Edu Jul 17

EdU

Independent Education Union South Australia Working with members in non-government schools

Vol 32 Issue 1 Jul 2017

GROWING YOUR WEALTH STARTS WITH + KNOWING MORE

Members have asked for more straightforward and engaging information on personal finance and investing.

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

It’s free and exclusive for members, so go to ngssuper.com.au/yourknowledge, register and see how a little more knowledge can help you make the right choices as you grow your wealth.

Your fund.

Your wealth.

Your future.

3213 (0517)

So your new online Knowledge Centre is designed to help you better understand the subjects most important to you. Contributors including ABC Finance presenter, Alan Kohler, address subjects such as how to make your super work harder, investing in property or the finance markets, better budgeting, and retirement planning tips. You can personalise the site to focus on the issues top of mind for you right now.

Contents Secretorial:

Secretary’s Annual Report to IEUSA AGM 2017 4 2017 SACE Art Exhibition 5 IEU Executive 2017 6 Frankly Speaking: Catholic Enterprise Agreement negotiations Two long years not wasted 8 Lutheran Digest: Lutheran Enterprise Bargaining 9

ISSN 1448–3637 Published by Independent Education Union South Australia EdU is published twice a year and has a circulation of approximately 4000. Enquiries regarding circulation should be directed to the Communications Officer on (08) 8410 0122.

Editorial comment is the responsibility of Glen Seidel, Secretary.

IEU Reps are the Key Connection 14

Advertising Disclaimer Advertising is carried in EdU in order to minimise costs to members. Members are advised that advertising that appears in EdU does not in any way reflect any endorsement or otherwise of the advertised products and/or services by the Independent Education Union (SA).

Intending advertisers should phone (08) 8410 0122.

International Education Support Staff Day 14th June 2017 16

IEU(SA) Executive Members

2017 Reps Conference: Values Based Unionism 10

AGM 2017 - Minutes 18 IEU Women and Leadership 20 Professional Learning Term 3 22 Celebrating NAIDOC Week in 2017 24 Journey to LEAD Teacher Certification 25 Private Schools- Do we really have any? 26 Opening Speech to NEXGEN 28 From the SACE Board: 32

Secretary, Glen Seidel President, Jenny Gilchrist (ex Prince Alfred College) Vice President, Noel Karcher (Christian Brothers College) Vice President, Anthony Haskell (Saint Ignatius’ College) Treasurer, Val Reinke (Nazareth College) Sue Bailey (Tyndale Christian School) Gerry Conley (SA Unions / Lutheran School Assoc) John Coop (Rostrevor College) Michael Francis (Mercedes College) David Freeman (St Dominic’s Priory College) Sheryl Hoffmann (Concordia College) Britta Jureckson (Pembroke Junior School)

SACE Board Aboriginal Education Strategy

2017-2021 33 Fighting for Family Friendly Work Arrangements 34 Absolutely Super 35 PISA 2015 Summary 36 Organiser’s Out and About: Crossways Lutheran School, Ceduna 38 School Feature - Portside Christian School 39

Independent Education Union South Australia 213–215 Currie Street Adelaide SA 5000 Phone (08) 8410 0122 Fax (08) 8410 0282 enquiries@ieusa.org.au www.ieusa.org.au www.facebook.com/IEUSA

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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Secretorial

Secretary’s Annual Report to IEUSA AGM 2017 Structure The major organisational event of the year for both IEU(SA) entities has been the transferring of staff and a proportion of the assets of the state registered union (IEU(SA) Inc.) to the SA Branch of the federal IEUA (IEU(SA) Branch). This has been in response to federal legislation controlling our ability to represent members in the federal jurisdiction, which is where most of our industrial work is now conducted. The other IEU state branches have also had to re-arrange their operations.

We will now have 2 sets of accounts to receive at the AGM with the bulk of the income and expenditure going through the federal entity - IEU(SA) Branch.

The state registered union IEU(SA) Inc. does still have work to do and it retains ownership of the Currie St property and some cash reserves.

Whilst the SA Branch retains autonomy over its finances, staffing and activities, this transition has highlighted the synergies open to us through the IEUA on national issues, common concerns and dealing with employers with operations in more than one state.

Although members are not likely to notice much difference in their dealings with their union, the change has necessitated a lot of effort and attention to regulatory requirements. The transfer of our substantive operating base to the federal union has been completed with no major bureaucratic or technical issues. There will still need to be some minor tidying up of procedures and rules at the national and state levels.

Member engagement The 2 year long Catholic EA campaign has reinforced the need for majority membership on site and a good connection with the membership through an active Rep or Rep structure. With the winding down of the Catholic campaign we will be concentrating on refining ways to effectively communicate with and organise members at a work-site.

The annual Reps conference was held in March and was themed on the values base of unionism. Unions formed initially to work collectively to obtain fair wages and working conditions for members. Unions also work to support members professionally and have also worked towards social and political goals to contribute to the quality of living for workers.

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EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

Glen Seidel Secretary

The IEU is no different and I liken the three-fold industrial/professional/social agenda to a threelegged milking stool. All three aspects are critical to a holistic interpretation of the phrase “working for the benefit of members”.

The IEU’s Industrial work is probably our most obvious and active area. The Catholic EA campaign was protracted and public, but many of the issues we tackle with members are more private but no less important for the people involved. Many members do not realise that we actively represent members with Workers Compensation claims and there is also a steady stream of workplace grievances, disputes and disciplinary issues in which members need IEU support.

The professional agenda has expanded with the provision of Curriculum Organiser Online as a member benefit and the expansion into online training through Teacher Learning Network and our own online units. Traditional “Reps 101” training is now a series of face-to-face and online sessions.

Our face-to-face short courses held after school are popular and all of our training is aligned to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. We have regular meetings with the SACE management and have two members and two alternates on the TRB. The IEU doesn’t shy away from progressive or party political issues if we see those issues impacting on workers at work or workers enjoying the benefits of their labours in a decent society. We are supporters of the union movement’s overseas aid arm, APHEDA, and encourage members to contribute to that valuable work. We are also happy to associate with profit-to-members organisations such as NGS Super, ME Bank and Teachers Health as a way of members getting best bang for their hard-earned buck.

In Conclusion In a time when unions are under attack by government, business and the media it is important to have a strong union presence in our workplaces.

The battle for fairness in workplaces and society will never end because there IS an underlying tension between capital and labour – between workers and managers – between staff and “leadership”.

It is critical to have a substantial group of people who can collectively take a stand for fairness. The vehicle for that is your union. It’s time to get involved.

2017 SACE Art Exhibition

This year the IEU has been lucky enough to be able to hang another wonderful piece of artwork from the SACE Art Exhibition in our boardroom. The artwork is by former St Ignatius student Sophie Horvat.

When Sophie commenced work on her first Art Major for the year, little did she know how poignant a piece it would become. Her preliminary sketches revealed her interest in self-portraits and her connection to self.

However this all changed on the sudden death of her mother in June because of a blood clot in the lung.

Sophie’s charcoal and oil work went on to be selected in the 2016 SACE Art Show. By her own admission, it was completed during “the most raw experience” she had ever had to endure in her short life. In writing her Artist Statement that accompanied the work, Sophie states that the portrait was “mimicking the distant feeling experienced in various stages of grief.” By using a blank gaze directed at the audience, it draws viewers yet also alienates them through my vacant expression.”

With the support of a number of people including her close school friends, family and teachers at St Ignatius’ College, Sophie was able to complete her Yr. 12 Studies and achieve an ATAR of 95.2 and is currently studying a Bachelor of Communication Design at UniSA.

2016 SACE Art Exhibition

The cover photo on this issue of EdU is from a wonderful piece of art that the IEU had the honor of displaying in our boardroom last year.

The painting Skinscape took the details of a magnified skin cell and used them “to create a painting which could be interpreted as an aerial landscape” as the artist Rachel Ey describes.

The painting was an great addition to our boardroom and created a real feeling of warmth when you entered the room.

The IEU would like to thank Rachel for allowing us display her wonderful piece of art in our boardroom last year.

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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IEUSA Executive 2017-2019

Glen Seidel General Secretary

Jenny Gilchrist ex Prince Alfred College President

Anthony Haskell Saint Ignatius’ College Vice President

Noel Karcher Christian Brothers College Vice President

Val Reinke Nazareth College Treasurer

Sue Bailey Tyndale Christian School Ordinary Member

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John Coop Rostrevor College Ordinary Member

Gerry Conley Lutheran Schools Association Ordinary Member

Michael Francis Mercedes College Ordinary Member

David Freeman St Dominic’s Priory Ordinary Member

Sheryl Hoffmann Concordia College Ordinary Member

Britta Jureckson Pembroke Jnr Ordinary Member

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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Frankly Speaking

Catholic Enterprise Agreement negotiations Two long years not wasted Despite the employer needing to correct “technical issues” with the NERR, that resulted in Enterprise Agreement negotiations being halted and recommenced anew two years after they first began, the process is back on track.

The drafting process has concluded, and by the time of publication we hope a majority of employees would have accepted the proposed new Agreement and the Fair Work Commission would have approved it, meaning the back pay can flow.

Sometimes negotiations are as much about protecting conditions as they are about improving them. These negotiations are a perfect example. At one level, for both parties to withdraw all claims, and settle for a salary increase only, may seem like time wasted but the truth is that had the IEU accepted any of the employer settlement packages, conditions would have been much worse.

In these negotiations, the employers simply refused to issue an enterprise agreement for approval through a vote until the IEU accepted the employers’ claims as a complete and unchangeable “package”.

Did you know that it took four months before the Employers tabled their first offer and 10 months after negotiations commenced before a second, revised offer appeared?

If either of these offers had been accepted by the IEU, members would have received smaller salary increases and only undetectable improvements in teacher workload.

What did the Employers want in return? In return for negligible teacher workload improvements they expected to save money through a smaller salary increase and by removing or reducing many of your existing entitlements, many of which are longstanding, minimum, safety net standards derived from state awards. For example • The Advanced Skill Teacher (AST) classification would no longer exist.

• An employee could no longer convert a partial redundancy into a full redundancy and receive fitting compensation.

• Employees on parental leave who wished to return to work part time could only do so, in the first instance, at the school they were on leave from. If suitable work does not exist, they could only seek work in another Catholic school.

• ESOs would no longer receive TOIL at penalty rates for overtime work.

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Frank Bernardi Industrial Officer • Part Time teachers would be required to attend work on days or part days they were not employed, without recompense.

• The number of relief lessons a school could call upon teaching staff to cover would have increased as criteria that limit this would be removed.

• Curriculum Extension Activities maxima for most primary schools would have increased.

• There would be a reduced period of support for underperforming teachers prior to termination of employment.

• Grade 4 ESOs would be able to be appointed as Directors of small OSHC/Vacation Care where school leaders were the decision makers.

• Paid Maternity leave would only be available to employees after 22 weeks of pregnancy in the event of a stillbirth or non-surviving child.

The list goes on.

The simple truth is that had IEU members capitulated to employer demands you would now be working for less money, under significantly reduced conditions with no real change in teacher workload.

The last two years of negotiations were not a waste of time.

The first stop work rally, held at the CEO after 15 months of negotiations, forced employers to withdraw their claim to strip AST classification from the EA. Unprecedented protected industrial action at local school sites and two rallies in Victoria Square were instrumental in winning back-dated market rate salary and allowance increases as well as saving current entitlements and protections which would otherwise have been lost forever.

Was the acrimony and angst necessary? It should never have come to that. It was always possible, with the assistance of the independent Fair Work Commission, that a better outcome may have been achieved in far less time. However in its characteristically dogmatic style, Catholic employers repeatedly refused the offer of mediation because in their own words

“Employers see no benefit in seeking Fair Work Commission (FWC) intervention as our offer is reasonable …….”

Lutheran Bargaining 1.5% Ummm... No

1.5% Ummm... No

This year the LSA began negotiations for a new Enterprise Agreement in Lutheran Schools well in advance of the expiry date of the current EA on 30 June. This was a welcome change of approach as it took over a year to persuade them to come to the bargaining table for the last negotiations.

At this stage we have made progress on a number of items that were in the IEU members’ log of claims.

• Compliance with the benchmarks and process to draw up local workload agreements has resulted in the drafting of a guide for Principals and staff on how to go about the process with examples of what one might look like for a primary school and for a secondary school. This is still a work in progress but we are optimistic that this will result in better compliance with the process and a more realistic outcome for teachers. Also included in this will be the requirement to give consideration to the time taken to compile student report writing.

• There will also be a revised clause obliging schools to provide more structural support for early career teachers and their mentors.

• Dads and partners have enhanced provisions around the birth or adoption of a child by having the two weeks Government leave at the minimum wage topped up to their substantive salary.(Currently it is one week) • The claim to give permanency to long term contract staff has not been agreed to by the employers.

• The claim to increase the TRT rate to GT3 has not been agreed Staff can expect the final pay rise of 2.5% that is part of this agreement on the first pay after 1 June.

The IEU members’ claim for the new 2017 EA was for a 2.5% increase to be paid in 2018 and a further 2.5% increase in 2019. The employers’ offer was for a 1.5% increase in October 2018 and a further 1.5% increase in October 2019 with the understanding that if DECD schools achieved a better outcome than this, Lutheran schools would ‘make up’ the difference.

To date, the majority of IEU members have rejected this offer as it is currently less than the current 2.1% CPI increase. It is also less than the increases locked in for schools that have agreements that are not due to expire until 2018 or 2019. Most

1.5% Ummm... No

Louise Firrell Assistant Secretary

of these schools have guaranteed increases of between 2.0 and 2.5% increases per annum. To accept less than CPI or other independent schools would see wages and salaries start to fall below similar schools in the non-government sector as well as in real terms.

The LSA is holding its position that salaries for Lutheran schools should mirror DECD salaries.

This does not recognise the considerably greater workload of staff in Lutheran schools with regard to pastoral care, co and extra curricular activities, as well as other differences such as allowances.

The IEU bargaining reps subsequently made a revised offer in attempt to break the deadlock, this was 2.25% per annum for 2018 and 2.25% for 2019. The LSA’s response was to move the date of application of their 1.5% back from October 2018 and 2019 to July.

The predictable argument put forward by the employer was affordability, however if there is a commitment to ‘top up’ salaries if DECD employees secure a higher percentage increase in their new Enterprise Agreement negotiations, which are due to begin next year, one would assume that schools would have to budget for an additional increase ‘just in case’. While the State Government has set a ceiling of a 1.5% per annum increase in public service salaries, there will be other ways that the Australian Education Union will try to augment that for DECD employees through allowances and restructuring which will not be available to staff in Lutheran schools for the life of the new Agreement.

Staff have taken a first step to show solidarity and resolve to achieve a better pay offer. They have supported a postcard campaign to the Director of Lutheran Education in SA saying “1.5%... Umm..

No”. This has contributed to a revised offer from the LSA which is currently being considered by the branches.

Towards the end of the last protracted round of Enterprise Bargaining members at Immanuel College voted to take protected industrial action to support the claim for back pay. This resulted in a shift in the LSA’s position which achieved a better outcome for all employees. This was a bold action by members at the College which also resulted in some improved local outcomes and showed the power of solidarity to effect change. Members should then ask the question of their own branch, is it fair that one school does the heavy lifting and the rest enjoy the benefits?

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2017 IEU(SA) Reps Conference Values Based Unionism The 2017 Reps’ Conference was about values. It is far too easy to forget the big picture.

Industrial relations emerged with the industrial revolution. People banded together around concerns for their wages and conditions at work and the quality of life that those wages would buy.

Guilds, trade unions and labour unions formed and eventually the political arm of the labour movement evolved.

The constant set of Union values concerns fairness at work.

• • • •

Safe conditions.

Appropriate wages.

Training and skill recognition.

The quality of life one buys with one’s wages and • The quality of the society that we belong to are all union values.

The intense and protracted Catholic EA negotiations have been about values. Not just the pay but the ability of the employee to retain some control over the work they do. The balance between managerial prerogative and workers’ professional rights is a matter of values. When values are at stake, it is not easy to split the difference and settle in the middle.

Leg 1 is our industrial values – a fair deal at work with safe conditions, reasonable workloads and wages and individual support. This may be the main purpose for unions for some people. For them that leg may be longer than the others.

Leg 2 is our set of professional values. – We are growing our IEU Professional Learning leg as exemplified by • Curriculum Organiser as presented by Robin Clarke and • Teacher Learning Network as presented by Michael Victory.

Leg 3 is the social values that underpin Unionism.

Our key note speaker, Janet Giles unpacked that for us. Unions have led social change related to work eg • • • •

industry superannuation, parental leave, OHSW, holidays & other leave

The 3 legged stool is the symbol of the theme of the conference – Union Values! The seat is the core of unionism – it is based on values. That is the Why we chose to belong. However the conference examined 3 legs to our union values.

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Glen Seidel and the Milking Stool EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

Unions have also been active in • • • • • •

environmental, indigenous, asylum seeker, conscription, LGBTQI and cultural issues.

The Your Rights at Work campaign was overtly political. Some issues do become political and this can cause members some discomfort. Life isn’t always comfortable.

But our stool would fall over if it did not have its 3 legs. One or two legs is not a stable scenario. With 3 legs, no matter how long each is – the stool will be stable. Any 3 points define a plane! Any more legs than 3 is more difficult to balance.

Conference take away Our union is set up to advance three sets of broad values • Industrial • Professional & • Social If some-one wants to know about the steak knives you get when joining, then they have missed the point – and it will fall to members in those conversations to tell the potential member that we join because we believe that as collective we have power in numbers to advance our values of working for • A just workplace • Professional support & • A just society Sure there are tangible out-workings of that • Support with individual matters – because we value fairness and process • Support with EA negotiation and enforcement – because we recognise we need to address the power differential in striving for just outcomes • Professional learning opportunities are provided because we value a skilled and confident workforce • We will make public stands on social & political issues when we see them impacting our members and the society in which they live • We will ask members to be an active part of achieving the values we espouse

If you want steak knives, it would be cheaper to just buy steak knives. We cannot promise outcomes – We can commit to inputs.

Any outcomes are a result of the power of member activism as much as from any disengaged strategy and Brad Hayes explored some of the practical aspects of being that key person in the school – The Union Rep. Our Conference Partners member based initiatives members. We are happy organisations because they

have all come from and return profits to to partner with these share our values

• ME bank (for providing morning tea and refreshments) ME is owned by industry superannuation funds and profits are returned to the members of those funds. NGS Super has a small holding in ME Bank • NGS Super NGS is our industry super fund, now with over 100,000 members Australia wide and $7Bn under management.

The IEU provides half of the directors and the catholic & independent employers the other half.

It has come a long way since the ISST days of the 1980s.

• Teachers Health Is unashamedly a fund for education union members and ploughs profits back into services and benefits rather than to the shareholders of retail funds such as BUPA. We thank them for their continued support.

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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Reps Conference 2017

Keynote speaker Janet Giles from the ASU Michael Victory from Teacher Learning Network

Deb Cashel from St Joseph’s Ottoway and Kathleen Melis from St Joseph’s Hindmarsh

Brad Hayes from IEU QLD/NT

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EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

IEUSA General Sectreary Glen Seidel and winner of a SACE Assessors Course Leigh Newton

Robin Clarke from Education Research Solutions

From left: Brian Horan, Wendy Evans, Chris Lloyd

IEUSA Treasurer Val Reinke with Robyn Donnelly from CELUSA College and IEUSA Organiser Bruno Sartoretto

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IEU Reps are the Key Connection between Members and IEU Staff A Rep is the person who needs to be seen as the ‘go to person’ for information about the IEU or the person who will listen to members’ concerns and direct them to the IEU organiser or the IEU office for more focussed information or support.

They are the person who will confidently approach new staff members to invite them to join the IEU if they are not already members.

They are the person who is respected by colleagues and management as a person who is concerned about working with members to ensure fair working conditions for staff.

They are the person who is trusted to accompany a member to a meeting with management when the member feels uncertain or uneasy about going alone, but they are also aware of the limits of their industrial expertise and will refer members to the IEU organiser if the matter is serious.

Communication is a key part of this role. A Rep is representing the IEU in the workplace so it is important that they keep their school’s IEU Organiser informed about things that are happening in the workplace that impact on members’ and potential members’ work and employment. It is also important that they make sure that they check facts and discuss actions that they may wish to initiate in the workplace with their Organiser.

While this role is a key link between the IEUSA Branch office and the membership it does not carry the authority to accept formal notifications from the employer to the Union, for example notice required under an Enterprise Agreement of impending redundancies or major workplace change. Any such communication should go directly to the Secretary of the Union.

It is recognised that in a variety of situations including a member’s personal circumstances, at any given time it may not be possible for a member to carry out all aspects of the role due to time or other constraints. Therefore the role can be shared out so that it enables several members at a school to work to their strengths.

Key components of the role could be Communication The main activity is to pass on information sent by the IEU or the IEU Organiser and vice versa for members at the school and maintaining a visible presence in the school by maintaining at least one section of a notice board in the staffroom for IEU posters, information, membership forms and other benefits.

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Membership Inviting staff who are new to the school including graduate teachers staff who are not ‘new’ but are not members of the IEU to join.

Member Support They may be able to be a supportive colleague by attending meetings with staff members and management in the first instance, but advice should be sought to determine whether an issue needs more expert advice and support from the IEU staff.

If the EA for this school or sector gives the IEU Rep the right to be a member of the Consultative Committee, this could be part of this role.

Enterprise Bargaining This aspect of the role is representing members at Enterprise Bargaining time if your school has its own individual Enterprise Agreement. The IEU Organiser for the school will provide assistance with the technical requirements of the process.

Regardless of which of the parts of the role members undertake, it is of utmost importance that they are clear about the rights and responsibilities of the role. To that end, we recommend that anyone thinking about the role should do the online training modules to better understand the different aspects of the role, but certainly once elected the training should be completed.

Joe Pontecorvo from St Raphael’s Catholic Primary has been an active Rep at his school for a number of years, but he recently worked through the Online Introductory Reps Training Module. In addition to adding a further two hours or Professional Learning to his Teacher Registration requirements he said this of the module:

As a long time Rep, I found the contents of the module familiar, but I also thought the Module to be useful because it refreshed my memory of some recruiting and organising ideas. It was easy to navigate, and instructions to move onto the next step were very clear.

We also have Reps Network and Nibble sessions scheduled for each term so that new and not so new Reps can network and share.

Save the date

Equity Committee Women’s Dinner When: Wednesday 27th September from 6.30pm Where: Rockford Hotel in Hindley Street Guest Speaker: Tammy Franks MLC As in previous years the cost will be subsidised and you are encouraged to bring a friend, daughter, colleague or supportive partner.

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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International Education Support Staff Day 14th June 2017

As part of the celebrations for International Education Support Staff Day the IEU would like showcase some of the amazing support staff in our schools:

Jon Shriver St Columba College I am one of a number of amazing ESOs at St Columba College where I have worked for the past 16 years. I am employed in Administration and take care of school databases, timetabling, purchasing and (oddly enough!) relief teacher scheduling. I value my IEU membership for the support it gives to myself and my colleagues and the peace of mind knowing that someone has my back if things, at some point in the future, take a turn for the worse. I see the need for greater input and involvement from ESOs and this is what prompted me to put my hand up to be a Rep in our sub-branch a little over a year ago. Most of the time, I find members just need somewhere to let out their fears and anxiety (“vent� their frustration), but, occasionally, an issue arises where I can go with a member into a meeting for support, or clarify for a member the particulars of the EA as it pertains to their role. I am proud of our Union and the St Columba sub-branch and what it has achieved. I know that the larger our membership grows, the more influence we will have in shaping our own workplace environment and the conditions under which we are employed.

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EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

Tracey Size St Columba College My name is Tracey Size I have worked at St Columba College for the past 13 years. I have had a few different positions within the College over this period. Working with Special Needs students, Front Office, Student Services, Purchasing Officer and now I am the Senior First Aid Officer in the Junior School assisting students with their day to day first aid needs. I have been a Union Member for most of the the last 13 years and feel it is vital to have an equitable work environment for all. This is why I became a Union Rep.

Cathy Crotti St Columba College This is my fifth year at St Columba College and I have been Union Rep for most of my time here.

I work as a Primary School Counsellor part time.

I decided to be a Union Rep as I am a strong believer in the Union movement and wanted to put my hand up to support my fellow colleagues, ESOs and teachers alike. I am a registered teacher still and have about 15 years experience as a teacher in the Northern Territory and here in Adelaide. I am passionate about supporting my colleagues and have an on-going deep concern for the complexity of issues that teachers face on a daily basis. I am very proud of our Union and the dedication and brilliant support we receive through our talented and caring support people.

Left: From left Cathy Crotti, Jon Shriver and Tracey Size

Sheryl Hoffmann Concordia College My name is Sheryl Hoffmann and I’ve been the Laboratory Manager at Concordia College for 24 years. I manage all the chemicals and equipment within the Science Faculty and prepare the equipment for student practicals. Each day is different. I could be mixing up hazardous chemicals, shopping for kidneys for a dissection or checking that a complex piece of Physics equipment is working. I liaise with the teachers to ensure that have everything they need & know how to use it safely.

In addition to my ‘day job’ I have been a member of the IEU Executive for 17 years and been one of the negotiating team for Lutheran Enterprise Bargaining representing the views of the Lutheran School Officers in the sector. This included the rewriting of the LSO’s classification structure to include six grades and a much more user-friendly classification matrix for classification than the previous School Assistants Non Government Schools Award.

A good news story: Paid Parental Leave Win IEU Members along with other unions have won the fight to protect government funded paid parental leave!

In June 2015, the Fair Paid Parental Leave Bill, was introduced to Parliament and had it been passed would have prevented about 80,000 new mothers across Australia from accessing $11,500 available under the current Federal Paid Parental Leave Scheme because they work for an employer with existing paid leave schemes. This represented nearly half of all currently eligible women (47%), many of whom are IEU members.

Joe Hockey, the Federal Treasurer at the time, scathingly referred to mothers as “double dipping” with employer and federal government paid leave schemes.

IEU members across the country joined with other unions and community members to rally and petition their MPs not to pass the legislation.

Due to this union and community pressure, the Federal Government has now backed down and will not proceed with the controversial cuts to the Paid Parental Leave Scheme. Parents will continue to have access to 18 weeks Parental Leave Pay, as well as any entitlement to maternity leave from their employer. The Federal Paid Parental Leave Scheme was never considered as a replacement for employer paid parental leave but rather a basic scheme for parents that would be complemented by employer paid parental leave schemes.

It’s been a long fight but through union action, the Government finally got the message; Hands Off Paid Parental Leave. We won!

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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Annual General Meeting 2017 Minutes

Independent Education Union (SA) Branch Independent Education Union (SA) Inc Thursday 18th May 2017 / 4.30 – 5.30pm Marcellina’s Restaurant, 273 Hindley St, Adelaide 1) Welcome – President, Jenny Gilchrist 2) Apologies: 16 Apologies received prior and 1 from the floor. Motion:That the apologies be accepted.

Moved .G Seidel Seconded J Gilchrist. Carried.

3) Minutes of Previous AGM Adopted by Executive at 23 June 2016 meeting and published in the November 2016 EdU as required.

4) Business arising from the minutes: nil 5) Motions on notice: nil 6) State report (verbal) – Secretary, Glen Seidel 7) Federal report (verbal) - Secretary, Glen Seidel Motion: “That the Secretary’s reports be noted” Moved G Seidel. Seconded M Francis Carried 8) Treasurer’s report (verbal) – Treasurer Val Reinke Motion: “That the Treasurer’s report be accepted” Moved V Reinke. Seconded D Freeman. Carried Approval of 2016 audited Financial Report and Operating Report for IEUSA Inc. Motion: “That the 2016 audited financial report and Operating Report for IEUSA Inc. be accepted”.

Moved V Reinke. Seconded J Gilchrist. Carried 9) Election: 2x internal auditors Nominations, Felicity Robertson PAC and Mark Black St John Bosco. Elected unopposed.

10) Election: external auditor Motion: “That Australian Independent Audit Services be reappointed as auditors for 2017 financial year for IEUSA Inc. and IEUSA Branch.” Moved V Reinke. Seconded N Karcher. Carried.

11) General Business: Nil 12) Meeting closed 5:05 and refreshments served.

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EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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IEUSA Treasurer Val Reinke

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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IEU Women And Leadership: Be Bold For Change

Britta Jureckson

Almost 100 IEU women from across the country came together with enormous energy and enthusiasm to be BOLD FOR CHANGE and launch a three year development program which will focus on developing women as leaders throughout all IEU Branches.

The Conference focussed on the knowledge and skills that IEU women need to exercise leadership at various levels of union engagement including workplace, community and beyond.

Participants heard from significant political, social and union female leaders such as Naomi Steers National Director of UNHCR, Megan Dalla Camina, CEO of Lead Like a Woman, and former Western Australian Premier Carmen Lawrence In addition, participants were able to discuss strategies which would “Champion Women Leadership” with panellists, QCU General Secretary Ros McLennan, author and journalist Maxine McKew and NASUWT Official for Equality and Training Jennifer Moses.

Group discussions provided opportunities for participants to discuss BOLD IDEAS, which were developed into BOLD ACTIONS and in turn BOLD STEPS. There were personal stories and lessons learnt highlighted by panellists Deb James IEU VIC/TAS Secretary, Angela Briant IEUWA Secretary and Michelle O’Neil TCFUA National Secretary.

However, most importantly the Conference provided opportunities to develop the essential elements and activities which could be contained within the IEU 3 year women and leadership development program.

Outcomes And Next Steps The outcome of this conference, the proposed IEU Women and Leadership Development Program, will have a future focus on the development opportunities such as webinars, professional conversations and mentoring opportunities over a three year period.

As a next step, women officers who attended the Women and Leadership Conference will gather together at the IEU National Officers Forum in the Women and Leadership workshop to consider the elements for the development program. The IEU Women and Equity Committee will meet in July 2017 to discuss the outcomes of this workshop and review further the feedback received from IEU members.

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From left: Britta Jureclspm (Pembroke), Krystina Dawe (St Joseph’s Murray Bridge), Elise Duffield (Mt Barker Waldorf, Pam Dettman, Louise Firrell, Kirsty Hall (King’s Baptist Grammar) EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

What IEU women said about the conference

“The conference was the turning point of my life.

I honestly believe it shifted my future career path and it is potentially the most important PD that I have ever done” “I was reminded that you don’t need to be at the top to lead; a leader can be wherever you are and whatever you do. It is such sound advice” “I was reminded how important it was to be active in order to create change; to “be part of something bigger than our classrooms”.

“From a number of speakers the message was clear; take the initiative, be active in what you do, wherever you are” “I felt really energised after the conference and it really helped me reframe my thinking. I came back and developed my own personal plan as to what I was going to do differently.”

I was reminded that leadership was not about simply a title, or position. It was about doing” “I am even more impassioned about finding the next generation of young women to get involved in the union movement. I can’t wait to go back and share what I learnt with my chapter.”

“I really appreciated the opportunity to network and liaise with women nationally – some as far away as Coolgardie Western Australia. In a short time we talked with each other, and shared stories about our schools, the conditions the workload expectations and what we want to do.

I hope this is a start of a relationship between two women unionists on opposite sides of the country.”

“I learnt so much from the conference, it ended with our branch members meeting together to work on our Bold Ideas. We all agreed it was a great way to prepare the way for implementing bold ideas for women in our union.”

“How inspiring was Jennifer Moses, Equality Officer from NASUWT. She spoke on issues for women and LGTBI community; about trans teachers and how their union is supporting them.

That’s something we don’t seem to talk much about in Australia” “At the beginning, I felt like an imposter being there; like I was not the right person to attend.

But by the end of the conference, I felt like there was a reason for all of us to be there.”

“I like the honesty…and the humour… of the women leaders panel as they told us stories about their lessons learnt.”

What IEU women want to do to develop women leadership.

• Develop networks – we need to work out how do we link women from Coolgardie WA to Hobart TAS • Look for Mentors, Be a Mentor • Work out ways for ongoing professional conversations • Facebook/ Email contacts • Seek out other young women and invite them to IEU activities and structures.

• Develop recruitment plans for women members • Develop webinars for targeted pd about leadership • Find opportunities to run pd for women in our workplace • IEU women committees!

• Shake up our Council structures!

• Use every opportunity to promote female roles • Get a women’s progress group at school • Construct a personal development plan and share it with other women.

• Ask for assistance in developing a personal pd plan • Develop a women’s charter for our union • Recommend and endorse women representation in union structures • Run a workshop for my sub-branch/chapter on Confidence. Use Megan Dalla Camina material • Do the WRAW chat and form an action plan • Develop up a reading list and share it across my chapter and union • Recruit women members • Develop the courage to speak out • Be Bold and support other women • Do this conference again.

• Look over union budgets and ask – what are we valuing and prioritising. Is it for young women?

• Reach out to schools where there isn’t a rep – how do we do this?

• Branch Activist conferences – seek out women.

• Review union pd sessions – make them more accessible to women members.

• Succession planning – on sub-branch through to Council level – think about our future • Clusters of schools in regional or metro, where women members can meet and have discussions on issues in their schools/ more broadly • Basic education to senior girl students in secondary schools about rights at work/ unions. And have this presented by active feminist members. We can make more available to members any resources we know of and include these in a section in ‘member access’ • Since the session I have recruited a few women to the union and joined our equity committee.

But I have shifted my thinking about my own career path • Circulate the surveys mentioned by the speakers.

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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Professional Learning Term 3 2017

Tuesday 8th August

Responding to Depression in the Workplace

4.30pm

Presented by Margie Stevens - ACCESS OCAR

– 6.00p

m

Tuesday 8th August - 4:30pm - 5:30pm (Max. 10 Spots)

Counselling Skills – Leadership Focus Online through the Teacher Learning Network Presented by Kaye Dennis

Thursday 10th August

Mindfulness for Students with Diverse Needs Presented by Leanne Longfellow

Tuesday 15th August

CV Writing and Interview Techniques Presented by Christine Reid

Free fo r

Thursday 24th August

How to get started on a Highly Accomplished Teacher or Lead Teacher Certification Process Presented by Deb Madgen

Tuesday 29th August - 1 of 3

Identification of gifted children in your classroom and ways to support their learning Presented by Chris Grzesik

Monday 4th September

Developing Your E-portfolio Presented by Christine Reid

www.ieusa.org.au All IEU(SA) training is referenced to the relevant Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST), where applicable, and can be used to meet the Professional Learning requirements for renewal of registration. For ESOs, training may be used for RPL for certain Certificate courses.

Information on APST references and competencies will appear on your training certificate.

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EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

membe

rs

Professional Learning Term 3 2017

Tuesday 5th September - 4.30pm - 5:30pm (Max. 10 Spots)

Ipads Enabling Students with Disabilities Online through the Teacher Learning Network Presented by Michelle Meracis

Tuesday 5th September

Supporting Traumatised Students at School Presented by Kylie Richards

Monday 11th September

IEUSA Office 213 Currie Street Adelaide

Meditation Workshop

Presented by Tatiana Overduin

Wednesday 20th September

The Impact of Family Violence in the Workplace Presented by Sandra Dann

TLN On-Demand Sessions These can be accessed anywhere any time on your PC. Call the IEU office to get login details.

To register contact us on 8410 0122 or training@ieusa.org.au

• Teaching Reading in the First Year of School-Strategies for Success • Primary Numeracy-Problem Solving Strategies • Leading a Pastoral/Welfare Team • Coding Across the Curriculum • Songlines (Indigenous Studies) • Voice Care • Formative Assessment

www.ieusa.org.au All IEU(SA) training is referenced to the relevant Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST), where applicable, and can be used to meet the Professional Learning requirements for renewal of registration. For ESOs, training may be used for RPL for certain Certificate courses.

Information on APST references and competencies will appear on your training certificate.

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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IEU Professional Learning Sessions for Members Celebrating NAIDOC week in 2017 Our Languages Matter

One of the Professional Learning sessions in term 2 was presented by Christine Reid. Christine is one of our regular presenters whose area of expertise includes indigenous studies. She presented ‘Our Languages Matter’ on 23 May as a lead-in to NAIDOC week.

• Researching the use of Indigenous place names and words in everyday usage. The Adelaide City Council web site has information about the dual naming of all public places in their council area, this includes a map of where to find the sites.

2017 National NAIDOC Week was held from the 2 – 9th July, the theme is; “Our Languages Matter”.

The theme through story and song, emphasises and celebrates the importance of Indigenous languages to Indigenous cultural identity, history and spirituality.

• Using Indigenous greetings in the classroom.

There are many relevant websites that provide details of Indigenous languages, many with sound bites.

There were 250 distinct Indigenous languages groups as well as related dialects in Australia in the late eighteenth century; today there are around 120 languages spoken. Many of these languages are at risk of being lost as Elders pass on.

“Our Languages Matter” theme can be incorporated into classroom activities through:

“Our language is like a pearl inside a shell. The shell is like the people that carry the language. If our language is taken away, then that would be like a pearl that is gone. We would be like an empty shell.” Yurranydjil Dhurrkay, Galiqin’ku, North East Arnhem Land. (www.aphref.aph.gov.au-housecommittee-atsia-language2-report-chapter2%20 (1).pdf) Christine Reid

• Reading picture and story books written by Indigenous authors that incorporate Indigenous words.

Masters in Education (TESOL), Grad. Cert in Education (Adult Education), Dip T (Primary, Aboriginal Education)

• Watching Dreaming stories on YouTube or DVDs.

An ‘On Demand’ version of this session should be available through the TLN later this year.

• Watching and listening to Aboriginal singers, for example Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, Blekbala Mujik, Coloured Stone and Yothu Yindi on You tube or DVDs. • Reading and listening to poetry by Indigenous authors, for example Oodgeroo Noonuccal.

• Watching films, plays and television which feature Aboriginal actors, for example Bran Nue Dae, Ten Canoes and The Sapphires.

Ten Canoes also has a website that features Yolngu language.

• Singing songs that use Indigenous words, for examples ‘Songs for Aboriginal Studies and Reconciliation’ by Buck McKenzie. This book can be purchased through HASS SA, www. hass-sa.asn.au/resources.

Left: Christine Reid

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EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

Deb Madgen from St Pius X School talks about her journey towards Lead Teacher Certification Last year I attended one of the IEU professional development opportunities on the AITSL document. We were encouraged to consider applying for accreditation by beginning the process of collecting evidence from our teaching experiences. I had previously completed the self-assessment on the AITSL website. It showed many areas of green, but also several descriptors within the standards which I had not been met. Out of curiosity, I began looking through files, documents and folders of PD certificates. I found enough evidence to meet many standard descriptors. I then worked out a plan to address the missing ones, which included developing a unit of work and sharing it with my colleagues and asking the Principal to observe some lessons. I could then use his observation reports as evidence that I had met the standards. It was recommended that if considering applying, we initially go for Lead. It was a pleasant surprise to examine my evidence from the perspective of a Lead teacher and find that it did indeed meet many of the criteria.

I was lucky enough to work in a remote indigenous community, Santa Teresa, NT for two years, from 2012-13.

I worked as the Inclusion Support coordinator as well as Transition classroom teacher and basketball coach.

I accumulated a significant amount of rich data from this experience to use in my application, which I “topped up� from my substantive appointment in St Pius X School. As an educator for forty years with school leadership experience, I had accumulated much evidence, however, only data from the past five years is accepted and so my Santa Teresa experience was crucial. I dream of working with indigenous people again and I am always on the lookout for further opportunities.

Deb Madgen - Evening barbeque in the creek bed, near Santa Teresa, NT. EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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Private Schools Do we really have any?

Ever since State and Federal Governments began providing funds to non government schools in Australia in the 70’s, a debate has simmered, bubbled and erupted periodically over the legitimacy and fairness of the practice.

2. Noting that privatisation in and of education, in its many forms and arrangements, is a fast-growing global trend with various, and often negative, consequences for teachers, education support personnel, students and society as a whole.

There are those who vigorously campaign for a totally secular, state run and funded system for all students and those who equally vigorously advocate for parents’ rights to choose the context in which their children receive their education. This is expressed as ‘parents’ choice’.

3. Noting with concern the increased engagement and promotion of private actors in education governance (provision, funding, management and policy-making), coupled with major challenges in terms of educational access, equity and quality, and the lack of political commitment to the provision and financing of public education systems in many low and middle-income countries;

All schools run independently of the state that receive funding must meet the regulatory standards that are determined by State and Federal acts of parliament. These are primarily the delivery of an approved curriculum (now the Australian National Curriculum), they must be staffed by registered teachers, they must be safe places for staff and students (as determined by health and safety legislation) and must be ‘not for profit’. So in fact ‘parental choice’ is only a choice for religious education, a particular educational philosophy or lifestyle.

Early childhood education, further and technical education are the two areas we have had and still do have some ‘private’ providers in the sense that they are run by ‘for profit’ organisations. There were the ABC early learning centres and currently a number of training providers who are providing post secondary training in a range of areas that used to be the province of state run technical colleges (TAFE in SA). Many of these have been, and still are, being criticised for not delivering courses that students have enrolled for or providing substandard courses.

Internationally there are major concerns about the increasing ‘privatisation’ of schooling. This is not the situation in Australia (notwithstanding the ongoing political football of the quantum and distribution of funds), where governments are providing funding for students in both systems over which they have control of curriculum, teacher standards and financial accountability.

It is where governments are abrogating their responsibility to provide free, quality education to all of their children and citizens where the door is being opened to ‘for profit’ providers with little or no control over standards.

The 7th Education International (EI) World Congress in Ottawa, Canada in 2015 addressed the issue and reaffirmed : 1. Education is a fundamental human right and a public good, and that its provision is the principle responsibility of governments, including the duties of the State to define the goals and objectives of education systems of quality and to adequately finance them;

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Louise Firrell Assistant Secretary

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

4. Deploring the fact that in many countries, governments have abrogated their core responsibility to ensure the right to education for all through a fully accountable free quality public education system, and are increasingly turning to, or partnering with, or subsidising private actors to deliver education; 5. Regretting that international and national organisations, corporations, think tanks, NGOs, other private actors and governments alike, are promoting, proselytising and introducing different forms of privatisation and commercial provision of education services; 6. Observing that education privatisation and commercialisation, has created and exacerbated, inequalities in access to, and in the quality of, education, particularly for the socio-economically disadvantaged; and that wealth, gender, ethnic and geographical inequalities are deepened by privatisation in and of education, further marginalising and excluding groups from access to and participation in education; 7. Observing that market-based reforms may force schools to compete with each other instead of collaborating, and lead to stratification, segregation and further inequality within education systems; 8. Considering that private schools and forms of PublicPrivate Partnerships may divert funding and support for public schools, thus weakening public school systems, particularly in contexts where government spending on education is already low; 9. Acknowledging that ‘cost-efficient’ measures in education may result in increased class sizes; a reduction in services provided for children; the use of unqualified teachers; the casualisation of teachers’ terms and conditions of employment, which are detrimental to children and teachers; 10. Noting that low-fee private schools, and other private providers, and some forms of Public– Private Partnerships, frequently employ personnel who lack training and/or qualifications, or pay them much lower salaries than those earned by teachers employed in public schools, or deny them freedom of association and collective bargaining rights; 11. Observing that new public management methods, such as performance-based pay schemes, often part of privatisation policies, alter teachers’ working conditions and undermine their professional status and rights;

12. Affirming that teachers’ and education support personnel’s rights to decent working conditions, high quality training, fair recruitment and employment, and quality professional development must be guaranteed; 13. Affirming that education unions, as representatives of education workers, are critically important in ensuring that the potentially negative effects of privatisation and commercialisation in and of education are exposed and addressed.

Education International has been campaigning strongly for a number years against this trend which is seeing countries like India, Kenya, Liberia and many others allowing for profit providers filling the education void. EI and their affiliated unions in those countries have unsuccessfully protested and petitioned the respective governments to rethink its position in outsourcing schools to their Bridge Education Academies which is one of the largest for profit ‘education’ providers that has a network of international schools around the globe.

Teacher unions are concerned because of fears of increasing inequity, social inclusion and the erosion of standards.

On Bridge International’s webpage they describe their ‘educational goals’ in the following terms: ‘The Key to Bridge International Academies success is in its vertically integrated system. Through it, we have re-engineered the entire lifecycle of basic education through leveraging data, technology and scale.

No small-scale, stand-alone operator can singlehandedly make the massive investments required to deliver quality education at a price point accessible to families living on $2 a day per person or less.

The amount of money required to develop world class teacher guideline, rigorous training systems, technology to improve and automate core functions, and assessments and research to complete the feedback loop is profound. Such investments need to be amortized over a sufficiently large number of pupils and would come with astoundingly high risks. Prior to Bridge International Academies, no one had put together a viable business model that demonstrated that educating the world’s largest market was possible.

Bridge International Academies was founded from day one on the premise of this massive market opportunity, knowing that to achieve success, we would need to achieve a scale never before seen in education, and at a speed that makes most people dizzy. From the beginning, we invested large sums of capital in research, development, technology, and curriculum before even the first pupil was admitted. It’s imperative to continue this rigorous development process until the highest levels of academic performance and operational effectiveness are achieved so that the 1st, 100th and 1000th pupils receive the same level of education as the 100,000th and the 1,000,000th.

Using technology and data, Bridge drives enormous efficiencies both in terms of the overhead costs required to run an academy and in terms of increasing the quality of the output. For example, at the academy level, a Bridge International Academy has only one employee involved in management – the Academy Manager. The vast majority of non-instructional activities that an Academy Manager would normally have to deal with (billing, payments, expense management, payroll processing, prospective addmissions, and more) are all automated and centralized through a combination of our Academy Manager’s smartphone application and our Teachers’ tablet application, all interconnected to a custom backend ERP. This systemization frees our Academy Manager to focus on the critical work that must be executed locally – overseeing classroom instruction and building and managing relationships with parents and the local community.

On the instructional side, Bridge invests in hiring world leaders in education to develop comprehensive teacher guidelines and training programs. Again, because of our highly efficient delivery mechanism (marrying talented individuals from each community with technology, scripted instruction, rigorous training, and data-driven oversight), Bridge is able to bring some of the world’s greatest instruction and pedagogical thinking into every classroom in every village and slum in the world.’

The reality is that this is a business model that takes advantage of the poorest and most vulnerable families who are struggling for basic necessities by offering their children education for a fee, but the reality is that they do not deliver with quality, affordable education for children. Last year Uganda closed eighty of Bridge’s ‘academies’ after its failure to meet educational and infrastructure standards.

These failures included ignoring minimum operating standards, using unqualified teachers and teaching a syllabus that did not meet to national and international standards.

The fact that we do have a highly regulated government funded system of schools that are not government run does not mean we have private schools. Private schools such as those run by Bridge International are businesses who seek to make a profit by commodifying education. Australia, for the most part, in the areas of primary and secondary education at least, has publicly funded independently run schools that meet national standards for young people’s health, safety and learning.

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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Opening Speech to NEXGEN Tuesday 27 June 2017

I want to welcome you all to this great gathering of the union movement family. It is not often that we get a chance to be together, to share our stories, our struggles, our successes and our failures.

It is the 90th anniversary of the ACTU and over this period of time, four or five generations, there would have been many, many gatherings. But looking out over this crowd, none would have been as young or as diverse.

Has there every been so many women unionists in one room together? So many people of colour?

This could be dangerous.

We really could destroy the joint.

All of us, no matter what our official job title – workplace leader or union leader, are union organisers. We serve the cause of working people, making them and our movement stronger.

Every - single - person in this room has decided at some point, to dedicate their life, or part of it, to this cause.

I’ve had about eight jobs, but there is no job I have loved more than being a union organiser.

There is nothing more important than growing our movement and making it stronger.

I remember the first union member I signed up 23 years ago in a domestic violence shelter about 10km from here. I remember it as clear as if it were yesterday. I actually held my breath while a group of four women began filling in the membership forms.

Signing up a new member is always exciting, always fulfilling, knowing you had just added one more member to our great movement.

Seeing workers get organised and experiencing the power of that for the first time is also a privilege.

It’s something very special.

Being there to witness the first moment when a group of workers decide to stick together and say “no”.

Such a simple, yet powerful act, sticking together and saying no.

It is not what those who thought they had the power expect of us.

No we will not comply with your unreasonable direction.

No our pay will not be cut.

No we will not put up with your bullying.

No, you will not sack our workmates.

No we will not work in unsafe conditions.

No you will not privatise our services.

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EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

Sally McManus ACTU Secretary

No you will not sexually harass us.

No we will not work those long hours.

No we will not be working at all.

These simple, but profound acts of saying no and experiencing the power of collective defiance changes lives.

It changes what is “normal”. It changes what is acceptable. It changes individuals. It has changed our country. It has changed the world.

The indigenous workers at Wave Hill, in the Pilbara, on Palm Island said no to slave wages, to dispossession, to oppression.

In 1891 shearers said no to pay cuts.

In 1917 we said no to conscription and organised a national strike.

Women unionists said no and are still saying no to unequal pay.

People at the Eureka Stockade said no to a political system for the landowners.

100 years ago we said no to poverty level wages and won the living wage.

We said no to long working hours and won the 8 hour day.

Wharfies said no to loading iron for the Japanese before WW2.

Tom McDonald said no to working class people retiring in poverty.

Unions said no to the destruction of The Rocks and the botanical gardens just over the bay.

We said no to individual contracts.

We said no to WorkChoices.

In 1976 we organised a national strike when Malcolm Fraser tried to dismantle the early Medicare. We said no. When another Malcolm tried it on again this time last year, we said no.

We have said no to unjust laws throughout our history.

There is a lot of talk about disruption. Technology disrupting things.

But I tell you who the real disruptors are – it is us!

We are the disruptors! The trade union movement through our organising has disrupted history, has change the “way things are meant to be”, has pushed those in power off course and changed history.

We have made things better for working people, for all Australians. We have changed the rules.

We have been saying no to the greed of the few for a long time. 90 years ago we were doing this and comrades - once against we are called upon to be the disruptors, to change the rules.

This time in history, our time in history, demands this of us. Working people need some disruption of the status quo and we will need to be the ones who bring it.

I have a story to tell you. It is the story of corporate greed today.

Inequality is at a 70 year high.

Wage growth hasn’t been this low since records started being kept.

Profits went up 40% and wages less than 2%.

40% workforce is in insecure work.

A generation of people do not know what it is like to have a paid sick day or holiday.

Our minimum wage does not keep people out of poverty.

Wage theft is a business model where employers ignore our minimum wages – from celebrity chefs to multinational pizza chains.

Employers have been bending and breaking the protections working people have built.

Wealth has gone to top 1% along with the power that goes with this wealth. This has accelerated since the GFC. The richest 1 per cent of Australians owns more wealth than the bottom 70 per cent of Australian citizens combined.

678 corporations paid no tax.

48 millionaires paid no tax, not even the Medicare levy.

Wealth and power has become so unbalanced.

One group of people now have too much power.

The rules that were meant to protect our rights are now not strong enough. They need to be rewritten.

We need to change the rules to make them pay their fair share of tax. We need to change the rules so working people have more power.

Surely the answer to the greed of the few is more power for the many.

We need better and stronger rights at work.

The only way we will do this is by building a strong union movement, by people joining us and coming

together to demand politicians change the rules and demanding employers play by them.

The pendulum can only swing back when our power is enough to balance theirs.

Why am I am telling you this story? I am telling you this story because it is the story you need to tell.

As organisers we know – it is our job to clearly and powerfully explain the issue. When enough people are angry and feel strongly enough about the issue we will be able to change the rules.

We must start where we are the strongest, with our members, then move out to nonmembers asking them to join us and then reach out to the community asking them to support us.

So every person here needs to tell the story of inequality, of power and how a strong union movement changing the rules is the answer.

Everyone needs to tell the big picture I’ve just painted.

If every single one of us does this with workplace leaders we are doing what we need to do to build a powerful movement.

We want to build a huge booming voice of hundreds of thousands of working Australians saying the rules in our country have got to change.

The second thing we all need to do it this – we need to find the real life examples of the rules being unfair or broken and tell those stories. We all know the power of real life stories.

Stories of real people in your workplaces and stories that are from your community.

We need to tell as many people as possible both the big story and the real life ones that illustrate it.

Think about how the CUB dispute told the story of labour hire being used with an EBA signed by a couple of people to cut pay and conditions.

Employers using labour hire in this way is rife. But the CUB dispute bought this home. Find and tell these stories.

Think about the story of the hotel cleaner Margarita who is going to lose $70/week through penalty rates cuts. Find and tell the stories of all the Margaritas around the country.

Think about the stories of wage theft that are rife in every community, right across our community. Find and tell these stories.

Think about all the examples of out of control multinationals thugging working people through lockouts all because they can and because of their greed. Tell these stories.

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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Construction unions, find and tell the real stories of the ABCC, of the Code. I remember the story of Ark Tribe, of the young people dragged into interrogations. They were powerful.

Think about the stories in your industries, in your communities of insecure work: rolling contracts, years being casual, of being told to get an ABN, of the stress of working for a labour hire firm. Tell these stories. They resonate.

For those of you who witness the shocking exploitation of temporary visa workers. Tell these stories.

And when we tell these stories say we need to change the rules to stop this occurring.

We are the ones who see how broken the rules are every - single - day. Every union has social media.

You have social media. You have smart phones.

You have union meetings and community meetings.

Our members and the community need to understand how broken the rules are, how weak and inadequate our rights at work are, in order for them to join with us in a movement that will demand change.

Because change can happen. When we have built our unions and organised towards a common goal we have achieved big change.

When Tom and Audrey McDonald started as young organisers 70 years ago, none of their members had secure work. None. No one had workers compensation. No one had superannuation. Women didn’t have equal pay. There was no Medicare.

They were organisers at a time of penal laws, when going on strike bought with it big fines plus jail terms.

People would have said that it is just the way things are. It is inevitable that jobs are insecure.

Inevitable that some people with have more and others less. That working people should know their place because things will not change. But they didn’t accept that. They built movements to change the rules.

And they did.

So can we.

We are the people who will lead the building of this movement. We need to be the disruptors. Let’s go out and tell the story of inequality, broken rules and of hope.

This will not happen overnight. It has taken the right 30 years of union bashing and neoliberalism to take us where we are now.

Taking on the most powerful in our society will not be easy. But it wasn’t easy for Tom or Audrey.

They didn’t do it overnight. We all need to commit to being in it for the long haul.

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EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

We need to commit to taking things forward and building the foundation for the next generation of union officials who will be sitting in this room. We want them to look back and say on this spot on the 26th June 2017 1000 unionists, and those watching on Facebook Live - started the fight to change the rules.

And that is the simple decision we need to make right now. Is this the day? Is this the day, are we the people, are we the generation of working people who will stand up and start the fight?

Are you up for it?

Now let me talk about union growth on how we are going to approach turning around union decline?

Think of it like a jigsaw with many parts to the picture, because as we have learnt, there is no silver bullet. There are many things that come together to form this picture.

Some little things and some big things.

Changing the rules at work is a big thing.

We need new laws that enable the growing of the union movement. Part of this is working people having stronger rights.

• if we can enforce rights quickly and easily workers see that, this is an exercise in power and it is part of the picture • if delegates are free to represent their members without the fear of being sacked, this is part of the picture • if more working people have secure jobs, they will be more confident standing up for themselves and joining their union, this is part of the picture • if working people can bargain where the power really is, at the top of a supply chain or across an industry, this is part of the picture • if working people can withdraw their labour without the threat of their jobs and fines, this is power and this is part of the picture Building a movement to change the rules, and inspiring the younger generation that they can be in a movement that makes real change, is part of the picture.

But the biggest part of the picture is empowering delegates putting members at the centre of decision-making, organising our workplaces and our industries. This requires as all to excellent organisers.

Over the next three days you will have a chance to become better at your craft. To share stories of success and of failure. The more we spread and share our skills and lessons, the better we will all be. We will be better equipped to win and to grow.

To do this we need to adopt a certain attitude.

It is the attitude of comradeliness. Is it a word comradeliness? Who cares if it is not, let’s make it one.

It is about being generous to each other. This is about supporting each other and being prepared to share.

This is about putting aside the barriers that stop us from doing so. We need to share our stories of failure just as much as we share our stories of success.

Why don’t we do this enough? Well, because we love our unions, we love our members, we are proud and that can make us defensive.

But I put this to you – if we love our union and our greater union movement – we will only get better if we share and we share honestly.

We need to learn from our failures as well as our successes so we do not repeat history.

Whenever a comrade is prepared to tell the story of something that doesn’t work they are being generous.

This is a gift they are giving to you and your members.

Reciprocate. Let’s not talk any one of us, or any union down. Every single one of us has had failures. It is not the failure that is the issue, it is not learning from it that holds us back.

And if we all share we will all get better faster. So I ask you to adopt an attitude of comradeliness toward each.

By being generous we open ourselves up to innovation.

What is innovation? It’s doing things differently and better. Taking things forward. It doesn’t have to be new. It can simply be doing what we know works slightly better or applying it somewhere we haven’t before. It may be doing something completely different.

We need to be open to innovation by trying things out in ways that are low risk so we can learn from our mistakes.

This is what companies do. Think about your mobile phone. Now think about what it couldn’t do 10 years ago: email, internet, geolocate, siri, apps. These innovations come from going through a process that involves trial and error. That’s why we are at iphone 6.

We need to innovate as a union movement.

You will hear about the trials and innovations unions have undertaken with the support of the ACTU and independently. The aim is to trial, to learn and to spread the learnings.

So innovation is part of the picture of turning around union decline.

Organising changes the world.

This is the way we will win new rules.

This is the way we will challenge unjust laws.

By organising.

But I know none of our jobs are easy.

I certainly remember times of doubt, especially on a hard day when everything seems to go wrong and the boss seems to be winning.

Those days you can think: “Am I making a difference?”

“Is it worth it?”

“Am I just a drop in the ocean at a time we are facing record inequality, insecure work, unjust laws and record corporate power” When you have one of those days – which we all will - I want you to remember this day.

The day you sat in this room with 1000 other unionists who all committed to start the campaign to change the rules, by organising, by conversations, by story telling.

Each of us is going to talk to hundreds of working people. Each of us is going to tell the story of inequality, the rules being broken and how the union movement can change the rules.

Remember the faces in this room. They are doing just what you are doing. You might have had a bad day, but someone else is having a good one.

You are not JUST a drop.

You are part of a powerful ocean.

A big disruptive ocean!

Comrades – we are going to do something big.

And we are going to do it together.

We are going to change history.

We are going to change the rules.

But there are more pieces to the picture and some are completely within our control.

I want to leave you with this.

I started by saying we are all organisers. I still see myself as leader as an organiser.

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

31

From the SACE Board

Online submissions, marking and moderation

In a first for the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE), nine Stage 2 subjects will move to the online submission of assessment materials in September.

Teachers of Stage 2 Health, Media Studies, Philosophy, Essential English, and Community Studies will upload student assessment materials online for external marking. While teachers of Stage 2 Media Studies, Philosophy, Classical Studies, English Literary Studies, Indonesian (continuers) and Music Technology will upload school-assessed student work for online moderation.

The transition to online submission is part of the SACE Board’s efforts to progressively modernise key functions and procedures over the next four years, and further align student assessment with teaching and learning technologies used in the classroom.

Last year, the SACE Board asked teachers whether their classroom assessments were paper-based or electronic, and discovered that students of these nine subjects were already submitting most of their work electronically.

Therefore, it makes sense for these subject teachers to be early adopters of the online submission process, and to lead the way in online marking and moderation.

The changes form part of a $10.6 million funding package in the 2016-2017 State Budget to modernise the SACE, and will open the way to a more efficient system.

Under the current student assessment model, schools are required to package and send more than 42,000 envelopes of students’ essays, reports, and investigations for external marking, and a further 12,000 bags of student work are sent to a central location for a threeweek moderation period.

By moving to online submission, marking and moderation, the SACE Board can reduce this administrative burden, overcome any limitations with the current process, and create opportunities for more dynamic, interactive and student-centred assessment - while delivering performance data more rapidly.

We can also meet the growing demand from students and schools to present evidence of learning in multimodal formats.

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EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

To ready these Stage 2 teachers for the online submission of assessment materials in September, the SACE Board has: • provided SACE coordinators and teachers with online support materials, including frequently asked questions (FAQs) and instructional videos, which demonstrate how to prepare files and upload materials into Schools Online

• hosted a web seminar for school IT staff to explain the technical components of the online submission functionality, and to assist IT staff in supporting teachers at the local level

• engaged a small group of teachers, markers, and moderators to pilot test the new online processes and provide any feedback • sought feedback from teachers on their understanding of the online submission process through an online survey; and • provided teachers with access to an online “sand pit” where they can familiarise themselves with the online submission process and practice uploading assessment materials.

Another level of support developed is more equitable access to high quality professional learning. The SACE Board’s new online professional learning platform, PLATO, will be available for all teachers in 2018 to support their interpretation and application of the performance standards. Teachers across the State will be able to access the online learning at a time that best suits them, and also make connections with expert teachers from a wide range of schools.

Principals consistently discuss the significance of investing in teachers attending clarifying forums and the SACE Board has developed a solution that will allow school leaders to continue to provide opportunities for teachers to calibrate their standards. Teachers can access PLATO in small chunks of time that best suit the school, and the SACE Board will be able to provide targeted support for teachers where required.

To learn more about SACE modernisation 2016-2020, teachers can visit the SACE website or contact the SACE Board Support Team on 8372 7142 or by email: SACE. SchoolsOnlineSupport@sa.gov.au

SACE Aboriginal Education Strategy 2017–2021 The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) allows all students to develop the knowledge, skills, and understandings necessary for becoming active participants in an ever-changing world. For a young Aboriginal student, achieving the SACE qualification not only provides greater access to meaningful pathways such as further education, training, and employment, but can lead to the development of other essential capabilities such as personal, social, and emotional well-being, financial prosperity and security, and enhanced capacity for critical and creative thinking.

The SACE Board Aboriginal Education Strategy 2017–2021 aims to prepare Aboriginal students to achieve their SACE while maintaining their Aboriginal culture and identity, as well as positioning them to succeed in their local community and as global citizens. The strategy reflects a strong commitment from the education sector in South Australia to enhancing the learning outcomes and capabilities for Aboriginal students, and the voice of Aboriginal students and their families has informed this strategy.

This new strategy builds upon the success of the previous 2012–16 strategy and highlights recommendations for schooling sectors and other stakeholders to consider, which have proven to contribute to the SACE attainment for Aboriginal students.

Recommendations It is recommended that implementation of the SACE Board Aboriginal Education Strategy 2017–2021: • focuses on emerging practices, including building on strengths, encouraging pride in young Aboriginal people’s cultural heritage, and emphasising holistic, collaborative, and proactive approaches to SACE attainment • drives positive change by acknowledging that success in the SACE does not begin just in Years 10 or 11, and recognising that broader educational policy change in former schooling years is required • inspires schooling sectors and other stakeholders to consider the range of interrelated recommendations offered in the strategy • promotes the targeted initiatives, activities, and coordinated approaches that are required at the school, sector, and state levels in order to achieve sustained, positive improvement. https://www.sace.sa.edu.au/schools/aboriginalstudents/sace-aboriginal-education-strategy

It also acknowledges that success in the SACE does not begin in Years 10 or 11, and that broader educational policy change is required. The focus for the SACE Board Aboriginal Education Strategy is on emerging practices that include building on strengths, encouraging pride in young Aboriginal people’s cultural heritage, and emphasising proactive approaches to SACE attainment.

The 2017–2021 strategy includes the presentation of the new strategic priorities: • empowerment: identity and belonging • respect: strong commitment and high- expectations relationships • leadership: people and culture • capacity building: culturally and contextually responsive curriculum and assessment • achievement: excellence, aspiration, and merit • transparency: data analysis and evaluation For each strategic priority, the development of recommended aims, initiatives, and activities for schooling sectors and other stakeholders to consider.

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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Fighting for Family Friendly Work Arrangements

Profound changes have been taking place in the Australian workforce over a number of years. The majority of Australian families now rely on two incomes and many employees juggle unpaid caring work with paid work. Work-life interference is an ongoing and serious challenge.

The ACTU is running the Family Friendly Work Arrangements Test Case in the Fair Work Commission as part of the 2014 Four Yearly Review of Modern Awards that is seeking variations to most modern awards. The case will review the effectiveness of the existing ‘right to request’ provisions in awards and seek to strengthen employee rights in light of changes to the nature of families, workforce composition and caring responsibilities in Australia.

Both men and women should have access to secure, good quality flexible working arrangements.

However, workplace practices and laws have not kept pace with the realities of modern life. Workers currently only have a right to request flexible working arrangements. Employers can refuse and employees have no rights to appeal. As a result, the right to request has not substantially impacted on flexibility in Australian workplaces.

This has a number of negative consequences for employees, employers and the Australian economy: 1. Australians work some of the longest full-time hours in the OECD and Australia is one of the most unequal countries with respect to men’s and women’s sharing of unpaid domestic and care work.

2. In order to accommodate their caring responsibilities, many women are forced to either drop out of the paid workforce altogether or work fewer hours in poorer quality jobs: Female labour force participation in Australia falls below the OECD average for mothers of young children; Female employment in Australia is overwhelmingly characterised by part-time or casual work.

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3. One in two mothers, and one in four fathers, report experiencing discrimination related to parental leave and return to work.

4. A significant number of men desire greater access to flexible work arrangements than they currently have, especially young fathers.

This is a claim for a new modern award right to part-time work or reduced hours to help working parents and working carers better balance their work and family commitments. The claim also includes a right to access personal leave for prenatal appointments. This test case will revisit significant issues related to gender equality, job quality and the intersection of work, care and family in Australia for the first time in more than a decade.

This is a most important campaign for workers and their families and the IEUA is making a significant contribution to the Test Case both in identifying and taking witness statements and also providing an expert industrial officer to the ACTU to assist with the workload.

This is what Unions do and this is what IEU members’ support and active engagement can achieve.

Absolutely Super

The Regulator Regulating

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has been keeping a very close eye on the nation’s $2.3 trillion superannuation pool of savings and on 1 February 2017 it released three data sets detailing both overall sector performance and fund level analysis for MySuper products.

As the chart below illustrates, not-for-profit industry funds outperformed all other sectors with an average 10-year annual return of 5.41%. Public sector funds (covering public sector employees) came in a close second with a return of 5.36%, while corporate (employer) funds returned on average 5.12%. Forprofit retail funds were the lowest returning funds with a 10-year average annual return of just 3.6%.

If you do the numbers including the loss of ten years’ compound interest, you will be able to see just how much the underperformance was between industry funds and retail funds.

Not unsurprisingly, the data also showed that the funds offering more investment options deliver the lowest returns. In essence this means that members pay for the extra “bells and whistles” from their returns. Funds which fit into the most investment options category are generally retail funds.

As well as providing megadata on super fund performance, APRA also expressed serious concern about the worst-performing super funds over 1, 5 and 10 year periods. The Regulator looked at the lowest-performing 25 funds out of

Bernard O’Connor NGS Super

our largest 250 funds. The Australian Financial Review reported on 16 February 2017 (“Boot for worst super boards”) that APRA has identified the worst-performing funds and has put them on notice to improve their performance or close shop.

APRA is obviously concerned about consistent underperformance and has indicated that it will put more pressure on boards to make “hard decisions” in the best interest of their members.

APRA’s deputy chairman, Helen Rowell, said, “Funds have had enough time to bed down administrative and regulatory changes. The next step is for (underperforming) funds to improve performance or exit the industry.”

So it’s very good news on the industry fund front and also good news that a number of consistently underperforming funds have been put on notice by the regulators. Superannuation analysts agree that the industry will undergo consolidation to take advantage of the economies of scale and many smaller or underperforming funds will disappear.

And some good news for NGS Super members – your Fund has been nominated as a finalist in the category of “Medium Fund of the Year” ($5 billion to $10 billion in assets) for the Conexus Superannuation Awards 2017. The winner has not been determined at the time of writing.

(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 Produce Disclosure Statement for any product you may be thinking of acquiring and consider seeking personal advice. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Any opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS Super.)

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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PISA 2015 Summary A first look at Australia’s PISA 2015 results (available at https://www.acer.edu.au/ozpisa/ pisa-2015) shows Australian students’ performance declining when compared to previous cohorts who have taken the assessment. Yet, in the introduction to the report the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) warns ‘given the number of changes that have occurred in PISA 2015, comparisons between the results for this cycle and previous cycles should be interpreted with due caution’. (p. xvi) The changes referred to in the report included students using computers and USB drives to complete the assessment and the computerbased delivery using a lock-step design that prevented a student returning to any unit once they had completed it and moved on to the next unit. Effectively students were not able to review their answers during or at the completion of the assessment.

Changes were also made to the scaling model, treatment of non-reached items, treatment of differential item functioning and construct coverage across domains. Further information about these changes will be included in the forthcoming PISA 2015 technical report.

When looking at Australia’s average score and its position in the league tables it can be said that Australia is slipping down the international rankings. It should also be noted that Australia continues to be above the OECD average in each area tested. (‘For Australia, one year of schooling corresponds to 30 score points in all three assessment domains.’ p.xxi) OECD Average compared to Australia’s Average in PISA 2000 - 2015 Reading Year

Maths

Science

OECD Aust OCED Aust OCED Aust AV AV AV AV AV AV

2000 500

528 500

533 500

528

2003

494

525 500

524 500

525

2006

492

513

498

520 498

527

2009

493

515

496

514

501

527

2012

496

512

494

504 501

521

2015

493

503 490

494 493

510

Paul Russell IEUA Reseach Officer Australia’s Position on PISA League Table of Participating Countries 2000 - 2015 Year

Participants Reading Maths

Science

2000 41

4

6

8

2003 40

4

11

6

2006 57

7

13

8

2009 74

9

15

10

2012 65

13

19

16

2015 72

16

25

14

Rather than concentrating on Australia’s position in world rankings it is more important to look at what the results tell us about Australian schools and students.

The results confirm, once again, that the performance of an Australian student is closely linked to socio economic background, indigenous status, school location, language background and the sector of school attended.

Students from high socio economic backgrounds perform at significantly higher levels than students from low socio economic backgrounds. PISA 2015 results show that students from the highest socio economic quartile are performing, on average, around three years ahead of students from the lowest socio economic quartile in reading, science and maths. The gap between each of the quartiles is approximately one year of schooling. Also the proportion of high performers increased and the proportion of low achievers decreased with each increase of socio economic quartile.

Australian students who identified as being from an Indigenous background achieved significantly lower scores than those students from nonIndigenous backgrounds across all three areas tested. Indigenous students were over represented in the lower end of the proficiency scales and under represented among the high achievers.

The average scores showed Indigenous students being approximately two to two-and-a-half years of schooling behind non-Indigenous students.

Australian schools in PISA 2015 were classified as being located in metropolitan, provincial or remote localities. Students from metropolitan schools performed significantly higher than students from provincial and remote schools and had a greater percentage of high performing students in reading, science and maths. On average, metropolitan students were one year ahead in schooling than provincial students and around one-and-a-half years ahead of their remote counterparts.

Australian students who identified as speaking a language other than English at home most of the time achieved at significantly lower levels in reading literacy and scientific literacy than students who spoke English at home most of the time. The achievement levels were not significantly different

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EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

in mathematical literacy. The percentage of high performers was similar for both categories of language background while the percentage of low performers was much greater for all three domains tested for students who spoke a language other than English at home.

Students from the three school sectors were part of PISA 2015. The average scores showed students from the independent school sector performed significantly higher than students from the Catholic and government sectors and students from the Catholic sector performed significantly higher than students from the government sector. These results were consistent across all three domains and independent sector students were about one year of schooling ahead of Catholic students and two years ahead of students from the government sector. Catholic students were approximately one year of schooling ahead of government school students.

The sector results were also adjusted to allow for differences in students’ family backgrounds or socio economic backgrounds as well as for differences in the school-level socio economic background. When students’ family backgrounds were taken into account there was a reduction in the differences but independent school students still performed significantly higher than students in Catholic schools and government schools, and Catholic school students still performed significantly higher than government school students.

When both student-level background and schoollevel background are accounted for there is no significant difference between independent school students and government school students, and Catholic school students and government school students. A significant difference was found between independent students and Catholic students with independent students performing at a higher level than Catholic students once student-level and school-level backgrounds were taken into account.

This was not evident in PISA 2009 or PISA 2012.

Student results were also analysed using a measure of immigrant status. Students were categorised as being Australian-born, first-generation or foreignborn. Australian-born students were born in Australia with both parents also being born in Australia; firstgeneration students were born in Australia and at least one parent was born overseas; and foreignborn students were born overseas.

These results showed Australian-born students performed at a level significantly lower than firstgeneration students across all areas assessed and foreign-born students performed at a significantly lower level than first-generation students in reading literacy and scientific literacy.

Female students, on average, performed at a significantly higher level than male students in reading literacy across Australia. The average scores showed that females were about one year of schooling ahead of male students. The only jurisdiction where there was not a significant difference between females and males was the Northern Territory where female students were about six months ahead of their male counterparts.

Victoria and the Northern Territory were the only two jurisdictions to show significant differences in mathematical literacy. In both these places male students performed at a significantly higher level than female students. On an Australia wide basis, the differences between male and female students’ average mathematical literacy scores were not significantly different.

The results of PISA 2015 really point to the inequities in the Australian education system. While stressing the fact that Australia still has a world class education system with professional and committed teachers the IEU needs to continue pushing the Federal and state/territory governments towards providing a more equitable education system where all Australian students will have the opportunities to achieve their best. Students’ results should not be greatly pre-determined by the place where they are born, the background of their parents, the school they attend, the area in which the school they attend is located and the language they speak at home.

To help create this more equitable system the IEUA continues to ask for: •

full funding of years five and six of the needsbased funding model known as the ‘Gonski funding’ so that all schools reach 95 per cent of the Student Resource Standard

•

an ongoing commitment to school funding

•

commitment by governments to fund and index need as identified by the Students with Disabilities research project

•

a requirement that all state governments meet co-commitment levels as identified in the School Review report

•

long term commitment to funding, providing certainty and stability, to the early childhood education and care sector

•

greater involvement of the profession in the running of the profession

Some differences were found in performance between the sexes. On average in Australia there were no significant differences found between male and female students in scientific literacy.

The Northern Territory was the only jurisdiction to show a significant difference with male students performing at a significantly higher level than female students.

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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Organisers Out and About:

Crossways Lutheran School, Ceduna Bruno Sartoretto Organiser During a school visit to Crossways Lutheran School in Ceduna, late last term, it was a pleasant surprise to be there for a very special occasion.

Biennually, Tarrington Lutheran School in Hamilton, Victoria, gather a group of students and make the very long road trip to Ceduna for a week of crossborder activities. The participants took two days to travel the 1,300km to get to the far west coastal town in South Australia, taking an overnight stop at Vineyard Lutheran School in Clare - which was about the mid-way point.

In the past few years, the schools have invested time and resources in Indigenous Studies, where students have had the opportunity to gain a greater appreciation of Aboriginal people and their culture in line with the requirements of the Australian Curriculum.

Tarrington students were able to spend time in a community vastly different from their own and in school where there is a high population of Indigenous students. The week culminated in a traditional BBQ for everyone of Wombat (whole) and Kangaroo tail!

In the Tarrington School newsletter the Principal, Tony Peters, said this of the trip: ‘If we want our children to appreciate other cultures, then I strongly and firmly believe they need to spend time with others. This is the most effective way to learn about someone else, to be given the opportunity and the time to listen, talk, play, work and learn with others. Our students made positive connections with the Aboriginal people in Ceduna, particularly the children at Crossways, and that is certainly a good start towards tolerance and acceptance of one another.’

The students attended Crossways for a week where they joined other classes for lessons and activities.

They attended the school each day up until and including lunch, and then explored some of the significant attractions in and around Ceduna in the afternoons.

Crossways Principal, Francois Pienaar and staff members at the BBQ

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EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

School Feature - Portside Christian School

Portside Christian College is a co-educational, interdenominational College located on the river front at New Port SA. The College caters for students from three years of age in the Early Learning Centre through to Year 12 and contains a Trade Training Centre onsite for College and external students from surrounding schools. The College was established in 1976 and has a strong Environmental, Sports, Arts and Academic focus. With current enrolments of 747 students the College intends to ‘Equip Students for Life’.

The Principal, Daryl Pollard took up the position at Portside in 2014 having previously worked in schools in Victoria. One of his first major initiatives was to overhaul the terms of employment of his staff. The only industrial agreement that was in place was an old state registered pre Workchoices Enterprise Agreement from 2005. The thought of Enterprise Bargaining was somewhat daunting for all concerned but staff and management representatives have been meeting regularly since Term 1 2017 and the process is moving along smoothly.

Staff representatives at a bargaining meeting from right to left: IEU Reps Debbie Osterstock, Educational Support Officer and Kristen Waters, Teacher, Elizabeth Sexton AISSA, Principal, Daryl Pollard, Belinda Elsegood, Minutes, Rina Visser, Head of Early Years, Mike Hojem, Teacher and Year 3 to 6 Curriculum Coordinator, Ali Thompson, Registrar.

EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)

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It's comprehensive� easy to use and has everything you need to implement the Australian Curriculum. � l000's of editable planning, teaching, assessment and classroom resources. � Online access for convenient access from school or from home. � Easy to use planning software and powerful search engine.

For a free introductory workshop

Tel: 84100122

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E: training@ieusa.org.au EdU Jul 2017 IEU(SA)