February 2023 Western Teacher

Volume 52.2 February 2023

In this edition

Correspondence:

The Editor, PO Box 212, West Perth WA 6872 editor@sstuwa.org.au | Ph: 9210 6000

Member Assist:

Ph: 9210 6060

memberassist@sstuwa.org.au

Print post publication 100004470 | $4.95

ABN: 544 780 946 35

Authorised by Mary Franklyn, General Secretary, The State School Teachers’ Union of W.A. (Inc.) 1 West Street, West Perth WA. Printed by Vanguard Press, 26 John Street, Northbridge WA. February 2023.

Cover: The SSTUWA and its Growth Team (pictured) invite you to join up to join in for a better public education system and working conditions. Read more on pages 6, 7 and 12.

To access the digital copy of Western Teacher, visit: sstuwa.org.au/westernteacher

Advertisements in Western Teacher are the responsibility of advertisers. While Western Teacher makes reasonable efforts to ensure that no misleading claims are made by advertisers, responsibility is not accepted by The State School Teachers’ Union of W.A. (Inc.) for statements made or the failure of any product or service to give satisfaction. Inclusion of a product or service should not be construed as an endorsement or recommendation by The State School Teachers’ Union of W.A. (Inc.)

is the official publication of The State School Teachers’ Union of W.A. (Inc.)

We wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we live and work. We wish to pay respect to their Elders – past, present and future – and acknowledge the important role all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play

This design was created for the SSTUWA by Tyrown Waigana, a Wandandi Noongar and Ait Koedal artist/designer and former WA public school student. Read more about the artist and the artwork at sstuwa.org.au/connections

Review of Public

Community discussion encouraged

By Matt Jarman President

One of the core reasons for establishing a review into the public education system (led by former WA Premier and one-time federal education minister Dr Carmen Lawrence) was to encourage community debate about public education.

For too long we have seen public education ignored as an election issue at both state and federal level, even though it consistently rates as one of the topics the community is most concerned about.

Funding, teacher shortages, workload, violence in schools, mental well-being of both staff and pupils, plus the impact that Covid has had on exacerbating these pre-pandemic problems, are all in need of sensible solutions.

The SSTUWA is working actively through the media to raise these issues for public discussion.

We need a full and wide-ranging debate on the state of public education. With two-thirds of students educated in the public sector there are millions of Western Australians who want to see their children get the best possible schooling. We need to rally that support behind us.

Our message is that students don’t just need a teacher, they need the right teacher – one who is fully trained, is an expert in any specialist subject they teach and one who has the right support around them.

This goes for school leaders too – they need to be ready for the role and to have the support and backing they need.

There are, of course, many other positions in our schools which need to be filled by the right, properly qualified, teacher.

The SSTUWA knows full well that many teachers will be lacking in the necessary experience and support.

It has been extremely difficult for schools to recruit and we are losing far too many experienced teachers and leaders. Through the media we have asked parents to be supportive and patient as new teachers settle in and to be respectful to every teacher and school leader, reminding them that a parent’s example is what sets the standards for students.

As you will see on page six we are taking our public education review team across WA to seek out submissions from members, the community and other stakeholders. Please encourage your colleagues (yes, even non-members) and broader school community to make their views known.

If you see issues arising around class sizes, DOTT or staff getting into difficulties, please let your rep know.

If you need additional support or are at a school without a rep then contact Member Assist on 9210 6000 or 1800 199 073.

If you are new to teaching I urge you to consider joining our New Educator Network. Peer support is crucial in your early years and we want you to stay in teaching, so seek support and advice when you need it. Find out more at sstuwa.org.au/new-educators

We have a diverse membership. While we will not always exactly share the same views on every issue, what we do all agree on is the vital role of public education and how important it is to protect and nourish the sector. Our strength in that fight comes from you –our members.

We all know that if School of Isolated and Distance Education (SIDE) subjectspecific enrolments are rocketing from 2,000 to 6,000 then there are serious gaps emerging in education delivery.

Honest debate and long-term cooperative solutions are needed, not one-off short-term attempted fixes.

Regional WA having its say on public education

The SSTUWA wants regional community members to have their say on the state of WA’s public education system, as part of its independent review led by Dr Carmen Lawrence.

The panel will visit 12 regional locations in total including: Northam, New Norcia, Esperance, Kalgoorlie, Katanning, Albany, Geraldton, Broome, Bunbury, Busselton, Karratha and Manjimup.

The review, which was announced last year, will identify and examine the problems in the public education system, what effect they are having on teachers and school leaders and how those staff can be supported to improve public education in WA.

Dr Lawrence (pictured right), who is a former Premier and Education Minister, heads up the review, and is joined on the expert panel by Dr Scott Fitzgerald from Curtin University, former Commissioner for Children and Young People Colin Pettit, and former Perth Modern principal Robyn White. The review is supported by panel executive officer Pamela Pollard, a former principal of Victoria Park Primary School. SSTUWA president Matt Jarman said anyone with a view or insight on public education was encouraged to attend the community consultation events.

“We are at a crossroads with public education in WA and even more so in our regional schools,” he said.

“This inquiry is vital to paving a way forward for education and to do that we need to hear from the community to ensure we have a clear understanding of the serious challenges facing the public education system.

“Teacher shortages, excessive workloads and violence in schools are just some of the day-to-day problems, and with the public system educating the majority of WA children, they deserve the very best from a quality education environment.”

The review will also examine factors such as the effect of state government policies on schools, the impact of Covid-19 and changes in reporting, expectations and accountability.

The regional consultations will take place from February to April, with those interested in attending encouraged to visit sstuwa.org.au/review for times, locations and to register.

Members of the SSTUWA and the community in general are also encouraged to make a submission via the website.

The end date for submissions is 21 April, with the panel expected to provide a draft report to the SSTUWA Executive by the middle of the year.

Remaining consultation events – Metro and regional

Kalgoorlie

Katanning

Fremantle (South Metro West)

Belmont (North Metro East)

Meadow Springs (South Metro East)

Perth (North Metro West)

Albany

Geraldton

Broome

Hillarys (North Metro West)

Bunbury

Busselton

Karratha

Manjimup

Tuesday 28 February, 4.30pm

Thursday 2 March, 4.30pm

Friday 3 March, 4.30pm

Tuesday 7 March, 4.30pm

Wednesday 8 March, 4.30pm

Thursday 9 March, 4pm

Tuesday 14 March, 4.30pm

Thursday 23 March, 4.30pm

Friday 24 March, 4.30pm

Monday 27 March, 4.30pm

Thursday 30 March, 4.30pm

Friday 31 March, 4.30pm

Monday 3 April, 4.30pm

Tuesday 4 April, 4.30pm

Session details correct at time of publication. Please visit sstuwa.org.au/review to register and confirm latest time, date and full location details.

Securing equity is essential

By Natalie Blewitt Senior Vice President

I hope the 2023 school year has commenced smoothly for you, whether you are teaching the same subject area or something new. Welcome back to our existing members and a special welcome to those who are new to our profession.

International Women’s Day 2023

International Women’s Day will be celebrated on 8 March. This year’s global theme is #EmbraceEquity. “Equity isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have.”

A focus on gender equity needs to be part of every society’s DNA - and it’s crucial to understand the difference between equity and equality.

Although there has been significant progress towards gender equality, women continue to experience barriers and inequalities in the home, workplace and the community.

For example:

• Women experience family and domestic violence, as well as sexual violence and assault, at significantly higher rates than men.

• There is a gap of 22.4 per cent between the average full-time weekly earnings of Western Australian men and women, compared to the national average of 14.0 per cent.

• Women perform more unpaid domestic and caring duties than men, even when they work full-time.

• Women’s career progression to leadership roles can be adversely affected by workplace practices and attitudes that are biased towards

traditional gender roles in families where one parent, usually the mother, provides primary care to children.

The fight for equity continues, in homes, the workplace and in our community.

Unions continue to take a leading role in this. For example, the Australian Services Union was the first union to secure paid family and domestic violence (FDV) leave in a workplace agreement in 2010. The SSTUWA first secured this entitlement for members in the 2017 Schools General Agreement.

Now we have new laws enshrining 10 days paid FDV leave for all Australian workers by August of this year. (Read more on pages 26-27.)

At the member level continue to have those conversations with your colleagues, friends and family about the importance for equity for women everywhere.

In Australia, IWD will also be marked with an additional theme, Cracking the code: Innovation for a gender equal future, which highlights the importance of accessible and inclusive education and technologies to combat discrimination.

For more information and resources visit:

• internationalwomensday.com

• iwda.org.au

• unwomen.org.au and bit.ly/3JaBLfR

If you take any pictures of your IWD events, you can send them to us at editor@sstuwa.org.au or tag @sstuwa to any images that are posted to your social media accounts.

Member communication

I encourage members to keep up with the happenings of the union through our various modes of communication, whether they be in electronic or printed format.

Member communication continues to be our highest priority and we strive to improve our communication channels to ensure their effectiveness in bringing you the latest news.

We have refreshed the look of Western Teacher to reflect the contemporary, up-to-date nature of the magazine, while the union’s various eNews have also been given a new look and format. Also check out the union’s new and refreshed website.

If you haven’t already then download the SSTUWA App to access all this information.

For early career teachers, keep an eye out for the special monthly New Educator eNews, which will provide you with all the essential information you will need.

This will hit your email inbox on the first Tuesday of every month. Continue to keep up to date via social media on our Facebook and Instagram accounts.

There is also a dedicated page in Western Teacher magazine for new educators. We’ve revamped the format and hope you will find it an informative read. Turn to page 12 of this month’s issue to see the new educator page.

By keeping in touch you can find out the latest on the professional and industrial issues that affect you and how to achieve a sustainable work/life balance.

Harsh lessons of climate change

By Sharmila Nagar Vice President

Kaya and happy new year. As we enter the Bunuru season here in the southwest, the hottest time of the year, it certainly feels as though the sweltering conditions are getting worse every year, with more extreme weather patterns becoming a regular occurrence.

Our First Nations people have been warning us for years about the detrimental impact of climate crisis on the land. The recent devastating floods in the Kimberley region, which caused record levels of damage to homes and infrastructure, highlight the urgency to combat climate change.

The SSTUWA sympathises with members in the region who have been impacted by floods and continues to render whatever assistance to them that we can.

At the same time, we need to start thinking about what we are doing to address the climate change crisis and put in sustainable practices in our workplace.

You may recall that last year the SSTUWA submitted recommendations towards the Inquiry into the Response of Western Australian Schools to Climate Change.

The Making Hope Practical Report tabled 24 recommendations to the government from its findings of the submissions.

The government’s response supported six, noted 13 and did not support five. A summary of the recommendations supported follows below.

Note that the report was delivered before the Education and Training ministerial portfolios were separated, hence the wording “Minister for Education and Training”.

Recommendation 1

That the Minister for Education and Training ensures that the wide range of co-benefits of climate action in schools is promoted in the Department of Education’s frameworks, policies and initiatives, and that these co-benefits are given recognition by commensurate funding for sustainability initiatives.

Government’s response

Supported in principle - The Department of Education’s Caring for Country Together - Our Sustainability Framework provides a whole-of-agency approach to sustainability and emphasises the co-benefits of sustainability across three focus areas – curriculum, infrastructure and operations. Sustainability initiatives are funded in Western Australian Schools in a number of ways.

Schools are provided with a one-line budget and can choose to allocate funding to sustainability initiatives if this is a school priority. Additionally, the School Clean Energy Technology Fund, a McGowan Government election commitment, is providing funding for schools to undertake a range of sustainability initiatives.

The $44.6 million fund will provide rooftop solar panels at 28 schools in the Kimberley and Pilbara regions and seven new virtual power plants at schools in Kalgoorlie, Geraldton and the midwest region, with the remaining funding available for schools to apply for to implement clean energy solutions.

Recommendation 5

That the Minister for Education and Training ensures that the rollout of the sustainability framework is

supported by clear and ongoing communication to schools about its priority, and comprehensive professional development for school staff.

Government’s response

Supported - The Department of Education is currently implementing a communications plan to support and promote the rollout of the Sustainability Framework across the organisation and reinforce sustainability as a priority for the Department and schools. Actions already in progress include:

• Regular email communications to all principals, schools and the Department promoting sustainability activities and initiatives linked to the Framework.

• Dedicated Department intranet content, including the Framework’s “roadmap” for schools and central services staff to assess current sustainability initiatives, understand where they currently are on the sustainability continuum and identify what they can do to move further along the continuum.

• Online case studies and a video to demonstrate how our schools are “Caring for Country” together.

• Dedicated pages on the Department’s public website to promote the Sustainability Framework.

• Social media posts on the Department’s Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram channels to promote sustainability initiatives.

The second phase of the communications plan is currently in development. This will

further socialise the Framework, highlight its priority and promote professional development opportunities for school staff including administrators, teachers, education assistants and support staff such as gardeners and cleaners.

Recommendation 11

The Minister for Education and Training ensures that the Department’s Sustainability Unit and internal reference group formulate a plan to promote the benefits of climate action to school corporate services managers and facilitate training.

Government’s response

Supported - The Department of Education will work with the Sustainability Reference Group to develop a plan to promote the benefits of climate action to school managers corporate services (MCSs) and facilitate training.

Recommendation 13

That the Minister for Education and Training ensures that the Department’s strategic approach to climate-friendly infrastructure and operations prioritises communities that are particularly vulnerable to climate change.

Government’s response

Supported - The Government supports the recommendation and notes the Department of Education has commenced planning for a review of the Primary School Brief and Secondary School Planning Guide. This review will address themes such as climate change adaptation and mitigation. The Department is currently undertaking a Building Condition Assessment program across all public schools that will inform future upgrade, replacement and maintenance programs.

Recommendation 14

That the Minister for Education and Training ensures that the Department of Education incorporates benchmarks for resource consumption in schools and provides funding for schools to be audited to assist them to achieve these benchmarks.

Government’s response

Supported in principle - The Department of Education recognises the value of benchmarking and target-setting for resource consumption in schools and is investigating ways to measure, monitor and evaluate the emissions avoided due to the implementation of sustainability initiatives/programs.

Recommendation 20

That the Minister for Education and Training ensures that waste management services and infrastructure are improved at a departmental level to support a reduction in waste to landfill. This should include funding for infrastructure and guidance to schools on implementing systems appropriate to their context.

Government’s response

Supported in principle - The Department of Education is focused on ensuring that waste management services and infrastructure are improved to support a reduction in waste to landfill, in support of the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030. The Department will continue with the following initiatives to encourage broader roll-out across the system.

Of the recommendations not supported, the government has provided alternative approaches on how to incorporate the intent of some of the recommendations.

In particular, in regards to Recommendation 24 (The Minister for Education and Training advocates at a national level, through the Education Ministers Meeting, for incorporating competencies for sustainability and climate change in national teaching standards), the approach will be to raise “sustainability with the Deans of WA Universities to explore opportunities to strengthen competencies in university teaching qualifications. The Minister for Education and Training will raise this with the Vice Chancellors of the WA Universities at the next Western Australian Higher Education Council.”

Not surprisingly, funding at the school level seems to be why some of the recommendations were noted or not supported.

It is particularly disappointing that there is no FTE allocation for a sustainability coordinator in all schools (Recommendation 10).

The Department of Education’s view is that in order to create a “culture of best practice, sustainability should be embedded across curriculum, infrastructure and operations”.

While in theory this is true, we know how time poor teachers and school administrators are.

Creating an allocated role will mean that sustainable practices can be properly implemented and resourced.

The department will create a centralised position to assist those school who choose to employ a sustainability coordinator.

Our concern with this is whether the constraints of the one-line budget may impede the effectiveness of this plan.

The SSTUWA will continue to work on improving the sustainable practices in our education settings and we look forward to working with our Climate Action Working Group to improve sustainable measures at all workplaces.

To read the government’s response in full to the Making Hope Practical report visit bit.ly/3xf4atL

What can be done about non-union free riders?

By Dr Jim Stanford

A long overdue public debate has started in Australia about free riding in industrial relations – when non-union members benefit from collective agreements negotiated by union members without contributing (through membership dues or other payments) to their negotiation and administration.

Several union leaders want rules to stop free riding. Without this, they argue, union membership will keep falling, imperilling collective bargaining.

The issue has been given impetus by the latest data on union membership rates. The proportion of employees belonging to a union is now a record low 12.5 per cent. In the private sector it’s just 8 per cent.

In the 1980s more than half of the Australian workforce was unionised. Since then Australia has experienced the most dramatic deunionisation of any major industrial country.

That, at least in part, is by design. The Howard Government passed laws in the late 1990s and 2000s prohibiting union preferences in hiring, bargaining fees or other structured supports for union membership.

But the idea workers can get something for nothing – enjoying the benefits of collective bargaining, without contributing to its costs – ignores both economic theory and reality.

The economics of free riding

Economists have long grappled with the problem of free riders in many areas of economic life.

The textbook case involves public goods –things to which access cannot be limited to paying customers. Examples are clean

air and water, infrastructure, policing and national defence.

With public goods, conventional market mechanisms (based on rational individual choice) do not work. If something is free to all, there will be some people prepared to voluntarily contribute to its cost, and others that won’t.

To address this market failure, economists endorse policy interventions that deliberately interfere with individual choice. For government-provided public goods, this usually relies on compulsory contributions (taxes).

Why pay when you get it for free?

Other industries and ventures also encounter free rider problems, and laws have evolved to address them.

For example, unit owners in a residential strata don’t have free choice to refuse monthly strata fees. They are required to contribute to the collective costs of running their shared building. The power of the strata to set and collect monthly fees is provided for in Australian law. If strata fees were voluntary, the whole system of strata ownership would collapse.

Nor can individual shareholders in a corporation choose to withhold their share of payments approved by the corporation’s duly elected directors. These provisions are recognised and protected in law.

When it comes to collective bargaining, however, Australian law not only tolerates but effectively encourages free riding.

Under the Fair Work Act, any benefit or entitlement (from higher wages, to

working conditions, to rostering systems) negotiated through enterprise bargaining must be equally available to all workers covered by an agreement.

A narrowly rational individual might understandably ask why they should join the union when they can get all the benefits of a union-negotiated contract anyway.

Left to individual choice in this context, it’s not surprising union membership has fallen.

How other nations deal with the problem

I have catalogued six distinct approaches used by other nations to address this market failure and establish a viable foundation for collective bargaining. All are founded on the presumption that

collective bargaining is socially beneficial and should be encouraged.

One approach, informed by traditional conceptions of property rights, is to close off access to union-negotiated wages and benefits to dues-paying members only. Varieties of this strategy have been tried in the United States and in New Zealand.

This has generally not worked, however, because employers can still undermine unions by voluntarily offering equal improvements to non-members. It also damages worker solidarity, critical to any collective organisation.

Britain, Canada, India and Japan (among others) allow closed shop or agency shop arrangements. In any workplace that has been unionised (through some kind of majority decision, like a ballot or petition), all covered workers pay dues to reflect the benefits they receive from the collective agreement. In a closed shop they must join the union. In an agency shop they don’t have to join the union but do have to pay the same fees.

The Philippines, South Africa and the US are among those with a modified agency shop system called bargaining fees. Everyone covered by an enterprise agreement (which must be ratified by affected workers) contributes something (usually less than full union dues) to the direct costs of negotiating and administering that agreement.

France and Brazil are among several countries that directly support collective negotiations with public subsidies.

Like paying taxes for public goods, this approach directly allocates resources to fund a service (collective bargaining) deemed to be essential for a healthy labour market. New Zealand is taking a similar approach with its new Fair Pay Agreements (in effect since December 2022).

In Germany, Italy and many other European countries, collective bargaining is mandated by law, with employers above a certain size required to establish a workers council and cover the costs. Workers don’t have to join the union but, with such a well-funded infrastructure, collective bargaining remains strong.

In the Nordic countries and Belgium, extra support for collective bargaining is provided through union sponsorship of income support and social programs (like unemployment insurance and pensions). Workers are attracted to join their union to get better access to these services. This provides unions with resources and leverage for collective bargaining.

Developing an Australianmade fix

So there is a wide choice of specific ways to fix the free rider problem in industrial relations.

In Australia, however, the right to free ride is fully protected, even celebrated. The result (as intended) has been the steady erosion of union membership. Australia

is now quickly converging with the US as one of the least unionised nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

In December, the Albanese Government passed its Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill, aimed at strengthening collective bargaining. If these reforms succeed in broadening collective bargaining coverage, the evidence suggests Australia’s abysmal wage growth will pick up.

That alone should enhance workers’ appreciation of the value of collective action, and indirectly strengthen the incentive for union membership.

Eventually, however, it will need to be recognised that collective bargaining is not free and is being undermined by a legal framework that pretends it is. We need to develop a made-in-Australia solution to fix it.

Dr Jim Stanford is an economist and director at the Centre for Future Work, Australia Institute and an Honorary Professor of Political Economy at the University of Sydney. Dr Stanford is a member of the Australian Services Union. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect any official policies or positions of the AEU or the SSTUWA. This article was first published on the Conversation website and has been reproduced here with permission.

Graduate teacher entitlements

By Chloe Hosking Growth Team officer

So you’ve finally made it. After years of study, months of practical placements and perhaps a few weeks of wondering which shoes to wear on your first day, you’re a qualified teacher. Now the real challenge begins!

To help you to be the best teacher you can be in the first two years of your career, the Department of Education (DoE) provides a range of allocations via the Graduate Teacher Induction Program.

It’s important you check that you’ve received your allocations, as they can go astray. If you’re not sure what you’re entitled to, don’t worry – we’re here to help.

For those of you who have signed a contract that is six months or longer, you will be able to access the following allocations:

A start up allowance of $1600 pro-rata, paid to you via payroll at the start of your first and second years of teaching. Keep an eye on your first few pay slips, and if you don’t see this come in, check in with your Manager of Corporate Services (MCS) for advice.

Eight days additional non-contact time provided to you during your first year of teaching. This might be timetabled as roughly one hour per week, or as two full days each term, with the timing of these days negotiated between you and your principal or line manager. This is essentially additional DOTT time, where you are onsite working on your planning, behaviour follow ups, report writing or other non-teaching tasks.

Eight days of relief funding paid to your school to release you to attend Graduate Modules. If you attend your Graduate Modules in the holidays or online, this funding should be paid to you as Paid Time Off in Lieu (PTOIL).

Remember to check in with your principal or line manager before enrolling in your first Graduate module on the DoE’s Professional Learning Information System (PLIS).

$150 curriculum materials allowance for you to use for classroom resources. Some graduates buy textbooks, classroom resources, or even a bluetooth speaker. These materials then belong to you, and you can take them with you if you move to another school. Before purchasing, it’s really important that you check with your MCS that what you want to buy is appropriate, as well as the preferred method of reimbursement or payment.

A contingency allowance to cover costs incurred while attending Graduate Modules 1 and 2, including travel and accommodation costs for regional graduates. It’s important to discuss using the contingency allowance with your principal or MCS prior to attending your module. The amount paid to the school varies, starting at $115.91 for graduates in the Perth metro area.

Graduate entitlements are an example of a working condition that your union campaigned for and won.

For more information on your entitlements, visit the Know Your Rights website at sstuwa.org.au/kyr and check out the New Educator rights and entitlements sheet.

If you’re still not sure, get in touch with Member Assist on 9210 6060, 1800 106 683 or memberassist@sstuwa.org.au

Keep an eye out for the next edition of Western Teacher, where we’ll expand on this brief overview of your graduate entitlements to look more closely at the range of supports available to you as a graduate teacher.

Will school teacher shortage plan work?

By Paul Kidson

We have heard reports of a crisis in Australian schools, thanks to a shortage of teachers around the country. Federal education department modelling shows there will be a high school teacher shortfall of about 4,000 by 2025.

Last August, Education Minister Jason Clare and his state and territory colleagues met and agreed this was a huge problem. Their big, set-piece policy response was a new plan for the “national teacher workforce”.

After all the talk and consultation – will it work? To use the language of a school report, the teacher shortage plan is a good effort and a positive start. But there are areas that need improvement.

Remind me, what’s in the plan?

The final plan, like the draft, identifies five priority areas to attract and retain highquality teachers to the profession:

1. Improving teacher supply.

2. Strengthening teaching degrees.

3. Keeping the teachers we have.

4. Elevating the profession.

5. Better understanding of future teacher workforce needs.

There were more than 650 submissions to the draft. Initially there were 28 recommendations or actions. The final version has 27, after one initial idea –a “teacher of the year” award – was scrapped based on teacher feedback.

The final plan still includes measures such as a national campaign to raise the status of teachers and $30 million to reduce teachers’ workloads.

A good effort

Bringing together diverse jurisdictions and sectors is an ongoing challenge

for Australian education. But this plan involves governments, their bureaucracies and education authorities, employers, teachers and unions.

This includes plans to streamline accreditation processes for teachers and reduce unnecessary administration (that weighs down their daily workloads).

Importantly, the plan has an inclusive and aspirational tone. It talks about “the work we will do together”. This is not always the case in the complex world of education policy-making in Australia.

A positive start

Nearly half the plan (13 of the 27 actions) focuses on how to recruit and establish teachers in the profession. The increased priority on mentoring for early career teachers is welcomed, given the particular significance it plays in supporting, and so retaining, early career teachers.

Strategies to develop and support First Nations teachers are complemented by strategies to facilitate easier entrance to the profession for a range of equity groups, including those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as for mid-career professionals.

A commitment to increase the number of permanent teachers and provide professional learning for casual teachers is also positive, given many of these teachers feel overstretched and emotionally exhausted by the uncertain nature of casualised teaching.

Importantly, the critical roles played by teaching assistants, teaching students and other support and administrative staff within schools is also acknowledged.

And further improvement needed

However, paradoxes and tensions remain. On the one hand, there is a clear

commitment to reduce workload. But there is no nationally consistent view on what the workload issues are.

Meanwhile, several of the key next steps look likely to repackage, rather than reduce, some of the work.

For example, action 13 seeks to “develop, monitor and evaluate reductions in teacher workload”, then requires “states and territories and non-government school authorities […] to report back to education ministers on actions they have taken”. It’s naive to imagine a new form of reporting will reduce teachers’ workloads.

There is also a danger politics will confuse the matter. A new tool to assess how new policies will impact teachers workloads is set to be developed as part of the next National School Reform Agreement, which ties federal, state and territory funding mechanisms to lifting student learning outcomes.

While it’s a good idea to consider the impact new initiatives will have on workloads, combining this with complex issues of school funding arrangements risks becoming bogged down and overly politicised. The surprise announcement that the next schools agreement will be delayed by another 12 months to December 2024 has only added to these concerns.

There is still more significant work to come. There is an ongoing review into teacher education, led by Sydney University Vice-Chancellor, Mark Scott. Until we see the findings in June 2023, we don’t have clear answers on how governments will strengthen teaching degrees.

A charitable view and a cynical one

The plan includes an extensive appendix of more than 200 initiatives already underway across all states and territories,

and across all three sectors (government, Catholic, independent), to address teacher shortages.

A charitable view is this plan will complement and build on these, increasing the total effort and funds applied.

A cynical view is these initiatives aren’t yet having their desired impact, so planning to do even more of them may not be effective either.

Paul Kidson is a senior lecturer in Educational Leadership at the Australian Catholic University. The opinions

expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect any official policies or positions of the AEU or the SSTUWA. This article was first published on the Conversation website and has been reproduced here with permission.

New TAFE lecturer retention incentive available

The state government has announced a one-off Temporary Regional Incentive for eligible new and existing regional TAFE lecturers in the Pilbara, Kimberley and Kalgoorlie for the 2023 academic year.

The $2.9 million incentive package aims to help regional TAFE colleges attract and retain staff.

Eligible lecturers will receive up to:

• $15,000 in the Pilbara and Kimberley; and

• $10,000 in Kalgoorlie.

Lecturers will receive the payment on top of existing incentives for working in

regional areas. Part of the temporary incentive will be paid upfront and the remainder paid after 12 months.

An ongoing issue has been the challenge of recruiting and retaining lecturers for TAFE colleges in the Pilbara, Kimberley and Kalgoorlie region, with the current tight labour market only increasing the difficulty.

TAFE plays a vital role in creating skilled workers to support local businesses and communities and the growth of the WA economy.

Regional TAFE colleges are in a position to deliver training closely aligned with

their region’s industry, working with them to enhance training outcomes for students.

Training Minister Simone McGurk said the incentive would ensure regional TAFE colleges would continue to support local students, employers and industries through course availability and access to training.

“This is a great time for people who would like to use their skills and expertise to educate, encourage and mentor the next generation of specialists in their industry to consider employment opportunities with TAFE,” she said.

Voice to Parliament and the debate about detail

By Gabrielle Appleby and Eddie Synot

The Australian people will soon be asked to vote in a referendum to constitutionally recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through a First Nations Voice. Unfortunately, the political debate on this question has become mired in arguments over “detail” that are either ignorant or deceitful about the nature of the proposal and the work that has been done on it.

A fractured Nationals Party has announced it will not support the referendum because they are not convinced a Voice would “Close The Gap”. They also argue Labor has failed to provide sufficient “detail”.

The former Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt accused the party of “laziness” for failing to read the detail in a 280-page report delivered to government in July 2021, a proposal Wyatt took to Cabinet twice before the last election.

This rebuke didn’t stop Liberal party leader Peter Dutton claiming there was “building bewilderment” about the lack of detail on the Voice. Special Envoy for the Uluru Statement from the Heart Senator Patrick Dodson has responded by arguing the Australian people are being asked to vote “on principle, not on detail”.

What should inform the detail?

So, who is right in this debate on detail? The answer lies somewhere in the middle. Taking a step back, let’s look at the principles that should inform how we approach the question of detail.

First, it should be informed by respect for the constitutional role of the Australian people in the referendum. They must be provided with sufficient detail about

the nature and likely operation of any proposed constitutional amendment so they can make an informed choice.

Second, any further detail that is released must not mislead the voters as to what they are being asked to vote on. Australians are not being asked to vote on a specific Voice model. Rather the Voice will be determined by Parliament with the input of the community and the Voice itself, and will evolve and change over time.

Finally, any detail of the Voice must give sufficient assurance to First Nations people that the design of the body –particularly with respect to the pivotal question of membership – will be designed with their genuine input.

We need some detail, but not a specific model

Senator Dodson is right to say the Australian people are voting on the constitutional amendment – the principle that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be given a say on laws and policies that affect them.

There is already significant detail that has been released on that, including a draft amendment to the constitution. This is what the Australian people will be asked to vote on at a referendum, not a detailed Voice model. This is also what will be constitutionally entrenched and unable to be changed (other than by another referendum).

Beyond this, there is further debate about what the “model” of the Voice will be.

There is real danger in providing a full, detailed model of the Voice prior to a referendum (for instance, in the form of a draft bill).

A complete “model” of the Voice will mislead voters and impair the constitutional function of the referendum. Voters may think they are voting on the detail of the model and not the actual constitutional provision they are required to vote on.

And if the referendum is successful, it would likely “lock in” that specific model (if not legally then politically).

Future Parliaments would be reluctant to disturb the model that was passed with the referendum, even though it wouldn’t technically be attached to the amendment itself.

This would undermine the objective of allowing the model to adapt and evolve as future circumstances require and would also undermine the authority of Parliament to do so as required.

But that doesn’t mean there should be no detail. The proposal for a constitutional First Nations Voice is the result of more than 10 years of dedicated inquiries and consultations on constitutional recognition. This history provides two important lessons.

Lesson 1: there’s a lot we already know

First, we have significant understanding of what the Voice will be from the last 10 years of government and parliamentary inquiries. This includes the Referendum Council’s Regional Dialogues, as reported in their Final Report, the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition (2018), and the government’s Indigenous Voice Co-design Process, as reported in its Final Report of 2021.

The Indigenous Law Centre has painstakingly reviewed these reports, and

determined eight key principles of the Voice design:

1. The intention of the Voice is to further the self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within the Australian state, by giving them greater voice and control in matters that affect them.

2. The Voice is primarily a Voice to Parliament, informing the ultimate national law-making authority, but it must also be engaged with government in the development of policies and legislative proposals.

3. The Voice must have a structure that represents and reflects local communities in their diversity, giving those a voice who haven’t had a voice in the past.

4. The Voice must have cultural legitimacy, in that it must be selected by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples themselves in accordance with their own local practices, protocols and expectations.

5. The Voice should be designed in a way that it can achieve its functions, in particular that it is: provided with stability and certainty, without the risk hanging over it of future abolition; designed so as to be structurally independent of government; and adequately funded and resourced.

6. The Voice is to be established to represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples politically, and while it may draw on the expertise of pre-existing organisations such as community groups and peak bodies, it performs a distinct function to them.

7. The government and Parliament have an obligation to engage with the Voice in certain defined areas, and the Voice has an overarching capacity to engage the government and Parliament proactively about policies, legislation and amendments.

8. The Voice must be involved at multiple points in legislative and policy processes from beginning to end.

Lesson 2: we don’t know the design yet, but we know how to get there

Wyatt has stated the detail of the Voice is to be found at pages 15-17 of the

2021 government report. However, this should be treated with caution. The 2021 process was not directed at designing a constitutionally enshrined Voice. This is clear from the terms of reference, which directed the group to work within existing structures and specifically excluded the group from considering a constitutionally protected Voice.

Most concerning, an uncritical adoption of the 2021 co-design model would be met by significant opposition from many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Earlier this year, an ANU issues paper on the referendum summarised the co-design process, rushed through in four months during the Covid pandemic:

“[T]he consultation process was rushed. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and organisations such as the [National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation] and the Central Land Council have criticised the process, arguing that there was little opportunity for participants to consider or engage with key elements of the model.”

In 2021, Indigenous public policy expert (and former community worker, senior Commonwealth and NT public servant, and ministerial adviser) Michael Dillon heavily criticised what he referred to as a “pre-emptively constrained co-design process”.

Dillon wrote that ministerial and cabinet involvement, control and ultimate veto over the process, including the involvement of departmental officials, combined with the limited terms of reference, meant the Indigenous Voice co-design process “does not amount to ‘shared decision-making’ nor to a negotiation, but is more akin to ‘managed

consultation’”. The whole process created an appearance or a veneer of collaboration, while maintaining government control.

Submissions to the co-design process, including from the Central Land Council and NSW Aboriginal Land Council voiced similar concerns, and the consultation summaries reveal repeated concerns from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants about the lack of time for consultation, the availability of information, and about how members of the body would be appointed.

To secure the legitimacy and success of a constitutionally enshrined First Nations Voice, its design must be done right. It needs its own, dedicated process, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people select their own representatives and are fully apprised of the options.

This shouldn’t occur before the referendum, but the government should commit to a timeline and the principles by which it will be conducted.

Gabrielle Appleby is a professor at the UNSW Law School in Sydney and the constitutional consultant to the Commonwealth Clerk of the House of Representatives and a director of the Centre for Public Integrity. Eddie Synot is a lecturer at Griffith Law School, Griffith University and a centre associate at the Indigenous Law Centre, UNSW Sydney. The opinions expressed in this article are that of the authors and do not necessarily reflect any official policies or positions of the SSTUWA or AEU. This article was first published on The Conversation website and has been reproduced here with permission.

Ukraine’s teachers and students forced to improvise in midst of war

By Kristina Hook

Svitlana Popova’s students didn’t realise she was leading their online math class while outside the charred remains of her home in Ukraine until they saw a news video about it on social media.

Her students were in their own difficult circumstances, too – seeking refuge away from their homes, some in other countries.

Popova is a mathematics teacher in the town of Borodyanka, in the Kyiv region of Ukraine. Her school was seized as a headquarters by Russian military forces and heavily damaged before their retreat.

After her classroom transitioned to online instruction, Russian tanks fired on her house and burned it down. Yet this dedicated teacher continued to lead virtual lessons from a small umbrellacovered table in the yard.

Ordinary Ukrainians have been hailed for their heroism since Russia’s full-scale invasion. “There are no small matters in a great war,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy affirmed in an emotional New Year’s address. “Each of us is a fighter,” Zelenskyy stated. “Each of us is the basis of defense.”

Listing the tools of war – ship’s helms, steering wheels, weapons, scalpels –Zelenskyy ended with an unexpected inclusion: the teacher’s pointer. This passing remark highlights an often hidden front in Ukraine’s defensive struggle – the fight by countless teachers and parents to keep more than eight million children educated, even as their worlds have been thrown into upheaval.

Educational efforts

Like Ukraine’s stunning resistance itself, local educators are rising to the occasion despite enormous challenges. Viral videos show teachers continuing to instruct their small pupils in bomb shelters during active bombardments, or conducting lessons inside a post office after schools lose electricity.

Gas stations and grocery stores, powered by generators long after homes and schools lose power, are being transformed into hubs for filming virtual lessons.

One Kyiv teacher spent hours crouching on a snowy sidewalk outside a store, determined to finish sharing the day’s homework assignment despite rolling blackouts. Other teachers now bring

their pets for online lessons, lifting spirits and providing psychological support. Many teachers, like Popova, comfort their students despite their own traumatic losses.

Long-term displacement

As an anthropologist working in Ukraine since 2015, I have long observed the effects of armed conflict on Ukrainian children. After Russia first invaded in 2014, regular bomb threats to schools have been attributed by Ukrainians to Russian governmental efforts to sow fear.

Between that first invasion and the second in February 2022, armed conflict with Russia internally displaced 1.5 million Ukrainians and damaged 740 schools.

I have analysed the impact of this warfare on children for trauma healing since Russia’s invasion began nine years ago. Still, these earlier challenges pale in comparison with what the Ukrainian educational system faces today.

Russia’s nationwide offensive against Ukraine in early 2022 led to the largest refugee flows in Europe since World War II.

In the weeks following the invasion, nearly 16 million Ukrainians were driven from their homes to seek refuge abroad and elsewhere in Ukraine. Many of these were women and children, exacting a heavy toll on Ukraine’s female-majority teaching corps, as well as their students.

With large numbers of Ukraine’s young people at least temporarily resettled in primarily European countries, some teachers reported a surge in their students’ motivation linked to the structure of returning to their online Ukrainian schooling.

“The children missed it (school) … because most of them were on the road for a long time. It was very emotionally draining, and when they returned to school, it was something they were used to,” one teacher told a Ukrainian reporter.

Teaching online, again

Teachers around the world developed remote-teaching skills during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that war had driven their classes apart again, Ukrainian teachers adapted those skills to teach students across Europe and the world.

Some private online schools like Optima made their materials available free of charge. This step allowed Ukrainian students to study at home if they could not otherwise access schooling because of the war.

It also provided a way for Ukrainian refugee children to retain access to school materials in their native language. Still, new obstacles emerged.

Many countries that took in Ukrainian refugees required the children to attend local schools, even if they didn’t speak the local language.

Some children thrived, like the young Ukrainians who stunned their Welsh hosts by learning the local language in less than 12 weeks.

Yet for many children, these host country efforts at integration created new problems. In my ongoing ethnographic research, Ukrainian parents described

how these attendance requirements left their children frustrated. “The children just sit there not understanding anything all day,” one parent told me.

Parents told me that after their children finished these long days in a foreign school, many would begin their day’s real learning late at night.

Parents said Ukrainian language materials gave children the chance to stay on schedule with their grade level back home. Failure to do so might further derail their future state exams and graduation dates.

By nightfall, however, children had lost their most productive educational hours. Harmful spirals soon followed.

Even formerly top students experienced exhaustion-driven pressures to copy virtual assignments. Losing their joy of learning added to the strain of the war’s intense trauma in these young lives.

A focus on education

Ukraine’s literacy rate is 99.8 per cent, one of the highest in the world, and education is a national point of pride. In wartime, Ukraine’s government is working to adapt its educational system to new realities.

Home schooling is permitted, so long as students can pass standardised tests. Still, many supervising parents are overburdened with the tasks of daily survival in the face of the Russian military’s relentless attacks on the civilian population.

One mother revealed to a reporter that she soothes her children to sleep in bomb shelters before arranging shovels around them in case they become trapped in the rubble of a missile attack.

Another mother told me she sends her young child to school with an emergency backpack filled with food, water and clothes in case he becomes trapped with his teachers.

The Russian military has also damaged or destroyed over 2,400 schools, adding to construction burdens.

When the school year began in September, government data indicated that less than 25 per cent of Ukrainian schools nationwide were able to offer fulltime, in-person instruction.

Even those that were intact are now required to have a bomb shelter before they can hold in-person lessons.

Major campaigns have rushed to build bomb shelters for schools, but, even so, many are simple, dirt-floor basements.

In addition, Russia’s intentional targeting of Ukraine’s electrical grid and civilian infrastructure poses new dangers to children’s health and schooling.

Power outages have affected an estimated 10 million people, over onequarter of the Ukrainian population.

Over half of Ukraine’s pupils are enrolled online and need electricity to attend classes and do schoolwork. Continued electrical outages would be a foreboding new hurdle.

Under occupation

The status of children’s education in Russian-controlled territories is even more alarming. Russia’s occupation has ushered in new forms of ideological coercion in the classroom.

Teachers in the liberated Kharkiv region have spoken of arbitrary arrests and torture by the Russian military when they refused to teach their students that Ukraine was a territory of Russia.

Ukrainian teachers have also tried to protect their students from Russia’s forcible deportations of minors, a crime of genocide under international law.

Courage has become synonymous with global descriptions of Ukrainian citizens enduring war, and teachers exemplify this everyday heroism.

Still, Russia’s targeting of Ukraine’s youngest citizens unfortunately goes much deeper than the physical devastation of their schools, kindergartens and nurseries.

In a survey of existing educational challenges, one brave parent admitted, “I am really scared for the future of our children.”

Kristina Hook is an assistant professor of conflict management at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, USA and a non-resident fellow at the Marine Corps University’s Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare. The opinions expressed in this article are that of the author and do not necessarily reflect any official policies or positions of the SSTUWA, AEU or Education International. This article was first published on The Conversation website and has been reproduced here with permission.

ROGS report shows challenges for Albanese

The 2023 Report on Government Services (ROGS) by the Productivity Commission has highlighted the task that lies ahead for the Albanese Government to address the inequities in public education.

On school funding, the data shows the overwhelming majority of school students, including the vast majority of students from low socio-economic backgrounds, are educated in public schools, but that almost no public school is fully and fairly funded to cater for their students.

• Between 2011-12 and 2020-21 total recurrent spending per student in government schools has increased by 16.2 per cent, at an average of 1.62 per cent per year.

• Private school per student government funding has increased by 27.4 per cent over the last decade at an average of 2.7 per cent per year.

• Government funding to private schools per student has increased at 1.7 times the rate of the public school per student increase.

In vocational education and training, ROGS 2023 shows:

• Combined Commonwealth and state/territory government funding to VET was $6.17 billion in 2021. This is a decline of $1.025 billion (14.25 per cent) from the 2012 amount of $7.2 billion.

• Every year over the last decade an average of $1.14 billion in government funding has been lost to the VET sector from the 2012 benchmark.

• Nationally, government payments to private non-TAFE providers amounted to $1.248 billion in 2021, an increase of $116.1 million (10.2 per cent) from 2020.

• Real terms government expenditure

per hour of VET instruction was $20.21, down 6.6 per cent from 2020.

• Expenditure was $371 per person aged 15-64 years, down from a peak of $473 in 2012 (the year before the Coalition formed government - this is a real reduction in funding per person of 21.6 per cent from 2012).

And, in early childhood education, the data shows:

• In 2021-22 the Commonwealth provided $472.5 million to states and territories in Universal Access National Partnership (UANP) funding for preschool the year before school.

• UANP funding has declined by $59.4 million (11.2 per cent) in real terms since the peak in 2012-13, whilst the number of children attending preschool has increased slightly from 288,369 to 291,168 since 2016 – this is an effective cut in real terms funding of over $200 per child.

AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe said the ROGS 2023 data showed the sheer scale of the previous government’s neglect over the past decade.

“The Coalition deliberately created a totally inequitable education funding system in which public school principals, teachers and education support staff, TAFE workers and early childhood teachers effectively work with their hands tied behind their backs to deliver the learning programs their students require,” she said.

“But there is no better time than this moment for governments to invest in public students, public education and through them, our nation’s future.”

Ms Haythorpe said despite federal Labor’s welcomed investment in fee-

free TAFE places; their efforts to tackle the national teacher shortage crisis by working collaboratively with the teaching profession; and their recognition of the importance of the early years, the task ahead of the federal government to invest in public education and reverse the decade of neglect was significant.

“In schools, the Albanese Government must fulfill their election commitment and establish a pathway to 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) funding for every public school in the country,” she said.

“In vocational education, they must resolve the underlying contestable funding issue and guarantee ongoing TAFE funding that actually covers the cost of course delivery.

“And, last but certainly not least, in early childhood Labor must deliver fully funded preschool for all three-year-olds.

“Public education plays a crucial role in educating the vast majority of Australian students.

“It is high time that this system is fully funded to ensure that every student has access to high quality education and equal opportunity, irrespective of their circumstances or backgrounds.”

There is no better time than this moment for governments to invest in public students, public education and through them, our nation’s future.

Failed opportunity to address inequity in education

The Australian Education Union (AEU) is urging the federal government to deliver on their election commitment of establishing a pathway to 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) funding for Australia’s public schools following the release of the Productivity Commission’s review of the National Schools Reform Agreement (NSRA).

The Productivity Commission review was set up by the Morrison Government to fix a flawed NSRA. However, the review did not take into account inequitable funding arrangements for public schools.

“It is a shame that from the outset, the review was prevented from taking into consideration the primary driver of inequity in student outcomes - that is the denial of full and fair funding for Australia’s public schools,” said Correna Haythorpe, AEU Federal president.

“Improving educational outcomes for all students cannot be separated from school funding. Equitable school funding is a crucial piece of the puzzle that has been entirely overlooked by the review.

“The current NSRA has many shortfalls that fail to address inequity in student outcomes, workforce shortages, escalating workloads and student and teacher well-being. And with the subsequent bilateral agreements between the Commonwealth and state and territory governments, it has been used as a vehicle to deliver deep inequality in school funding.”

The first Gonski Review set out a clear framework for needs-based school funding, with additional funding for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Over a decade later, the Productivity Commission’s review has raised the same important points about the need to lift the

outcomes of students from “priority equity cohorts” but failed to address the funding needs of these students.

“We have been going around in circles for over a decade. When will we address the elephant in the room that is public school funding?” Ms Haythorpe said.

“Let’s not forget that every public school student in Australia is currently missing out on an average of $1,800 in funding every year, a damning legacy left behind by the Coalition Government.

“The sad reality is that successive governments have failed a generation of public school students, denying their schools urgently needed resources for more teachers, support staff and additional learning programs, especially for students with additional needs.

“2023 must be the year that delivers full

and fair funding for public schools in Australia.”

The AEU’s attention is turned towards the recently announced review of funding arrangements by federal Education Minister Jason Clare following the extension of the existing NSRA for another year.

“We are deeply concerned about the 12-month extension of the existing NSRA. Resources delayed are resources denied, and public school students cannot afford to wait any longer,” Ms Haythorpe said.

“The Albanese Government must meet their election commitment of establishing a pathway to 100 per cent of Schooling Resource Standard funding for public schools across Australia as part of this review.

“AEU members across the nation will be expecting nothing less.“

Public school funding can kicked down the road

By Trevor Cobbold

Prior to Christmas last year, the federal Education Minister, Jason Clare, announced that the current National Schools Reform Agreement (NSRA) would be extended for another year to 2024.

This has major funding implications for all schools. It stops any funding increases for public schools which enrol the large majority of disadvantaged students and it continues an absurd arrangement that defrauds public schools of funding. Private schools will also get a relatively small windfall funding gain.

The NSRA is an agreement between the Commonwealth and the states that sets the framework for national education policy and funding.

Extending the current NSRA ensures that public schools will remain massively under-funded by about $6.8 billion for another year.

Their funding will be stuck well short of their funding needs as determined by their Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).

The extension also allows absurd provisions in the current funding agreements to continue. These provisions allow the states to claim non-school expenditures, such as capital charges, depreciation and regulatory expenditure, as part of their share of funding public schools.

Such expenditures are specifically excluded from how the SRS is measured. This skulduggery defrauds public schools of over $2 billion a year.

On average, public schools across Australian will be funded at only 87 per cent of their SRS in 2023 and 2024.

The funding shortfall is estimated at about $6.8 billion a year. For example, NSW public schools will be stuck at 88 per cent of their SRS, Victorian public schools at 86 per cent and Queensland public schools at 85 per cent. The funding shortfalls amount to about $1.95 billion, $1.8 billion and $1.78 billion respectively.

Furthermore, the extension of the funding agreements for another year gives private schools another funding windfall because planned reductions in their overfunding by state governments will be halted for a year.

In 2023, several states will fund private schools at over 20 per cent of their SRS which is the target share for the states under the bilateral funding agreements.

For example, NSW will fund private schools at 22.6 per cent of their SRS and Western Australia at 25 per cent.

The average state funding of private schools in 2023 is 21.3 per cent. Total state over-funding is estimated at $246 million and will remain at this level in 2024 instead of being reduced to $230 million –a windfall gains of $16 million.

Private schools are significantly over-funded by the Commonwealth Government until they reach a target share of 80 per cent of their SRS by 2029.

On average, private schools are funded by the Commonwealth at 84 per cent of their SRS in 2023. This estimate includes funding for the Morrison Government’s $1.2 billion Choice and Affordability slush fund for private schools which is excluded from official estimates of the SRS of private schools.

Commonwealth funding is not affected by the NSRA as it is determined by Commonwealth legislation. The reduction in over-funding will continue as planned to 2029.

Minister Clare’s stated reason for extending the current NSRA is to wait for the result of a new inquiry on the Agreement to report by the end of 2023.

This is despite a report on the Agreement by the Productivity Commission handed in a week after the Minister’s announcement.

It is the classic government delaying ploy – when you don’t want to do something, have an inquiry even if you have already had one.

Labor has kicked the public school funding can down the road since the 2019 election. Labor’s 2022 election platform dropped its 2019 pledge to increase funding for public schools by $14 billion over 10 years.

It was replaced by the empty promise to put public schools on the path to full funding without any timeline of when they will get to 100 per cent of their SRS.

The policy back-flip followed the 2019 election review which concluded that the size and complexity of Labor’s spending commitments including the $14 billion for public schools had exposed it to attacks by the Coalition.

The critical influence of the 2019 election review on Labor’s platform for the 2022 election was explicit in then-opposition leader Anthony Albanese’s address to the National Press Club in November 2019 where he endorsed the report and

promised to rewrite and consolidate Labor policies.

Public schools were a major casualty. The re-written policy platform made no mention of fully funding public schools to their national resource standard. Its only commitment was that “all schools are fairly resourced to meet the needs of all students”.

In December 2021, the Labor Shadow Education Minister, Tanya Plibersek, said that “the inequity at the heart of our funding system absolutely has to change” and that “every student should get 100 per cent of the fair funding level” (Geelong Advertiser, 11 December).

By February 2022 she had retreated to saying that a Labor Government would put public schools “on a path to its full and fair level of funding”.

By May in the election campaign, she had retreated to saying only that public schools would be better off under Labor.

Labor ignored calls by education experts for a Labor Government to ensure full funding of public schools within five years.

The new Education Minister, Jason Clare, has repeated the refrain that all schools will be on a pathway to full and fair funding.

This is a hollow promise and public schools and disadvantaged students deserve better from a Labor Government.

Even this weak pledge has now been dishonoured by extending the current funding agreements. As a result, public schools face a funding crisis because they continue to be massively under-funded.

Low SES, Indigenous and remote area students in public schools will continue to receive much less funding than they need. Full funding according to need is on the never-never. The government is clearly under pressure to reduce expenditure.

There is a simple solution to better funding for public schools and other human services – stop the stage three tax cuts for the rich.

These tax cuts are indefensible. According to the Parliamentary Budget Office the tax cuts will deliver over $150 billion to the top 20 per cent of income earners over 10 years from 2024.

This massive windfall for the richest people in Australia will exacerbate inequality and deny much needed funding for key services such as public education, health care, aged care and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

New studies show that there are no trickle-down economic benefits from tax cuts for the rich. They only serve to boost inequality.

In his address to the National Press Club in November 2019 as Opposition Leader,

Mr Albanese said that “…for Labor a progressive tax system is the foundation stone for building aspiration and upward mobility, as well as looking after those who need assistance.”

This was just a few months after Labor voted for the stage three tax cuts that flatten the personal income tax schedule to provide billions in tax cuts for the rich. It is little wonder that lack of trust in politicians is a major issue in Australia today.

There are shocking inequalities in school outcomes between rich and poor in Australia. The delay in formulating a new NSRA and its associated funding agreements between the Commonwealth and the states just ensures that these inequalities will continue.

Many disadvantaged students and schools will suffer the direct consequences, and Australia as a whole suffers from wasted talent and greater division in society. What a legacy for a Labor Government.

Trevor Cobbold is the convenor of Save our Schools Australia. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect any official policies or positions of the AEU or the SSTUWA. This article was first published on the Save our Schools Australia website and has been reproduced here with permission.

National education and union news

Domestic violence leave now available for more workers

New laws to provide 10 days paid family and domestic violence (FDV) leave have come into force for workers in businesses with 15 or more employees after unions campaigned and won the reform for workers leaving a violent relationship.

For workers in small businesses, with fewer than 15 employees, the entitlement will start from 1 August this year. The Albanese Government made this their first change in workplace laws.

The ACTU has marked the occasion by paying tribute to the thousands of survivors who did not have access to this entitlement, many of whom had paid the ultimate price. The union also thanked the millions of workers who had campaigned for change.

On average, it costs $18,000 to escape a violent relationship in Australia and economic security is a key factor determining whether a person can escape a dangerous relationship.

Paid FDV leave will change that equation and save lives. The ACTU wants all workers to understand their rights under the new laws.

• All workers – full time, part time and casual – will have access to 10 days leave, regardless of whether they work a 38-hour week, or fewer hours.

• The full 10-days is available immediately when a worker needs it, rather than accumulating over a period like annual and sick leave does.

• There are rules in place to keep workers’ information private including that FDV leave must not be included on an employee’s pay slip.

• Full-time and part-time employees can take paid FDV leave at their full pay rate for the hours they would have worked if they weren’t on leave, while casual employees will be paid

at their full pay rate for the hours they were rostered to work in the period they took leave.

Workers in small businesses continue to have access to five days of unpaid domestic violence leave until their inclusion in the paid scheme from 1 August.

ACTU President Michele O’Neil said workers no longer had to choose between putting food on the table and their safety.

“Our hearts are with families of those for whom paid family and domestic violence leave has come too late and we remember the women taken too soon,” she said.

“Paid family and domestic violence leave builds on the long legacy of the union movement campaigning for and winning new rights for workers, enshrined in our employment laws.”

NSW election education pledges welcomed

NSW Labor’s commitment to end the underfunding of public schools is a significant announcement that will be welcomed by teachers and principals across the state.

The party has pledged a $400 million future education fund to boost underfunded schools, as well as a literacy and numeracy tutoring program for students.

New South Wales Teachers’ Federation

(NSWTF) President Angelo Gavrielatos said that for a decade there had been a measurable minimum level of resourcing that public schools required to meet the needs of their students.

“But public schools have never been resourced to that Schooling Resource Standard (SRS),” he said.

“The agreement struck by the NSW Coalition with the Morrison Government

leaves public schools indefinitely underresourced while NSW private schools are over-resourced.

“Labor’s announcement shows they are prepared to end this injustice and ensure that every public school across NSW is fully funded.

“If Labor wins the election in March, we want to see an agreement struck with the Albanese Government on full funding of

public schools as soon as possible.

“The proposed investment in additional teachers, school counsellors and a permanent literacy and numeracy intensive learning program would make a real difference for teachers and the

children they educate.”

Mr Gavrielatos said NSW Labor had already committed to cut the unsustainable workloads of teachers, axe the government’s wage cap, negotiate higher salaries and reverse the Coalition’s 80 per

cent increase in temporary teachers.

“This is a recognition by Labor that the only way we can stop the teacher shortages and secure the teachers we need for the future is to invest in the profession,” he said.

Last year’s NAPLAN results shows shocking inequalities in school outcomes between highly advantaged and disadvantaged students in Australia, according to Save our Schools Australia.

Very high proportions of low socioeconomic status (SES), Indigenous and remote area students do not achieve national literacy and numeracy standards, compared to very small proportions of high SES students.

By Year 9, low SES, Indigenous and remote area students are several years of learning behind their high SES peers. There has been very little progress in reducing the learning gaps between rich and poor over the last decade or so.

Twenty-nine per cent of low SES Year 9 students were below the national reading standard in 2022, 38 per cent were below the writing standard and 16 per cent were below the numeracy standard. One-third of Indigenous students were below the reading standard, 44 per cent were below the writing standard and 19 per cent were below the numeracy standard.

Nearly one-quarter of remote area students were below the reading standard, 35 per cent were below the writing standard and 13 per cent were below the numeracy standard.

By contrast, three per cent of Year 9 high SES students did not achieve the reading

standard, seven per cent did not achieve the writing standard and two per cent did not achieve the numeracy standard. These are an appalling inequity that have continued for far too long. They are an indictment on our education system, governments and society. Australia has a highly inequitable, discriminatory, classridden education system that makes nonsense of the idea that we are an egalitarian country.

Funding failures by successive Commonwealth and state governments are a major factor contributing to these education inequities.

To read more visit bit.ly/3llhL0e

Inequalities in school results Pre-service teacher financial worries

A recent survey of initial teacher education (ITE) students in Victoria conducted by the AEU Victorian Branch found that more than half (54.3 per cent) of pre-service teachers are extremely concerned about experiencing financial stress during their studies.

The survey, which examined the perceptions of ITE students across metropolitan Melbourne and regional and

rural Victoria, also found that:

• Almost half (48.9 per cent) of students surveyed noted that unpaid placements were a cause of serious concern and acted as a major potential barrier in preventing them from pursuing ITE studies.

• About 64 per cent of students stated that they should be funded

to undertake placements in schools, which are a requirement of teaching qualifications, to cover the loss of income and associated costs.

• About 57 per cent said that expanded school-based internships that would allow employment as paraprofessionals in the last six months of their programs could also provide support to aspiring teachers.

Education & Training Centre Term 1 events

Industrial Training Events (TUT)

Education-Specific Work Health and Safety Courses for HSRs

Conferences and Forums

Early Childhood Education Afternoon Forum; The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC): Planning for Children’s Development

District Council Events

Wednesday 22 March

Title Date

Goldfields (Kalgoorlie)

Goldfields - Roe (Katanning)

Moore (Central Wheatbelt) Northam and Goldfields (Esperance) via Zoom

Fremantle/Jandakot/Perth/Riverton/Victoria Park

Belmont/Kalamunda/Maylands/Swan

Murray/Rockingham

Stirling - Albany

Moore - Geraldton

Kimberley/Pilbara - Broome

Butler/Hillarys/Morley/Scarborough

Bunbury/Collie-Preston/Vasse

Kimberley/Pilbara - Karratha

Online Professional Learning Events

Title

Planning for a Successful Teaching Year - Meet with Other Teachers

Relationships and Routines for Success in Secondary Classrooms

Supporting the Learning of EAL Students

Wellbeing – Planning for Success

Relationships and Routines for Success in Primary Classrooms

Engaging in STEM Using LEGO for Primary Students

Five Approaches to Differentiation

April holiday events

Successful Leadership for Early Career Teachers

Leadership - Being a Leader in a Rural or Small School

An Introduction to Educational Leadership

Leadership - Building and Maintaining a Team

Leadership - The Experience of Women in Middle Leadership

Leadership - Managing Challenging Conversations

Tuesday 28 February

Thursday 2 March

Friday 3 March

Friday 3 March

Tuesday 7 March

Wednesday 8 March

Monday 13 March

Friday 24 March

Friday 24 March

Monday 27 March

Thursday 30 March

Monday 3 April

Date

Thursday 2 March (90 mins)

Thursday 2 March (90 mins)

Thursday 2 March (90 mins)

Thursday 7 March (90 mins)

Thursday 9 March (90 mins)

Thursday 30 March (90 mins)

Thursday 30 March (90 mins)

Thursday 13 April (three hours)

Thursday 13 April (three hours)

Tuesday 18 April (three hours)

Tuesday 18 April (three hours)

Wednesday 19 April (three hours)

Wednesday 19 April (three hours)

Featured events

ECE Forum (TUT) The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC): Planning for Children’s Development

Wednesday 22 March

Noon - 3.30pm

The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC), completed by schools every three years, measures young children’s progress across five developmental domains. With the release of the 2021 results, schools have trend data to identify what is working well and what needs to be improved.

The SSTUWA invites school leaders and teachers to join Gail Clark, Western Australian AEDC coordinator, principal Stephen Soames and Nadia Wilson-Ali, director of education and quality at Nido Education to learn more about the AEDC and its application in the school setting.

Gail will discuss how the results can be used as an evidence base to inform planning and key community partnerships. Stephen will share his experience integrating the AEDC in practice and planning. Nadia will talk about opportunities to maximise children’s continuity of learning through strong connections between families, schools and early childhood education and care services.

Education

Specific Five-Day Introductory Courses for Health and Safety Reps (HSRs)

Terms 1, 2, 3 and 4

The five-day introductory course is a statutory requirement for newly elected HSRs. It provides health and safety representatives within the Education Department with the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively perform their functions in protecting and promoting the work health and safety of those they represent. This newly-developed course has been created based on the new WHS Act, 2020 and will provide updated information regarding new definitions related to the legislation and the expanded duties of parties including their functions and powers. If you were an elected HSR since March 2022 you are eligible to attend this five-day course. The course is open to members and non-members of the SSTUWA and to all Department of Education staff. Check out sstuwa.org.au/training for all training dates in 2023.

Member benefits

Accountants and Financial Advisers

Aston Accountants

10% discount on personal income tax returns for members. sstuwa.org.au/aston

Industry Fund Services

Specialist financial products for union members. sstuwa.org.au/ifs

LIFE Financial Planners

$1,200 off your statement of advice fee plus a free financial health check for members. sstuwa.org.au/lifefinancial

Teacher Tax

$99 tax returns for members. sstuwa.org.au/teachertax

TIPS Financial Services

$1,100 discount on your TIPS Transition to Retirement strategy or Retirement plan. Exclusive to members. sstuwa.org.au/tipsfs

Banking

ME Bank

Special offers throughout the year for members. A bank built by, and for, union members. sstuwa.org.au/mebank

Mortgages, Money and Me

Complimentary advice, property reports, finance tools and more for SSTUWA members. sstuwa.org.au/mmme

OFX Money Transfers

When it matters, OFX it. Save with the experts in international money transfers. sstuwa.org.au/ofx

Teachers Mutual Bank

Banking exclusively for the education community. sstuwa.org.au/tmbank

Cars

Allwest Fleet

Vehicle salary packaging – save time, money and tax. Receive a $300 gift card with your new car. sstuwa.org.au/allwestfleet

Massive discounts on products and services for SSTUWA members

AutoBahn

Mechanical and electrical services. Members receive $20 off any service or 5% off any repair. sstuwa.org.au/autobahn

Bayswater Mazda

Exclusive offer including $500 fuel card, 4 years free service and more. sstuwa.org.au/bayswatermazda

Bob Jane T-Marts

National fleet pricing on a range of products and services. sstuwa.org.au/bobjane

easifleet

$250 Magic Hand Carwash voucher with any easifleet procured novated lease. sstuwa.org.au/easifleet

Europcar

10% discount on vehicle hire in Australia. sstuwa.org.au/europcar

Fleet Network

Package your next car and save on tax. Bonus gift with vehicle delivery. sstuwa.org.au/fleetnetwork

Motor Market by Union Shopper

You choose the car, then we find you the lowest price. sstuwa.org.au/motormarket

tyresales.com.au

10% discount on tyres. sstuwa.org.au/tyresales

Western Motor Vehicle Consultants

We’ll find a car you’ll love. Save time and money when sourcing your next vehicle. sstuwa.org.au/westernmotors

Computers

Altronics

Build it yourself electronics centre. VIP trade discount in store and online. sstuwa.org.au/altronics

Apple on Campus

For details visit: sstuwa.org.au/apple

Dell

Save up to 5% off selected items. sstuwa.org.au/dell

HP Computers

Huge savings for members on laptops, accessories, printers and more. sstuwa.org.au/hp

PLE Computers

Save on your IT with access to the PLE Computers academic portal. sstuwa.org.au/ple

The Good Guys Commercial

Online access to live discounted pricing on The Good Guys’ range. sstuwa.org.au/thegoodguys

Educational Resources

Classroom Management

A Thinking and Caring Approach. By Barrie Bennett and Peter Smilanich. sstuwa.org.au/classroommgmt

Effective Group Work

Beyond Cooperative Learning. By Barrie Bennett. sstuwa.org.au/effectivegroupwork

Graphic Intelligence

Possibilities for Assessment and Instruction. By Barrie Bennett. sstuwa.org.au/graphicintelligence

Instructional Intelligence

Building Instructional Expertise for the Classroom. An SSTUWA project in collaboration with Barrie Bennett. sstuwa.org.au/instructionalintelligence

Teacher Superstore

5-10% discount, in store and online. sstuwa.org.au/teachersuperstore

Entertainment

Movie tickets

Discounts on physical tickets (greater savings) and instant digital tickets. sstuwa.org.au/movietickets

Outback Splash

Featuring both water and year-round attractions. Discounted tickets for members.

sstuwa.org.au/outbacksplash

Rockface

Indoor rock climbing in Balcatta. $15 all day climbing pass with harness hire. sstuwa.org.au/rockface

*Terms & conditions apply. Please visit our website for full details.

For more information visit sstuwa.org.au/benefits and the benefits tab of the SSTUWA App

Food and Wine

Campbells

Access wholesale prices with a complimentary day pass. sstuwa.org.au/campbells

Cellar d’Or

Best value winery tour in the Margaret River Region. 10% discount for members. sstuwa.org.au/cellardor

Cracka Wines

7.5% off online wine orders. sstuwa.org.au/cracka

Taste Bud Tours

Swan Valley “Speed Grazing” – 20% discount. Good Food, Wine & Cider (am) or Good Food, Wine & Beer (pm). sstuwa.org.au/tastebudtours

Health and Wellbeing

Goodlife Health Clubs

20% discount on platinum 12 month memberships. Includes access to all Goodlife Health Clubs in WA. sstuwa.org.au/goodlife

St John

First aid saves lives. Discounted first aid courses and kits for members. sstuwa.org.au/stjohn

WA Opticians

20% discount on spectacle frames and lenses. Perth and East Perth. sstuwa.org.au/waopticians

Housing

Houspect

Buy, build and invest with confidence. $50 discount on building inspections. sstuwa.org.au/houspect

Johns Building Supplies

Trade prices on paint and painters’ hardware. Builders prices on all other hardware lines. sstuwa.org.au/jbs

SkylightsWA

Specialising in skylights and roof ventilation, servicing all regions of WA. 7% discount off selected products. sstuwa.org.au/skylightswa

Insurance and Legal

ISinsured

Insurance for union members. Home, contents, car, landlords. sstuwa.org.au/isinsured

SSTUWA Legal Services

Access to quality legal services for both work-related and personal matters. sstuwa.org.au/legal

Teachers Health Fund

Join the thousands of teachers who have already made the switch. sstuwa.org.au/teachershealth

Teachers Health – Travel

For details visit: sstuwa.org.au/travelinsurance

Shopping

Dot Mall

BBQs, heaters and backyard kitchens. 5% discount for members. sstuwa.org.au/dotmall

Electrical buying

Let Union Shopper find the best deal on your electrical purchases. sstuwa.org.au/electricalbuying

isubscribe

Up to an extra 10% off any print and digital magazine subscription; over 4,000 titles. sstuwa.org.au/isubscribe

Jackson’s Drawing Supplies

10% discount in Jackson’s 12 shops and online. sstuwa.org.au/jacksons

Petals Flowers & Gifts

20% off flowers and gifts. World-wide delivery available. sstuwa.org.au/petals

Teacher Superstore

5-10% discount, in store and online. sstuwa.org.au/teachersuperstore

The Good Guys Commercial

Online access to live discounted pricing on The Good Guys’ full range. sstuwa.org.au/thegoodguys

Vet Products Direct

10% discount on pet products, plus advice from professionals. sstuwa.org.au/vetpro

Travel and Accommodation

Accor Hotels

Great savings for teachers at Accor Hotels in the Asia Pacific region. sstuwa.org.au/accorhotels

Choice Hotels

Choice Hotels welcomes SSTUWA members with exclusive rates at locations in Australia and NZ. sstuwa.org.au/choicehotels

Comfort Hotel Perth City

Rooms from $145 per night including Light Start Breakfast for two. Located near the WACA in East Perth. sstuwa.org.au/comfortperth

Experience Oz

Save 10% on over 3,000 experiences across Oz + NZ. sstuwa.org.au/experienceoz

Inn the Tuarts Guest Lodge

Forest retreat, 4-star, with indoor pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and BBQ. Adults (12 years+) only. Five minutes to Busselton. Studios and rooms. 22.5% off rack rate or best available rate. sstuwa.org.au/innthetuarts

Jarrah Grove Forest Retreat

Luxurious, self-contained accommodation in Margaret River. Discounted rates for members. sstuwa.org.au/jarrahgrove

Mandurah Houseboats

10% discount on houseboat holidays. sstuwa.org.au/houseboats

Rottnest ferry tickets

Save up to $15 on Rottnest ferry tickets with WestClub. sstuwa.org.au/rottnest

Classifieds

Block for sale: Jurien Bay

700sqm fully serviced, ready to build on, one block back from beach. Close to schools, town centre, marina and recreational water activities. Perfect holiday, retiree or sea-change locale. $108,000 (negotiable).

Peter: 0437 377 361 | westside@tower.net.au

Block for sale: Singleton

806sqm (cleared) quiet street, easy walking distance to beach, shops, schools and ovals. $315,000 (negotiable).

Jenny: 0435 257 124

Albany (Little Grove)

Silent Grove Cottage. Self-contained two bedroom (queen/two singles) on two hectares of bushland. Undercover parking. Close to yacht club, walking/bike trails, national park and beaches. Teachers’ rate: $150 per night. Stay seven, get one free. www.silentgrove.iinet.net.au

9844 4950 | merron@iinet.net

Augusta

3x1 spacious holiday rental. One double, one queen, five singles. 200m from the river and town. Magnificent river views. One large living area, three sided veranda and BBQ. Provide own linen and towels. $150 per night plus $50 cleaning fee. gregrowl@iinet.net.au

Balingup surrounds

Farm accommodation surrounded by nature and wildlife. Located near Balingup, Nannup and Busselton. Pick your own avocados. Main house (three bedrooms, $300/night) or Quarters (one bedroom, $150/night). info@avodale.com

Cowaramup (Margaret River Region)

Private B&B within newly built home. Parkland setting. Private queen bedroom, bathroom and breakfast room. Private entry and dedicated parking. 10 mins to Margaret River, Gracetown, central to wineries/breweries and beaches. $120 per night per couple including breakfast. Lee: 0412 902 932

Dunsborough (Quindalup)

Large 4x2 holiday home on Geographe Bay Rd. Swimming beach 30m away. Free use of private boat mooring. Room to park boats with boat ramp a minute away. Slow combustion wood heater and reversecycle air-con. Available all year except for leavers’ vacation. No pets. 0419 943 203 a_r_moore@bigpond.com

Dwellingup

Après Huit and Dwell Cottage provide luxury self-contained accommodation set in beautifully landscaped gardens. Can

Email

be rented separately or together. Après Huit: 2x2, main house. Dwell Cottage: 1x1, furnished in a French theme. Robert: 0419 954 079 dwellcottage.com.au

Dwellingup

In need of a tree change? Time out to reconnect with nature? Time for a vacation in Dwellingup’s Jarrah forest, 90 minutes from Perth. Chuditch Holiday Home is perfect for couples, groups and families. It’s centrally located and sleeps up to eight people.

Shani: 0402 615 235 shanivore@hotmail.com

Floreat

Studio B&B. New, stylish single room. Fridge, kitchenette, TV, aircon in lovely peaceful Floreat house and garden. Linen, tea/coffee, continental/cooked breakfast ingredients supplied. Suit mature person wishing to enjoy quiet accommodation. Close to city, buses, shops, hospitals and beaches. $85 per night, min two nights. Weekly and monthly rates available.

SMS: 0422 333 057

Frankland River

Escape to the country. Imagine waking up to uninterrupted views of paddocks and trees with peace, quiet and tranquility. Choose a 3 bedroom house or a cosy cabin set on picturesque 83 acres. A great place to relax and unwind. franklandriver.com.au

Jade: 0430 450 093 | Sam: 0413 160 093

Fremantle

Short term accommodation in central Fremantle. Recently refurbished with all conveniences for modern living. Townhouse has three queen-sized bedrooms plus provision for two singles. Enjoy time in the rear garden, complete with BBQ. Secure parking for two cars, access controlled by electric gates.

9430 4458 | 0407 083 174 info@westerley.com.au

Fremantle

Staycation? Attending a function?

Cosmopolitan getaway? Fremantle is the place. Cafes, restaurants and breweries. Markets, beach, art galleries, museums, theatre, events, shopping, skate park, Ferris wheel, whale watching... What more could you want? Eco-Gallery Apartment is stylish, centrally located, sleeps three and has secure parking. (08) 6323 2339 admin@smartstaywa.com.au

Kallaroo

Serenity Escape is a 2x1 apartment with full kitchen, offering comfort and convenience. 20 min walk to beach, 5 min drive to train station, walking distance to Whitfords Brewing Co, cinema and shops. Toiletries, slippers and coffee machine provided. Min 2 nights. Sleeps 4, or 5 with mattress. No pets. $125/night for 3 people; $10/night per extra person.

Molly: 0428 166 559 mollysletters@gmail.com

Kalbarri

Clean, tidy, self-contained family-friendly 3x1 brick house at the top end of a quiet cul-de-sac. Sleeps 8: 2 x queen beds and 2 x bunk beds. Close to Blue Holes Beach, 15 min walk to town.

kalbarriwa.net.au | 0435 845 504

Lancelin

Large 5x2 holiday home. Everything within walking distance, close to beaches and town centre. Sleeps 14. Large wrap around verandah with outdoor seating/eating and bbq. Heaps of parking for boats or quads. $45/night/person (min 6). Min 2 nights.

SMS: 0412 804 345

Margaret River

Two bedrooms, private, comfortable, fully equipped stone cottage with fireplace, located amongst the forest opposite Boranup National Park, 17km south of Margaret River on Caves Road. Close to

Classifieds

beaches, wineries, caves and galleries. $150 per night for two people, or provide own linen and towels for $120 per night.

Russell: 0418 933 270

Nannup

Seraphim Retreat is a pet friendly 3x1 character farm cottage, five minutes from friendly Nannup. Set in acreage, with established gardens and stunning valley views. Air conditioned and wood heater. Horse riders can bring their horses to access our arena and trails. Teacher discount: $159 weekends, $149 midweek. See website for details. seraphimretreatnannup.com

SMS 0420 832 510

Safety Bay

Very clean and tidy, traditional style 3x1 duplex in Safety Bay. Fully furnished and equipped. One street from beach. Presently a minimum stay requirement (this may change). cnjn@aapt.net.au

Trigg

Self contained accommodation. Kitchen, laundry, queen sized bed plus fold out double couch in lounge. Free WiFi and Netflix. Own entrance. Find us on Facebook.

Kerry: 0409 884 330 | FB: @justriggin 67justriggin@gmail.com

Yallingup

Rammed earth cottage, 2x1, nestled amongst bushland. Well located, short walk to Studio Gallery Bistro, two-minute drive to Caves House. Beaches, galleries, wineries and restaurants close by. Sleeps six. No dogs. stayz.com.au (property 136151)

Kirsty: 0419 927 660

Tranquillity Counselling, Psychotherapy and Career

Development

I provide holistic, confidential practical counselling to help you deal with an array of issues, some being: general relationship, mental health, anger issues/management,

anxiety, depression, self-harm, grief and trauma, addiction, abuse, palliative care. Milica Robinson, MCnsig&Psychthpy, GradCertCareerDev, BEd. 0422 358 187

Retirement coach

Are you recently retired or retiring soon? You probably have a financial plan in place but developing a plan for the non-financial side of retirement can be as important as preparing financially. I offer support and guidance for the transition from work to retirement, helping you to find purpose and meaning in retirement. Contact me to arrange an obligation free chat. retirementcoaching01@gmail.com

Marriage celebrant

Marriage celebrant with 12 years of experience, working in the Peel, South West and Perth areas. Specialising in creating personalised ceremonies for couples at their chosen wedding location. I’d love to help you plan your special day! Meridith: 0400 312 535 meri.lake4@gmail.com

Marriage celebrant

Heart Centered Ceremonies for couples wanting a personalised wedding. Lee will help you design your dream wedding – a memorable occasion. Mention this ad to receive a discount.

Lee: 0404 655 567 leehalligancelebrant.com.au

Marriage celebrant

Experienced professional celebrant available, all areas. Formal or informal, large or small weddings. A Beautiful Ceremony will help you design an unforgettable and uniquely personal ceremony.

Mary: 0418 906 391 maryburke40@hotmail.com

Learn to social dance

Learn jive, waltz, rumba, samba, tango and other dances for social events (ball, wedding, cruise, etc). A fun and easy course with quality instruction. Join with

or without a partner. Melville (LeisureFit) Recreation Centre. Mondays 7.30-9pm. $118/8 weeks. Beginners’ course held every term. Term 2 2023 starts 1 May.

Stan: 9330 6737 | stan@stansdancing.com

First aid training for students

St John Ambulance WA offers free first aid training to all school aged students, ranging from Triple 000 Hero for Kindergarten students to Road Trauma

First Aid for secondary school students. Courses are curriculum mapped. (08) 9334 1259 youth@stjohnambulance.com.au

Free dairy excursions

Brownes Dairy invites your classroom to join a free curriculum-linked tour of the dairy in Balcatta. Students from Kindergarten to Year 6 get a unique hands-on experience and see how our dairy operates and produces award winning dairy products enjoyed in WA for 130 years.

school.tours@brownesdairy.com.au

MAWA

The Mathematical Association of Western Australia offers professional learning opportunities, conferences and consultancy services to teachers and schools and networks. MAWA members receive 10 per cent discount on MAWA shop resources. For more information: mawainc.org.au

9345 0388 | eo@mawainc.org.au

Macramé is the new yoga

I'm a teacher running small group macramé classes in a cosy home studio. Join me and discover the power of mindfulness as you learn to engage your mind and your hands in a fun supportive environment. It's a powerful way to calm a busy mind.

marcia@knotinlove.com.au

Harmony Week 2023

Harmony Week runs in WA 15-21 March 2023 and is the state’s week-long celebration and recognition of our cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnic diversity. Nationally it will be celebrated 20-26 March. For resources visit bit.ly/2ObzYwq and harmony.gov.au

National Close the Gap Day: 16 March

On National Close the Gap Day we have an opportunity to send our governments a clear message that Australians value health equality as a fundamental right for all. For more visit www.closingthegap.gov.au

Items for June 2023 State Council must be received by 5pm Thursday 6 April. The event will be held on 9-10 June.

Items for November State Council must be received by 5pm Friday 22 September.

International Day of Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Observed annually on 21 March, which marks the day in 1960 that the police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid “pass laws”. It begins a week of solidarity with people struggling against racism and racial discrimination worldwide. For more visit: bit.ly/3D9SbRK

Level 3 Classroom Teachers’ Association:

2023 meeting dates Venue: SSTUWA, 1 West St, West Perth Time: 4.30pm | Zoom option available

Term 1

Thurs 16 Mar

Week 7

Term 2 Thurs 22 June Week 9

Term 3 Thurs 31 Aug Week 7

More info: www.l3cta.org.au | contact@l3cta.org.au

Trans Day of Visibility: 31 March

Trans Day of Visibility is an annual international celebration of trans pride and awareness, recognising trans and gender diverse experiences and achievements. For more information visit tdov.org.au

Public Education Review Submissions

Term 4 Thurs 30 Nov (AGM) Week 8

Submissions are now being accepted for the SSTUWA Public Education Review. The review will look into the state of public education in Western Australia.

Visit sstuwa.org.au/review

SSTUWA committee meeting dates: Venue: SSTUWA office | Contact: (08) 9210 6000 or contact@sstuwa.org.au Teleconference facilities are available Early Childhood Educators’ Committee

TAFE Committee Time: 5pm

dates

TBC

dates

2023

Nancy, Teachers Health member