedicated professionals available to talk over the phone even late into the evening.

Our online education tools and services will also allow you to build your knowledge at a pace that suits you.

We offer seminars and workplace sessions right across the country. If you wish, we’ll even come and talk about your financial plans in person at your workplace.

True wealth, as our members will tell you, starts with a wealth of knowledge.

For more information visit ngssuper.com.au or call 1300 133 177.

Issued by NGS Super Pty Limited ABN 46 003 491 487 AFSL No 233 154 the Trustee of NGS Super ABN 73 549 180 515