APPA COLUMN // MALCOLM ELLIOT
Navigating schools’ needs after COVID-19 THE COVID-19 PERIOD OF PANDEMIC WILL BE TRAWLED OVER FOR MANY YEARS TO COME. I AM SURE THAT EVERYONE WHO READS THIS COLUMN WILL HAVE AT LEAST A FEW SUGGESTIONS TO BE APPLIED TO FUTURE -PROOF OUR SOCIETY OR AT LEAST PUT US IN A STRONGER POSITION TO WITHSTAND A MASSIVE DISRUPTION SUCH AS THE ONE WE HAVE ALL EXPERIENCED. APPA PRESIDENT MALCOLM ELLIOT WRITES.
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One of the ironic outcomes that has been criticised is the Australian school education sectors’ garnered high praise as families realised just how skilled, adaptive, and dedicated our primary teachers and their leaders are. We must also “dip our lids” to our school administrative personnel who have been on their own frontline. They have helped incalculable numbers of parents and children navigate the confusing, ever-changing world of covid strategies. Australia’s primary school principals and school leaders are, at time of writing, again putting their shoulders to the wheel. Along with our teachers, education assistants, education facility attendants, school psychologists, speech and language pathologists, social workers, all our people in schools have been on the frontline of our society’s coping strategies dealing with anxiety, worry, illness, masks, ventilation, air purification, staffing uncertainty and, not to forget, their own lives. It has been great to get recognition through
Malcolm Elliot has been a teacher for over 40 years. From 2015-2018 he was president of the Tasmanian Principals Association, representing government primary and secondary school principals. He is now president of the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA).
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the media and mentions from our political representatives, but it would be marvellous to see this turned into more transformative action about workloads, workflow and resourcing that meant all primary schools could focus on the teaching and learning relationships which are currently negatively affected by too much other work. Governments have devised and enacted covid management strategies dependent, as we all know, on the medical advice. A very important learning from this pandemic is that our school leaders must be just as actively and consistently engaged in policy development as our medical friends. Systems, education offices, departments and directorates must be given credit for efforts made in this direction. However, there is much work to be done in changing planning processes so that policy is not only devised in consultation with school personnel but implemented according to timelines that reflect the reality of school operations. Almost every school in Australia operates
Elliot says APPA’s aim now is to attract and retain people who have the motivation and capability to teach children.
education matters primary
