Volume 49.5 July 2020
The State School Teachers’ Union of W.A. (Inc.)
Always stronger together pg 22
sstuwa.org.au
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Frank has been in the industry for 10 years, Ryan 2 years, and Llane and Garrick just shy of 2 years. With a background in football, they all share a ‘team first’ focus. This means everything they do gives them an advantage as they share ideas and vehicle pricing to find you the best deal possible. This has also built camaraderie over time and they appreciate the fact that they can rely on each other and motivate each other, which only makes them stronger. "Welcoming new clients into the Fleet Network family is always enjoyable. Seeing a client of ours in the workplace and having them tell their colleague how enjoyable their experience was is always satisfying” says Ryan. Frank, Ryan, Llane and Garrick are happy to take calls outside of work hours and are willing to help clients as much as possible. “Constantly striving to get the best result is at the core of Fleet Network. Providing highly personalised service for all our clients is what we pride ourselves on” says Frank.
Features
Volume 49.5 July 2020
In this edition Correspondence:
The Editor, PO Box 212 West Perth WA 6872 editor@sstuwa.org.au | Ph: 9210 6000 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 James Street, Northbridge WA. July 2020. Cover: We’re colleagues. We’re union members. We’re part of a collective. And together, we’re stronger. We must defend our collective bargaining rights. Read more about this key organisational objective on pages 9 and 22. To access the digital copy of Western Teacher, visit: sstuwa.org.au/westernteacher
Find us on Facebook facebook.com/sstuwa
Coherent support for school leaders.........6 Meet the New Educator Committee.........10 Training benefits for members.................12 Staff self-care tips....................................14 Direct Instruction: a failed intervention...16 Improved conditions for casual lecturers.18
2020 Publishing Dates Deadline Distributed 25 November 17 January
Member Assist:
In this edition
Top achievements for TAFE members......19 Digital divide impacts vulnerable students.20 Digital divide report WA findings................21 Defend your collective bargaining rights...22
28 January
21 February
3 March
4 May
25 May
5 June
Regulars
8 June
17 July
From the President.....................................5
13 July
7 August
From the General Secretary.......................9
17 August
11 September
Education and Training.............................28
21 September
16 October
Member Benefits......................................30
19 October
27 November
Classifieds.................................................32
Dates are subject to change
Union training rolls on..............................24
Noticeboard...............................................34
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Western Teacher is the official publication of The State School Teachers’ Union of W.A. (Inc.)
Barrie Bennett reference books Effective Group Work BEYOND COOPERATIVE LEARNING n
BARRIE BENNETT
Instructional Intelligence Building Instructional Expertise for the Classroom
An SSTUWA project in collaboration with Barrie Bennett © B. Bennett, The State School Teachers’ Union of W.A. (Inc.)
Instructional Intelligence
Effective Group Work
Classroom Management
Graphic Intelligence
Dr Barrie Bennett is an internationally renowned educational expert and emeritus professor at the University of Toronto. His books cover a range of interrelated topics that support effective teaching and learning. Members can access special pricing on the series.
Place your order at sstuwa.org.au/shop Western Teacher
July 2020
3
Learning progressions concern
From the President
By Pat Byrne President
The federal government’s report Through Growth to Achievement – Report of the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools (otherwise known as Gonski 2.0, due to Malcolm Turnbull’s cynical use of his childhood friend David Gonski to chair the review panel) was delivered in March 2018; a report which flagged huge changes to school education in Australia. Of most immediate concern to teachers are the findings and recommendations in relation to the Australian Curriculum. In particular, Finding 4, which states: Teaching curriculum based on year or age levels rather than levels of progress leaves some students behind and fails to extend others, limiting the opportunity to maximise learning growth for all students. And also Recommendations 5 and 6: Revise the structure of the Australian Curriculum progressively over the next five years to present the learning areas and general capabilities as learning progressions.* Prioritise the implementation of learning progressions for literacy and numeracy in curriculum delivery during the early years of schooling to ensure the core foundations for learning are developed by all children by the age of eight. The proposal to shift to learning progressions sparked significant concern in WA, given our experience with Outcomes Based Education (OBE) over nearly 15 years until it was (thankfully) abandoned in 2009. There is no support from any of the main stakeholder organisations within public education in WA – unions or professional associations – for a return to any aspect of OBE. A glance at the draft progressions on the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority website is enough
to convince WA educators that, however described, what is being proposed is indeed OBE.
Australian Curriculum and Support are such a significant gain in the 2019 General Agreement.
That is why recent reports from NSW of a rewrite of the Australian Curriculum, portrayed as “de-cluttering the curriculum” raise the question of the extent to which this decluttering exercise will be a Trojan Horse for the introduction of learning progressions.
What has been agreed to is the provision of, in the primary years, a 32-week syllabus document which comprises the core elements of the eight learning areas.
While few teachers would disagree with the notion that the curriculum – especially in primary schools – is overcrowded, there has been no agreement from the profession as to the introduction of learning progressions. Certainly, the level of consultation to date has been minimal – a national working group of 27 people in 2019, increased to 34 people in 2020 as a result of AEU agitation about a failure to properly consult. When one remembers the level of consultation with the profession which occurred prior to the introduction of the teaching standards, this is laughable. Yet what is being proposed here will have arguably more impact on teachers’ day-to-day work than do the teaching standards. Given that the proposed timeline for this review is to have the rewritten curriculum available from the commencement of 2022, and that Gonki 2.0 recommended the introduction of learning progressions within five years from 2018 (including priority for the early years), it is logical to assume that this review will indeed present the Australian Curriculum in the form of learning progressions. As we know, this will have ongoing implications for reporting and both will greatly increase teacher workloads. This is why the commitments from the Department of Education in regard to
This addresses the overcrowding of the curriculum while at the same time ameliorating teacher workload through the provision of teaching and assessment strategies. The conceptual framework for the secondary years is currently being developed and the intention is to have all documentation for K-10 ready by the end of Semester 1 2022. While the timing of the national decluttering process is not ideal, it is imperative that the General Agreement commitment proceed immediately. Any inconsistencies between WA and the national review as to what constitutes essential content are likely to be minimal and the WA materials can be adjusted, if necessary, post 2022. The SSTUWA has also secured a half day of professional learning for all teachers to be available upon the release of the new curriculum materials. The General Agreement clause also provides for any decisions relating to the implementation of learning progressions or the use of formative assessment tools, as per the Gonski 2.0 review, to be made within the Western Australian context. This is a very strong message from the WA public education community that it has no intention of having the views of a tiny bureaucratic minority, with no experience of OBE, imposed on us from afar. * Since the report was written the decision has been made not to proceed with learning progressions in the general capabilities. Western Teacher
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Professional
Coherent support for school leaders By David Lee School leaders consultant
The recognition by the Department of Education (DoE) of the need to reinvest in developing, supporting and sustaining school leadership and the flow on to system leadership is highlighted in the commitments made in the 2020-2024 strategic direction document. The statement is that: The school autonomy reforms of recent years have, as well as benefiting schools, had a significant impact on the culture of the organisation and the relationship between schools and central, regional and statewide services. Principals have not only accepted greater responsibility for their school’s performance but are now also playing a leadership role in relation to the improvement of the whole system. Further to this, evidence shows that the autonomy reforms have changed the relationship between the three levels and it is timely that the purpose of the regions and what they can offer both to the centre and schools is revisited. 6
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The 2013 reforms stripped out many of the resources at a regional level that had previously been utilised by schools and had an unintended consequence of increasingly isolating schools and breaking down the sense of coherence and identification with being part of a united public school system. The SSTUWA supports the position that regional offices provide an important resource to schools and have been active in seeking to place additional resources at this level through the last EBA negotiations. Regional offices and the support offered at the regional level are important structurally in vision setting, planning, building effective local support structures, developing people and processes at a level closer to schools to build the capacity of school leaders, staff and community to provide a quality education for our students.
High quality leadership is required to ensure that regional offices play their role in building school and system leadership and that means a re-think and an adjustment to the key regional executive director role that in the future is proactively geared towards leadership as opposed to their management focus that became evident over the last decade. To further support school leaders the SSTUWA in the new Schools General Agreement 2019 expressly called for the establishment of a Collegiate Principal position and the reintroduction of a Professional Learning Institute providing a range of professional learning opportunities for all – school leaders and teachers. The rationale for these initiatives reflect both the DoE current philosophy of placing educators and students at the centre of our work and the view of Michael Fullan who uses extensive research to state:
Professional The key to system-wide success is to place educators and students at the centre. This means aligning the goals of reform and the intrinsic motivation of participants. So policies that foster strong intrinsic motivation across the whole system are required, as are strategies that develop increased capability. Both strong motivation and enhanced skills on a large scale are required.
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Build a process for identifying and growing the next group of system leaders.
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Promote confidence in teachers and school leaders in their approach to their professional duties and student learning.
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Deliver clear links between school leaders, regional and central support.
The SSTUWA position accepts the research behind the four drivers for system improvement articulated by Fullan:
That position has been amplified by the SSTUWA negotiating for:
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Capacity building for teachers and school leaders.
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Group solutions for improvement.
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Improving instruction.
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Systemic strategies as opposed to fragmented strategies.
And these drivers for improvement need certain characteristics and can be judged with four simple questions – Does the driver: 1. Foster motivation of teachers and students? 2. Engage educators and students in continuous improvement? 3. Inspire team work? 4. Affect all teachers and students? In that context then: Structurally there is a need for how this might be achieved in terms of purpose, beliefs, planning, structure, processes and people and the SSTUWA has been proactive in calling for the reintroduction of regional support structures and changes to the way school improvement is managed. The SSTUWA stated position ratified by State Council in 2016 was that a new system support structure and processes should: •
Promote a school improvement culture.
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Build and promote collaborative school leadership in and across schools.
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Promote leadership succession planning.
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Build a process for the identification of new school leaders across the state.
1. The re-introduction of a Professional Learning Institute providing a range of professional learning opportunities for all – school leaders and teachers – and there is a seamless, coherent and cohesive connection with the work of the School Improvement/Leadership Branch. a) That the Professional Learning Institute is funded to the extent that the professional learning requirement of the four pillars of the Leadership Strategy can be met. b) That the Professional Learning Institute be funded to the extent that the professional learning requirements for teachers and whole school improvement approaches can be met in those areas identified as system endorsed improvement strategies. 2. Confirm the Hamilton attributes valued by DoE as quality leadership directions. Utilisation of the Principal Performance Improvement Tool (PPIT) developed by Masters with input from Western Australian principals and senior staff to provide a transparent practical systemic direction on which to base development. 3. The director of the School Improvement/Leadership Branch or the director of the Professional Learning Institute have line management responsibility over collegiate principals to work with the Professional Learning Institute and have a clearly articulated relationship with the School Curriculum and Standards Authority to promote a system curriculum, pedagogy and assessment approach in schools. 4. The director of the School Improvement/Leadership Branch or the director of the Professional Learning Institute have responsibility
with collegiate principals and the Professional Learning Institute to ensure system delivery of a centrally funded, mandatory induction program for all newly promoted school leaders (Level 3 – 6 in the current classification scheme and any future classification scheme). 5. The establishment of collegiate principals : a) Collegiate principals, recognised as high performing school leaders, are selected through a transparent and rigorous selection process and be seconded for two years as leaders with the capacity to build quality leadership at all four levels of the Leadership Framework. These principals focus on leading a cultural change away from traditional line management models of performance management and accountability to a new age model of performance development, school accountability and improvement. One that is based on a philosophy of collective and collaborative practices that build capacity and improvement through supporting school leaders to reflect and invest in building a culture of school to improve with positive, open and authentic processes that engage staff rather than didactic forms of control. That approach is aligned to the current work being done by the school leaders principal advisors, “Building Cultures of Teaching Excellence”. Collegiate principals actively engage in the current leadership review and reshaping of the selection process of school principals both as a referee and informed participants in school workplace assessment of competencies. b) The collegiate principal operation would, in the existing regional structure, require 10 across the Metropolitan region and a further six for one to be based in each of the country regions. The collegiate principals in the metro would be linked to each of the regional collegiate principals to provide direct access and support to their colleagues. c) Collegiate principals establish effective relationships with school (Continued on page 8) Western Teacher
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Members’ matters (Continued from page 7) leaders in their cluster of schools (based around existing networks) to initiate real and authentic reflection processes about the school leaders' performance and what can be done to support them in promoting a continuous improvement agenda in schools. d) Collegiate principals provide proactive support for the implementation of the Public School Leadership Strategy, both in the 2018-2021 timeline and going forward, to embed the processes of the strategy in the culture of the department over a longer timeframe.
Public School Leadership Strategy pillars • Pillar one: Talent identification – A strategic process for selecting acting principals into highly effective schools for two years to replace a newly appointed collegiate principal, in contexts deemed appropriate, has obvious benefits in providing a two year preparation program for the acting principals for a substantive role. A collegiate principal is also well placed to work with school leaders in the cluster to identify and engage in a program to develop leaders and build a much more connect view of the capacity of these leaders.
that build capacity and improvement is culturally significant. The collegiate principal – in supporting and leading school leaders to reflect and invest in building a culture of improving schools with positive, open and authentic processes and take personal responsibility for self-reflection and discussion with colleagues to develop a Leadership Development Plan – actively supports system driven reform in this area. The plans are built upon the WA-developed ACER Leadership Framework (PPIT) to provide a consistent guide across regions and networks – a system view. The collegiate principals returning to their schools strengthen the approach by providing a broad and informed basis for additional support to colleagues in their cluster for supporting and improving performance feedback and advice to others. Such principals would also be in a position to work with regional executive directors to marshal support for those schools deemed to be needing additional support through the existing School Review Process. It may also be worthy of consideration that previous experience as a collegiate principal be part of the future selection process for directors of School Review, with a similar maximum two years in that role before returning to the principal position.
• Pillar two: Leadership development and support – The collegiate principal role in establishing mentoring approaches for newly appointed principals, collaborative models of coaching principals in need of support and building partnerships and developing system focused professional development. This professional engagement within the cluster, across the cluster and in partnership with the Professional Learning Institute and the SSTUWA is potentially a very important component of professional growth and building individual and collective belief in school leader sense of competency and wellbeing.
• Pillar four: System leadership – The collegiate principal by the very nature of the work across schools and through the interaction with the director of the School Improvement/Leadership Branch and the Professional Learning Institute build system thinking and a broader appreciation of system direction and system structure, policy, processes and personnel. Over a number of cycles of this approach the school leadership overall sense of connectedness to the system and capacity to inform, support and lead system improvement is enhanced.
• Pillar three: Performance improvement, management and feedback – The collegiate principal role as support, operating with system endorsement to engage principals in collective and collaborative practices
This approach would be strengthened by seamlessly integrating with the existing Harvard Fellowship process, with all collegiate principals once appointed being able to access the program during their tenure.
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KYR Know Your Rights
The team in Member Assist look at some changes in the 2019 Schools General Agreement that will affect members. We'll detail further changes in the next edition of Western Teacher.
Sick Leave
Award clause 41(1)(h) The sick leave clause has been changed by deleting the requirement to show the nature of the illness and/or disability of the employee. The clause now reads: Employees are required to complete the necessary application for accessing sick leave, which will include the period in which the employee was unfit for duty and, subject to subclause 41(3), evidence to satisfy a reasonable person. The Employer shall not unreasonably withhold this approval.
Carers Leave
Award clause 31(1)(a) and (4) The carers leave clause has been updated regarding the employee caring for a family member and the way time can be taken off. 31(1)(a) now reads: Employees are entitled to access in any one year up to a maximum of 12.5 days paid leave to provide care or support to a member of the employee’s family or household who requires care or support because of an illness or injury of the member or an unexpected emergency affecting the member, provided the days used are accrued sick leave entitlements. 31(4) now reads: Carers leave may be taken in full days or periods of less than a day.
Resistance not futile, just done differently
From the General Secretary
By Mary Franklyn General Secretary
In June’s issue of Western Teacher it was noted that there had been feedback from some members requesting “a need to better explain the impact of industrial laws that constrain union action in response to governments capping wages or even freezing salary increases.” While we all are disappointed that the state government continues to apply wage cap restraints to new public sector agreements, it is important to understand what methods are available to us to most effectively fight for our rights and entitlements. The average Australian is probably not aware to what extent current industrial legislation severely limits workers and unions to take industrial action. Industrial action is generally unlawful in Australia, and the circumstances in which industrial action can legally be engaged in are extremely limited. Even though in 1975 Australia ratified the United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic (FWO), Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 – which requires that governments ensure workers have a right to strike – ratification of the Convention alone does not mean that it has become part of Australian law. It is up to state and Commonwealth Parliaments to pass laws to give effect to the Convention. Although there is a limited right to take protected industrial action in the national employment system under the Commonwealth Fair Work Act 2009, there
is no right to strike enshrined in Western Australia’s Industrial Relations Act 1979 (‘IR Act’). On application by an employer or the government, or at its own initiative, the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission (WAIRC) may convene a compulsory conference in response to any industrial action or threat of industrial action. The WAIRC can then exercise very broad powers to deal with industrial action and can make orders to stop employees and unions from engaging in such action. Breaching these orders can result in prosecution in the courts and penalties being imposed on unions and employees. The WAIRC also has the power to deregister a union under section 73 of the IR Act. Conservative governments have threatened unions with deregistration as a consequence of engaging in industrial action. Industrial action often amounts to a breach of the employment contract or is otherwise unlawful at common law. Employers may sue for damages, seek injunctions, stand down or dismiss employees in such circumstances. Depending on the nature of the industrial action, participants may also be exposed to criminal prosecution. The International Labour Organisation has found many instances where industrial laws governing strike action have been in breach of Australia’s international obligation to protect the rights of workers on strike.
Despite signing up to international covenants designed to protect workers who take legitimate industrial action, state and Commonwealth governments have largely failed to legislate in order to give effect to their international treaty obligations. The effect is that workers continue to have very few rights or protections when taking industrial action. Arguably the main reason that employers and governments rarely use common law sanctions against workers is because of the risk involved in taking such action against a well-organised group of workers who are committed to supporting each other. In the absence of proper statutory protections, unions must be smart about industrial action to support progress to improvements in conditions. Unions must also look to political and community action to drive required changes. For our union – we pursue an agenda to improve and protect members’ conditions as well as the conditions for learning in all public schools and TAFE. We do this in constrained industrial legal framework with the additional problem of government wage freezing policies. We cannot succeed if we rely on the “olden days” or we segment our membership or aspire to self-interest. We have succeeded because we act collectively. As a collective we act in an informed, planned and strategic way and we keep our WA community with us.
SSTUWA, CPSU/CSA and United Workers Union members stop work, April 2014. Western Teacher
July 2020
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New educators
Meet the New Educator Committee The New Educator Committee is comprised of early career teachers across a variety of schools and specialist teaching areas across the state. Meeting once a term, this committee provides a voice for new educators and is the foundation of our New Educator Network (NEN). With these new educators leading
the way, it is our goal to re-ignite the NEN, providing professional learning, support and networking opportunities for early career teachers.
our committee take on a variety of roles including union representative, State Council delegate and have even represented new educators at a national level.
Many have taken on lead roles within their worksite and actively engage in union decision-making processes. Members of
We would like to thank them for their commitment to the SSTUWA and look forward to a very productive 2020.
Paul Otto My name is Paul, and I am a new maths and science high school teacher working in Perth's southmetropolitan area. My school is brand new, which comes with its own distinctive luxuries, as well as challenges. As someone who has worked in other industries before moving to teaching, I appreciate the role unions play in an industrial relations system that requires (for equity's sake) checks and balances. Without the vox populi that a union is uniquely positioned to broadcast, workers' rights can potentially erode away into nothing. As a new educator, statistically a minority demographic within our industry, I feel a particular responsibility to be an active union member to ensure my representation. Moreover, in modern times it's not unheard of for many professionals to be completely ignorant of their unions and the historical progress that has been made by preceding generations of workers. As a part of the New Educator Committee, I hope to educate myself on union matters and raise awareness amongst my contemporaries, as I share their concerns and voices with the larger body. In this day and age, societal cohesion and social progress are sorely needed. Solidarity forever.
Brendon Crozier I am a Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) teacher at Melville Senior High School. I am in my fifth year of teaching and I am the current union rep at my school. Teaching is incredibly rewarding, and I want to support new educators as they begin their journey in the profession.
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Jesse Weston This is my third year of teaching. The first two were at Baynton West Primary School in Karratha. This year I am teaching at Settlers Primary School in Baldivis. In Karratha I taught Year 4 , while this year I am teaching Year 5. Some might say that's not a big change, but I have found it to be quite a challenging transition to the massive difference in the curriculum. I have always believed strongly in unions and the main reason I joined the SSTUWA was for the support and backup if I ever needed it, however I have found that I have gained a lot more than what I expected. The union has provided me a place to express and challenge my ideas in support of all teachers, it has allowed the opportunity for discourse with teachers all across Australia at different stages of their careers and has given me a wider perspective on what it means to be a teacher in WA. The New Educator Committee is all about making the voice of the most vulnerable teachers heard. As part of the committee I have the opportunity to stand up for the rights of all new educators. I implore all new educators to join the committee so that you can understand your rights, you can have support if you need it and play an active role in shaping your career.
Sean Vagg My name is Sean and I’m a secondary school teacher. I think it is vital to support and provide learning opportunities for new educators in the workforce and I look forward to sharing my ideas on the committee. I love living by the coast and working on my house on the weekends.
New educators
Kyle (Kai) Griffiths I teach HASS and Australian Tertiary Admission Rank economics in the eastern suburbs. I'm a union member so that I'm counted amongst a number who are committed to bettering and protecting the work conditions of teachers. I think it's important for all new educators to be union members so that they can feel secure, and access experience and knowledge to help them. Their membership adds to our number and maintains our collective power to protect ourselves and our profession. I'm on the New Educator Committee to help facilitate and give voice to initiatives which can help all new educators.
Melina Hale My name is Melina Hale and this is my fourth year of teaching. I am currently teaching Year 2 at Golden Bay Primary school. I joined the New Educator Committee last year to assist other graduate teachers and to promote what the union does to assist all teachers. This year I am hoping to be able to provide real support to any new educators with their queries and be a point of call for them. I would also like to see a culture of sharing knowledge, ideas and resources through the New Educator Committee, passed to new graduates as a way to help lessen any work-related stresses they may have.
Hannah Smith I am a primary music specialist and arts learning area leader.
Louise Colliver My name is Louise and I am a graduate teacher of nearly three years. I have previously taught in the Mid-West and Goldfields regions and this year I am teaching in the Pilbara. I am a dedicated SSTUWA member and I passionately believe all children need to have access to equitable education.
Chloe Hosking I am in my third year of teaching, working at Bob Hawke College in Subiaco after 18 months at Geraldton Senior High School. I am excited to be part of the New Educator Committee and am particularly interested in the issues facing new educators in the regions.
I also have experience in secondary arts teaching. I graduated in 2013 and am passionate about arts education. I am a union representative and am committed to helping people understand their employment rights.
Katrina Boshammer I work at East Kimberley College (EKC). I grew up in Kununurra, and after attending boarding school, two universities and living abroad, I returned to the Kimberley as a student teacher for my final practicum. This led to a full-time position, initially as a Year 5 classroom teacher. I am now in my fourth year, teaching visual arts in the primary school, and I am particularly passionate about Aboriginal and country education. I am the new union representative of our EKC branch and look forward to great discussions and being a part of positive change.
Nominations
Nominations for the New Educator Committee are advertised at the beginning of each school year. If you are interested in getting involved during 2021, look out for the application early next year. Western Teacher
July 2020
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Member benefits
Training benefits for members By Natalie Blewitt Growth Team coordinator
There are a number of reasons why people join and remain a member of the SSTUWA. In this edition, we will be focusing on the Education and Training Centre (ETC). The SSTUWA ETC team is committed to providing high quality learning opportunities for educators at all stages of their careers. Now that COVID-19 restrictions are easing, face-to-face training opportunities are returning, and the team is looking forward to welcoming members back to their fantastic training venue. Whether you are a new graduate, an early career teacher, experienced teacher, aspiring leader or school leader you will find relevant, collaborative and empowering learning opportunities available during 2020. All courses on offer through the ETC are developed and delivered by highly-skilled, passionate and experienced educators. Their high-quality facilitators ensure that participants' time is used well and that quality outcomes and sustainable learning are achieved.
Industrial Training Employees in schools and TAFE colleges are eligible for five days of paid leave per year to attend Trade Union Training (TUT). Leave in excess of five days may be granted, provided that the total leave granted in that year and the subsequent year does not exceed 10 days in total. Make use of your TUT leave to build your knowledge, skills and understandings of your union leadership role. If you are a union delegate in your school, don’t miss out on attending relevant delegate training to support you in your role. Each term the ETC offer union representative training (at various levels), OSH courses, women’s contact officer training and oneday industrial topics of interest. 12
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Professional Learning The ETC has also got you covered if you are looking to expand your professional knowledge. Their faceto-face professional learning calendar for the remainder of 2020 is bursting with a wide range of courses. You will find courses on offer addressing topics around behaviour management, special needs, information technology, personal development, curriculum, career advancement and instructional intelligence. Members can access outstanding full-day learning events for just $200. Part-time and relief teachers receive a further discount. Lunch and morning tea are provided. For a full description of each of the courses, take some time to explore online sstuwa.org.au/training New courses are added to the calendar each term, so be sure to visit the website regularly.
Online Learning Opportunities What could be better than participating in professional development in your comfy clothes? That is an option when you enrol in one of the many online learning opportunities available to our members. The SSTUWA is proud to continue to partner with the Teacher Learning Network in Melbourne to offer members a wide range of online learning events across a range of topics. Benefit from
interacting with teachers from across Australia as you participate in live events. Download handouts and PowerPoint slides provided by presenters, chat and interact with other participants, and enjoy the flexibility of doing it all from the comfort of your own home or office.
Conferences and Forums The SSTUWA carries a reputation for hosting outstanding conference events. Once COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted for large scale events, the ETC will once again begin planning for conferences such as the Women’s Conference, Early Childhood Conference and Forums, Safety at School Conference and Instructional Intelligence Facilitator Conference. So, what are you waiting for? Industrial, professional, online learning or conferences, there is something on offer to suit everyone. At the SSTUWA, we really do have you covered.
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July 2020
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Self-care
Staff self-care tips Promoting the wellbeing and mental health of all staff in Australian schools
We all know that a focus on self-care and wellbeing has untold benefits for the success of a school community. The health, wellbeing and safety of Australian school staff underpins their performance, capability, satisfaction and engagement. School staff have rewarding roles that involve complexities and challenges that may impact health, wellbeing and safety. National mental health agency headspace has a number of selfcare strategies and approaches school staff can use to strengthen
A school community, especially its staff, can create a culture of selfcare by making it an explicit focus. Whilst individuals may differ in what strategies work for them, support for self-care from school leaders can strengthen this culture. This might mean prioritising time, resources, and a small budget towards staff self-care. The benefits of self-care are invaluable and some of the best
ideas can be free. The following tips may seem simple, but can make a big difference to the overall health and wellbeing of school staff. With practice and integration of these small strategies into everyday routine, self-care can become part of an individual’s life and a school’s culture. Benefits can include feeling calmer, clearer, more energised and focused, and this may increase contribution, performance and productivity. Here are some suggestions.
Silent sensory walks
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wellbeing, resilience, engagement, connection, help seeking, and gain early access to support.
This is a great activity to do as a team and is a good meeting replacement. We often get so busy that we disconnect with our physical environment and stop recognising the different aspects of our working space. Commit to a 15-20 minute sensory walk around your school. Take in the sights, smells and touch of the things that make up your school environment; use all of your senses. You may notice things you’ve been missing, or get ideas on ways to enhance your school environment. Come together at the end to discuss everyone’s experiences and ideas. For added sensory experience, where the environment allows, take your shoes off and do the walk barefoot. Evidence shows that the nerve endings in our feet can create elevated and positive brain activity.
2
Mindfulness minutes for everyone
3
The daily steps reminder
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In addition to practicing some mindfulness in your staff meetings, lots of schools are embracing a quick three to five minutes of mindfulness every morning to get the learning day started. Let the class come in, get settled, and for three to five minutes encourage both the students and teachers to come into the day with a calm and relaxed beginning. It takes practice, but it becomes easier and you will notice the difference that a few quiet minutes can make to the beginning of the day.
Exercise is a wonderful way to promote good health and wellbeing. A lot of us find it hard to fit regular exercise into our busy schedules. Everyone can get a pedometer or another way to help count your steps. Set a staff target, such as 7,000 steps per day, and get moving as a team.
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Self-care
4 5
No email days You probably think this is impossible but it’s not. Some international companies are embracing no email days and it’s allowing them time to focus on something they have been wanting to give attention to, such as thinking about a project, meeting with teams and doing some professional reading. All it requires is a full commitment from everyone at school and a great out of office message for everyone, such as: “Thank you for your email, today is a self-care day at our school and we will respond tomorrow”. If necessary, delegate one or two people to respond to emails that can’t wait.
The daily water reminder Hydration for humans is really important and it’s often something we forget to do during the day. Place reminders all over the school as team reminders about good hydration and water intake. This may also be a great way to focus on healthy eating habits.
6
Self-care lunches and morning teas
7
Resilience and self-care sessions
8
Group or team reflection practice
Enjoying food together is a great way to connect and chat with others in the team. You can either ask people to bring a plate or pay for some local catering. It’s a good way to show gratitude with food. Do a couple of these this month and maybe come up with some themes for the dishes. Maybe arrange for additional supervision support so no one misses out because they are on duty.
There are some great local speakers and mental health organisations that love coming to run sessions with school staff. Find someone in your area who can be a guest speaker and run a resilience or self-care session. It’s a great collaborative team exercise in professional development and might provide some great mental health literacy and practical tips for self-care.
Just like the individual check-in and chat sessions, it can also be incredibly helpful to enable teams within the school to sit and engage in a guided reflection session. This can be facilitated by a professional counsellor or reflective practice specialist. It’s a great team check-in and grounding experience and can recharge your batteries and connect you for the rest of the year.
This is an edited version of an article from headspace. For more information visit headspace.org.au
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Issues
Direct Instruction: a failed intervention John Guenther is a senior researcher at the Batchelor Institute who recently co-authored a paper in The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education evaluating the impact of the Direct Instruction (DI) program in remote schools. He spoke to Australian Education Union Northern Territory president Jarvis Ryan about his findings and what they reveal about problems in how governments approach Indigenous education.
Jarvis Ryan: Could you firstly explain the methodology you used to conduct your research into the DI program? John Guenther: We used data from the My School website that anyone can access. For this study, I looked at the schools that were identified as Direct Instruction schools through the Flexible Literacy for Remote Primary Schools program that was funded by the Australian Government with about $30 million.
JG: That’s right – that’s why I limited my study to those schools that had more than 80 per cent Aboriginal kids in their student population and only in very remote schools. We are not comparing schools that were in more urban areas which had fewer Aboriginal kids. In the cohort of the Direct Instruction schools there were about 25 we could have chosen from, but not all those schools had NAPLAN scores published, so we had a sample of 18 DI schools. That was enough to do an analysis.
I looked at the schools classified as “very remote” on My School. They are the ones that struggle the most, particularly those very remote schools that have lots of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. I wanted to see whether or not the introduction of Direct Instruction in some of those schools led to those students doing any better, or similar or worse than schools with a similar student cohort where they hadn’t received that intervention.
JR: You focused your study just on the reading component of literacy in Direct Instruction. What did you find in terms of its impact over those three years?
I looked at the data three years before the Intervention (2012-2014) and three years after DI was introduced (2015-2017). What I tried to do was establish if the schools that received the Direct Instruction intervention had an improvement in literacy.
What we found was the schools with DI intervention actually did worse post-2015 compared to the 2012-2014 period and worse overall than the non-DI comparison schools. That is a worry for a few reasons. Firstly, because this program was funded significantly by government and then renewed, even though the early signs were that it didn’t work, so there is an accountability issue.
I am also aware that there are shifts and patterns over time in the general school population so I wanted to see how comparable schools that didn’t receive that intervention fared over that period.
JR: The important thing here is that you had reasonable sample sizes and you were as far as possible comparing like with like. 16
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JG: I chose reading because it is a measure used by other national reports, and governments tend to take a view that reading is a good proxy for English literacy generally.
The second concern is that you are putting money into a program that is doing harm to kids, it is not actually benefiting them. Not only did DI not achieve its goals of improved literacy, but the outcomes from the schools involved were worse than the comparative schools.
The third finding is also worrying: schools with a DI intervention had a faster rate of decline in attendance than the comparison schools. Average attendance declined quite rapidly for the DI schools. The earlier evaluations treated poor attendance as a factor that contributed to outcomes, but I am not sure that is necessarily right. I think it is more likely the other way around, that because of Direct Instruction and what it does in the classroom, and what it does to the kids, they are less likely to want to attend and their parents probably see that as well. There were a whole lot of worries that weren’t captured in the evaluation report, and that needed to be addressed. To be honest, after the first round of funding that was effectively a trial for two years, the program should have been stopped. It wasn’t achieving results then.
JR: The attendance issue is really telling. We had many stories about kids getting bored of the program quickly and as you reference in your paper it appears many teachers also got bored of the program. From what I have observed based on the knowledge and experience of AEU NT members, in many of the DI schools we saw close to a turnover of 100 per cent of teaching staff over the three-year period. JG: I think it is something about the method that is fundamentally flawed, not just the intervention or a program. It dumbs down teaching so that everything has to be to the formula, you have to follow the script all the time and that
Issues
takes away the teacher’s professional ability to be able to respond to where their class is at, where the individual children are at and work with them at a student level, not just for a program. That is possibly what is going on with the teachers getting disenchanted with it, because it takes away their professional ability, their pride and their ability to do what is best for their children and their class. It leaves it up to a scripted program.
JR: I want to end on a slightly more positive note. I picked up in your writing that there is not a lot of evidence to support these silver bullet-type ideas of a magical pedagogy or program. You make some reference in your paper to evidence-based approaches to improving outcomes in remote schools. What kinds of things can we draw on into the future to build a stronger foundation? Teachers who can teach English as a second or other language will do better in the classroom. It is not necessarily an argument about bilingual versus nonbilingual approaches, it is an
argument about the importance of professional development and learning for teachers. JG: You can’t just run a program for one year and hope that it is going to have an impact for five years. Every year you have got to run these programs to build the professional capacity of teachers. When education departments run professional learning for teachers, (they) will benefit from it and the kids will benefit from it. Another key area where the evidence is pretty clear is that schools with higher proportions of local people on staff do better in terms of attendance and NAPLAN scores. It is heartening to see that the non-government sector has picked up on this. The trend in recent years, again using My School as an indication, is that non-government schools, particularly in Western Australia and the NT are using the increasing resources that they are getting from the Federal Government to train and support local people into roles within the school. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been taken up as much by the NT Department of Education in public schools. Part of the reason for that, in the Territory at least, is the role that “effective enrolment” has played – the funding model that reduces a
school’s funding based on lower student attendance rates. Schools with lower teacher-student ratios in remote areas do better than schools with higher teacher-student ratios. The claim that the student-teacher ratios make no difference is wrong. It does make a difference in remote schools at least. One of the reasons I think is that it means kids can get more individual attention and that they have got a combination of small class sizes. With local support and local staff supporting them, they have got a much better chance of grabbing hold of the concepts being taught, the language being taught, and benefit from it. So, there are a few things that we do know work generally. Of course, it is not a one-size fits all. We have got to take each community on its own. But I think as a principle, having these factors in play, will make a difference to the learning that happens at school. This interview was first published in the Term 2, 2020 issue of the AEU NT’s Territory Educator magazine. It is reproduced here with permission. John Guenther’s research paper can be accessed for a fee at https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2019.28
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TAFE GA 2019
Improved conditions for casual lecturers Lecturers employed as casuals need to be aware of some key provisions in the Agreement, some of which are new, whilst others were introduced in the last Agreement. Clause 18.14 is a new provision that stipulates that any break between fixed term contracts of up to six months will not break continuity of service, for the purposes of personal leave and long service leave – but it will not count towards accruing personal leave and long service leave entitlements. This is an improved provision and that ensures casual TAFE lecturers do not have their leave credits reset to zero when there are breaks of less than six months in between contracts. Clause 29.1 b) is also a new provision to the Agreement but it existed in the Above Base Grade Policy (ABG). Placing the provision in the Agreement will mean that it easier to enforce. The provision states: “A lecturer’s prior hours of casual service will be taken into account in determining the commencement salary, in accordance with the provisions of the SSTUWA-TAFE Employee Relations Committee (STERC) Above Base Grade Policy.” This provision in the Agreement makes it clear to employers that casual service must be taken into consideration when determining the commencement salary of a lecturer being employed in either a fixed term contract or permanent mode. Lecturers in this situation should read the ABG policy for details but as a general rule, 500 hours of casual lecturing hours equates to one additional grade above the minimum, 1,000 hours equates to two grades and so on. 18
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“Anyone being newly employed in either a fixed term contract or permanent mode needs to be aware of the ABG policy and make an application for an ABG. Where they get placed on the grade scale is dependent on the ABG policy,” TAFE organiser Ramona Mitussis said. “Their casual hours count towards getting up higher on the grade scale and if they don’t get a (new) contract for some reason they still keep their long service leave and personal leave credits for up to six months. “So both these provisions work together.” An existing clause that TAFE members should be aware of is Clause 19.7, which relates to conversion of casual work to fixed term contracts. The clause states that: “Colleges will offer the option of a fixed term contract, of up to six months, to a casual lecturer whose employment is expected to exceed six weeks, consistent with the new STERC policy to be developed during the life of this Agreement.” Specifically, the policy will work as follows: 1. Where a casual lecturer’s employment is expected to exceed six weeks and work performed is on a regular and systematic basis in a same or similar role, the college will offer the lecturer the choice of fixed term contract (FTC) appointment for the duration of that period of employment. 2. A casual lecturer will be offered a FTC as soon as it is operationally viable, following the decision that the work period will exceed six weeks, as per paragraph one above.
4. A casual lecturer who elects not to accept an offer of a FTC must acknowledge in writing that they have been offered the option of a FTC and declined the offer. 5. A college will assume a casual lecturer who declines an offer of FTC under this policy wishes any further offer of employment to be on a casual basis only, unless advised otherwise by the casual employee. An employee that declines an offer of a FTC acknowledges that they will not be offered further FTCs for that year, but may be offered further FTCs in subsequent years. 6. FTCs entered into may not exceed six months' duration unless the lecturer has undergone an appropriate merit selection process. 7. If further work is available after the completion of a FTC period, the position will be filled in accordance with the requirements provided under Commissioner’s Instruction No. 2 – Filling a Public Sector Vacancy, Clause 18 – Fixed Term Contract of the Western Australian TAFE Lecturers’ General Agreement 2017, or its replacement, and the STERC Fixed Term Contract Policy (2019). The union has consistently campaigned for greater job security for all lecturers and as a result job security has dramatically improved across the sector. However, the campaign is ongoing and the changes to the new agreement are another set of steps in helping to improve the wages and conditions of casual lecturers.
GA GA
3. A casual lecturer is required to indicate acceptance of the FTC offer, in writing, within seven days of receipt of the offer. The FTC will commence from the date of the next pay period on or after acceptance.
2019
TAFE
When the ballot for the 2019 TAFE General Agreement closed on 30 June, 97 per cent had voted in favour of accepting the new Agreement. The new Agreement will now be registered in the WA Industrial Relations Commission.
2019
2019
TAFE GA 2019
General Agreement
Top achievements for TAFE members
Workload
Job security
Above Base Grade
Commitments to examine class sizes, student curriculum hours and implement timetabling principles
Lecturers will be able to be made permanent any time after initial contract, regardless of reason for contract, and need not reapply for same position
Current entitlement to be in Agreement, prior hours of casual service to be taken into account when determining commencement salary
Parental leave superannuation
Progression
ARD for part-time lecturers
Break in service extended
New leave
Paid superannuation on unpaid component of parental leave – up to 12 weeks
Recognition of prior learning
To be listed under teaching duties
No bar to grade progression after completion of Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
Long service leave and personal leave reinstated for breaks in service of up to six months
Current entitlement to be in Agreement, 7.5 hours off-site ARD is not applied pro-rata to part-time lecturers
Cultural leave for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and blood/plasma donors leave Western Teacher
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Issues
Digital divide impacts vulnerable students An independent report commissioned by the Australian Education Union (AEU) has revealed the persistent long-term gap in digital access, affordability and ability experienced by many public school students from disadvantaged circumstances. The independent report Addressing digital inclusion for all public school students, by Barbara Preston Research, has shown that the change in learning arrangements due to COVID-19 brought into sharp focus the lack of digital inclusion for many students, including access to the internet from home and indicators of possible lack of facilities and support at home that are conducive to home study and school work.
The report found that: Approximately 125,000 public school students lived in dwellings that were reported to have no internet access in 2016 (the latest available data). •
•
Nine percent of students with low family incomes (that is, family incomes in roughly the bottom third of family incomes of all Australian school students) have no internet access at home, compared to only one per cent of students with high family incomes without access to the internet at home. Public school students were more than twice as likely as either Catholic or independent school students to have no internet access at home.
•
Public school students living in remote areas were much more likely to have no internet access at home – almost a third of the more than 20,000 living in very remote areas had no internet access at home.
•
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were much more likely to have no internet access at home — 21 per cent compared with five per cent for all public school students.
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Low family income is associated with many factors that make studying at home more difficult. These include: •
A lack of internet access and a lack of appropriate software and hardware.
•
Generally less well-educated parents who can help with school work at home.
•
Overcrowded or insecure housing without a regular place to carry out school work undisturbed.
•
The psychological stresses on family members arising out of financial stress and a lack of resources.
The Preston report stated: “It is important to recognise that the data used in this report identifies the persistent long term gap in access to the necessary resources experienced by many students. Disruption to regular schooling caused by COVID-19 was not the cause of the digital inclusion gap, but served to illuminate the severity of the existing structural problem.” This gap is often accompanied by other factors that inhibit home study such as low income, remote location, English proficiency, disability and insecure or inadequate housing. AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe said that the Preston Report was a damning indictment of the failure of the federal government to ensure that all students have access to the digital tools and resources that they need for their education. “The Preston Report has highlighted the deep inequality experienced by students from disadvantaged backgrounds in relation to digital inclusion and in particular internet access,” she said. “This must be a wakeup call for the federal government about the urgent need to close the persistent long-term gap in internet access, affordability of IT hardware and software that is experienced by around 125,000 public school students.
“In 2020, it is a shameful indictment on the Morrison Government that any child does not have access to the internet, the digital resources and support needed to ensure they can achieve their full potential in school. “With over 125,000 students missing out, public schools must be fully resourced to be able to implement learning programs to support these students." Ms Haythorpe called on the Commonwealth to undertake a digital equity audit to identify the long-term, critical areas of need that have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in particular to ensure the digital inclusion gap experienced by vulnerable students was addressed permanently. “As an immediate priority, the federal government must carry out a thorough digital equity audit to determine the impact on students of a lack of access to the internet and digital resources,” she said. “Then a comprehensive plan must be developed, in consultation with the teaching profession, and be backed with resources. “In order to address the digital inclusion gap, the federal government must put in place funding and policies that ensure that all students have ready access to reliable, high speed internet and digital resources at home to support their learning. And this must be backed up with resources in schools. “COVID-19 has exposed the long-term systemic inequality that already exists for Australian students, particularly those from vulnerable backgrounds. This is exacerbated for students who are living in poverty, remote locations and insecure or unsuitable housing. “The vast majority of these students attend public school and it is time for the Morrison Government to address this inequality” The full report can be read and downloaded at bit.ly/3fRfAJz
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Digital divide report WA findings According to the Preston Report, Western Australian public school students were generally slightly less disadvantaged than students throughout Australia, though Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were more likely not to have internet access at home and to live in crowded houses.
Kimberley and 22 per cent in Gascoyne.
In Western Australia in 2016, five per cent of public school students were without access to the internet at home, and the percentages ranged from just one per cent in Perth Inner, to 24 per cent in the
The comparative national figures where 12 and 11 per cent respectively.
The table below shows WA report findings compared to the national average. Eight per cent of WA public school students were in unsuitable housing (insufficient bedrooms for the residents), with 15 per cent of those without internet.
Six per cent of WA public school students were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (Australia: six per cent).
Of Western Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students: • Twenty-nine per cent were without internet access at home (Australia: 21 per cent). • Sixty-six per cent were in low income families (Australia: 68 per cent). • Twenty-three per cent were in unsuitable housing (Australia: 23 per cent). About 11 per cent of all Australian public school students were in WA in 2016.
Western Australian public school students compared to national average WA public school students
Australian public school students
Without internet access at home
5%
5%
In low income families
38%
43%
In very low-income families
12%
13%
In one-parent families
21%
23%
Speak English not well or not at all
7% (primary) 5% (secondary)
6% (primary) 6% (secondary)
Needs assistance with core activities
3%
4%
Reside in rental housing
35%
37%
Those in rental housing without internet access
11%
10%
Source: Addressing digital inclusion for all public school students report (2020)
Schools GA IT win The recent Schools General Agreement registered with the WAIRC has provision for increased ICT support for schools. Clause 54.5 states: The Department is
committed to monitoring and providing sufficient bandwidth in schools, both in a centrally provided capacity and local options for schools.
This specifies department commitment to the provision of sufficient bandwidth in schools, taking into account local circumstances applying to schools.
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Issues
Defend your collective bargaining rights Collective bargaining is a right that is fundamental to democracy and to ensuring that societies, and not just elections, are democratic. Collective bargaining in education is closely linked with education quality. Making collective bargaining illegal or limiting its scope limits democracy. In some countries, education unions, which are the guardians and representatives of the teaching profession, are no longer considered privileged partners for education policy discussions. In some situations, handpicked “experts” are substituted for educators’ elected representatives, which makes it much less likely that the experience of educators will inform education reform. A Malaysian teacher expressed a view shared by most teachers: “Classroom teachers with rich experience should be given the opportunity to share their views on the strengths and weaknesses of the present system before [governments start] planning changes” (Education International, 2015, p. 32). Is it not odd that public authorities often need to be persuaded that they should consult with the teaching profession and their organisations on education reform matters? Not only is it odd, but it is also undemocratic. The right of workers to form trade unions and to engage in collective bargaining is among the fundamental human rights recognised at the global level.1 These rights are directly related to democracy because they enhance the process of democracy through expanded participation by those affected by decisions. Trade union rights are, like the right to education, enabling rights: they enable the exercise of other rights. 22
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There are many countries where those rights are denied. In the public sector, including education, it is common to ban strikes and to limit the scope of bargaining. Rights of workers do not expand in a continuous, irreversible process. There are also setbacks, and not only in undemocratic countries. For example, in the United States in recent years, there has been an unprecedented assault on the trade union rights of teachers. The recognition of the rights of education workers is the responsibility of individual states. Great progress was made in the 1970s and 1980s to the point that rights to organise and bargain were accepted in most states. However, in recent years, in several states, rights have been reduced or removed for education workers. This is, in part, retaliation for the effective exercise by trade unions of their right to participate in the political process. In Wisconsin, collective bargaining rights for most public employees, including teachers, were eliminated in 2011. In Tennessee, collective bargaining by teachers has been replaced by “collaborative conferencing” (Wintour, 2013). A few states have reduced the scope of bargaining for teachers, taking many education and professional issues off the bargaining table. Limits on the scope of bargaining have included placement of teachers, discipline and dismissal procedures, teacher evaluation and hours of work and working days. There have been limitations on the scope of bargaining in many other countries as well. In Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, unions were thrown out of government advisory committees the moment they started challenging the
management of education funds (EFA Report 2015). In Denmark, teachers were even thrown out of their own schools! That happened in 2016 when they refused to accept that working time issues were to be decided exclusively by management without negotiations with their trade union. The president of the Danish education union DLF2, Anders Bondo Christensen, says that his union was side-lined despite findings of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Committee on Freedom of Association which supported DLF’s position. In 2018, an agreement was reached to establish a commission to look into teachers’ working conditions, which, according to Christensen, could lead to a restoration of free collective bargaining in Denmark. Such optimism does not exist in Argentina where, in 2015, all negotiations at the national level were broken off. The government insisted that, as of 1 January 2016, negotiations would be dealt with at provincial level. The teachers, afraid that this would lead to provinces under-cutting each other on teacher minimum wage, opposed these plans. Sonia Alesso, general secretary of the largest teachers’ union, CTERA3, led several teachers’ demonstrations, one of which in April 2017 was violently repressed by police forces leaving many teachers injured. “The government does everything to weaken our trade union movement,” she says, “as if they want to silence all opposition and return to Argentina’s undemocratic past.” In Japan, with a firmly established democratic system, teachers have been consistently denied the right to collective
Issues bargaining. “There is some consultation”, says Masaki Okajima, president of the Japan teachers’ union, Nykkioso, “but this is not an adequate tool to improve terms and conditions of employment”. Okajima is particularly concerned about the government’s neglect of the conditions of young, beginning teachers, who are strictly supervised, subject of high-stake evaluation and who are working very long days until late at night, under heavy stress, which is causing demotivation. Bargaining is not only a right and a method to encourage wise, sound outcomes, but it is part of preserving the dignity of the profession and of educators. Bargaining is a process of mutual respect and recognition. Preserving the profession requires defending it. It also means being able to attract talented persons to teaching and retain them. Attacks on teaching professionals or their organisations often chill interest in serving as teachers. Social dialogue, unlike collective bargaining, is not an internationally recognised human right. However, it can be very useful as a means of engaging trade unions with their employers beyond what is on the bargaining table. It is a common practice in Europe and recognised by the European Union (EU), but the term is rarely used in other parts of the world. Social dialogue between education unions and governments, including those processes meant to address teacher professional issues, is weakening in many countries, as revealed by surveys of the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE, 2016). Although the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers (1966) provides that member states should involve teacher unions in the development of education and teacher policy, in some places it has become almost a common practice for governments to not invite representative unions to consultations on those matters, but to designate their own teacher “representatives”. This also sometimes happens at the UN, where groups may be “represented” because of decisions from above and not from below, or because the designated representative “talks well and looks good on screen”.
Also, there are fabricated civil society organisations that, in fact, are corporate front groups. They include nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) that are mercenaries for companies or governments. Together with the experts of the many for-profit businesses circling around the education sector, they contribute to a cacophony of voices that obscure the representative voices of the professionals who make education happen every day. There are many useful and serious NGOs and networks that do valuable work, but they should not be confused with representative bodies and they may or may not be “civil society”. There seems to be a reluctance on the part of certain governments to accept that teachers’ organisations are not just vehicles for bargaining wages and working conditions, but that they also represent the professional expertise that is needed to develop sound and responsible education policy. Teachers’ organisations are – often more than education ministries – the country’s institutional memory on the profession and on education. Moreover, education quality issues cannot be resolved without addressing teacher terms and working conditions: they are two sides of the same coin. The respect of trade union rights, including the rights to bargain and strike, as well as the right of teachers’ professional unions to be consulted on education and teacher policy, is an
important measure of the health of democracy. If those rights are violated or restricted, alarm bells should ring, not just for trade unionists, but for all democrats. References and footnotes 1.
Trade union rights are included in the UN Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1966) and ILO Conventions 87 (1948) and 98 (1949). Specific issues related to the public sector are contained in ILO Convention 151(1978). The ILO/ UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers (1966) and the UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel (1997) cover standards pertaining to the teaching profession.
2.
Danmarks Lærerforening.
3.
Confederación de Trabajadores de la Educación de la República Argentina.
The above text is an excerpt from On Education & Democracy (2019) by Susan Hopgood and Fred van Leeuwen. The book contains 25 lessons from the teaching profession for educators. This is one of six lessons that have been identified by the SSTUWA as key organisational objectives following November State Council Conference 2019. This article has been edited for clarity and brevity. The full article and book can be read at: bit.ly/2w4kNvW
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Seen around
Union training rolls on Face-to-face training continued at the SSTUWA as educators headed towards the end of a busy Term 2.
Cherry Bogunovich in partnership with the Teaching and Learning Network in Melbourne.
Through the July school holidays and into
Training such as union representative courses continued, as did online training. In a first for the union, it conducted is first ever online industrial training course.
The 90-minute course covered topics such as the SSTUWA role and structure, that of the union rep and support available. Twelve SSTUWA union reps participated.
as keeping skilled up and safe, workplace
The Role of the Union Rep in Schools course was facilitated by Education and Training Centre (ETC) training officer
Look out for a more detailed story on the course in a future issue of Western Teacher.
Term 3, the ETC plans to continue holding more face-to-face training on topics such safety, provisional to full registration TRBWA, financial planning, restorative practice and teaching skills. For more details see the training pages on page 28 or visit sstuwa.org.au/training
SSTUWA ETC training officer Cherry Bogunovich undertaking a union industrial online training first. 24
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Seen around
SSTUWA growth team coordinator Natalie Blewitt facilitates a new cohort of members for training.
Member Kane Pittard.
Angela Dunderdale shares her reason for joining the union.
Members learn more about being a union rep at their workplace.
Being involved in the union can be the spark for many things greater.
Many members state having support as a key reason for joining the union. Western Teacher
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National education and union news
National education and union news More funding ensures student inclusion A global report into progress on The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Sustainable Development Goal for education has found that more investment is required into professional development and training for Australian teachers in order to improve inclusive education for students with disability and to reduce student exclusion. The 2020 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report focused on inclusion in education, paying particular attention to children who have been excluded from education, because of background or ability. The report found that educational segregation is still prevalent in countries around the world, and that better-quality data and a shared understanding of inclusive education are an important part of addressing this situation. The GEM Report found that teachers in Australia are often not sufficiently supported to deliver inclusive education
to students with disability, with up to one third of principals receiving no instructional leadership training, and that teachers in Australia reported that they “lacked training on implementing differentiated teaching and adjustments”.
students so that they can learn in a safe environment.
The report stated: “In Australia, access of students with disabilities to qualified teachers was partly impeded by the system’s overdependence on unqualified support personnel.”
“The Commonwealth must take student inclusion seriously and devote funding and resources to assist vulnerable students to access a high-quality education.
AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe said more investment was needed to provide teachers with the resources they need to support vulnerable students.
“But the stark reality is that this cannot be achieved without additional funding so that schools have the resources they need to support students.
“This includes implementing a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce strategy.
“Funding must be allocated more equitably for students with disability, to accurately reflect the needs of these students in public schools,” she said.
“Research highlights the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers and educators in schools, their presence contributes to the overall success of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
“Almost 70 per cent of students with disabilities attend public schools, which work hard to ensure that issues such as access, specialist support, and health and wellbeing are appropriate for their
“The Morrison Government must also provide additional funding for specialist support and professional development for teachers to continue to develop inclusive education practices.”
TAFE funding boost critical The urgent restoration of the billions of dollars cut from TAFE funding must be central to the Morrison Government’s initial response to Australia’s Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector. A recent Productivity Commission review into the VET sector recommended a new agreement between Commonwealth and state and territory governments to increase market competition in vocational education and not cap prices. It also called for adopting set cost measurement, delegating changes to training packages to industry, increasing the availability of income contingent 26
Western Teacher
July 2020
loans to students and considering shifting subsidies from providers to a voucher scheme for students.
portion of government VET funding being
The report also found that marketisation and incentives to private providers “initially increased participation but incentives were later wound back because of escalating costs and rorting” and that “efforts to promote a ‘more open and competitive training market’ had stalled”.
providers.
However, over the past decade TAFE has suffered under a concerted drive from successive governments to privatise vocational education and defund TAFE, with budget cuts and an ever-increasing
• A $3 billion cut from vocational
directed towards low-quality and nonaccredited profit-seeking private training Since being in government the federal coalition has overseen: • 140,000 fewer apprentices now than when it was elected in 2013. education. • A decline in enrolments in vocational education and training.
National education and union news • A decline in TAFE enrolments in particular, which have plummeted by 24.5 per cent. • A decline in Commonwealth government contributions to public VET delivery by 23.2 per cent in 2018 alone. • A fall in the total number of TAFE institutes to 35 nationally in 2017-18, down from 57 in 2013/14. According to the Report on Government Services, total annual government VET expenditure has fallen by $1.6 billion (21.3 per cent) from the 2012 peak of $7.65 billion. In 2018 the Commonwealth’s contribution to all vocational education fell by $326 million (10.6 per cent), while its contribution to public VET delivery fell by 23.2 per cent. Experts are now warning that an additional 100,000 apprentices and trainees will be lost by December unless the Morrison Government acts quickly, according to new modelling from the National Australian Apprenticeship Association. AEU Federal TAFE Secretary Maxine Sharkey said that the focus of any Morrison Government response to the VET sector had to be to maintain TAFE as the strong public provider of high-quality vocational education. “A strong and vibrant TAFE sector must be a vital part of Australia’s VET response to the economic challenges we face, particularly in a post COVID-19 environment,” she said.
“The report’s recommended options, including voucher schemes and increasing income contingent loans, are extremely risky, and open the sector up to a repeat of VET-FEE-HELP style rorting by unscrupulous private operators. “It also ignores the urgent need to replace the billions of dollars of funding that governments have cut from TAFE in recent years. “However the ‘efficient national pricing’ mechanism and introduction of vouchers as recommended in the Productivity Commission’s report will further open the VET system to rorting, severely undercut TAFE, and further the Morrison Government’s efforts to sideline our public VET provider. “TAFE provides a huge range of highquality qualifications, and has a higher cost base due to its broad focus and established national infrastructure. “If future VET funding is directly linked to delivering a specific and narrow skill and calculated on the basis of the lowest private offering then this will unfairly disadvantage TAFE. “In addition, these recommendations raise a number of other concerning issues. What happens in regional and remote areas that do not provide a viable market for private VET providers, but which have already lost their TAFE institute? How will the range of regional differences across the country be factored into the proposed uniform loadings?” Ms Sharkey said Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly stated his aim to
get a million people back to work following the COVID-19 shutdown. “It stands to reason that his government should make sure these people are properly qualified and receive those qualifications from TAFE, the high-quality public provider,” she said. “However, to date the Morrison Government’s response in relation to vocational education has done nothing to recognise the integral part that TAFE must play in Australia’s recovery.” Ms Sharkey said that any attempt to subjugate TAFE to the demands of big business or to further encourage the profit motive of private training providers must be strongly resisted. “In order to rebuild Australia’s workforce and economy, a clear and strongly supported national workforce strategy is required. This is particularly important for youth employment,” she said. “Right now TAFE is the only institution ready to meet the challenge of rebuilding Australia’s workforce. “TAFE must be the government’s preferred solution for providing highquality vocational education, helping people to get back to work and getting the economy moving again. “A true strategy for workforce renewal can only be achieved through national support for TAFE, and by making use of TAFE’s longstanding partnerships with industry, particularly in regional Australia.”
Support for unions at historic high A new poll has revealed that for the first time since the series began in 2012, half of all Australians believe Australian workers would be better off with stronger unions. A further three out of four Australians believe unions provide essential services to ensure members are paid properly, have a safe working environment and provide a strong collective voice. The ACTU, the peak body for working people in Australia, has welcomed the results, saying they are a reflection of the crucial role unions have played during the pandemic, and the important role unions play giving workers a voice.
ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said the research showed that Australians knew who had their back – not just in the workplace but also during a national economic and health crisis.
Ms McManus said unions would be holding big business and the government to account throughout the economic rebuild, and working to win more secure jobs and fairer wages.
“Unionised workers have steered the country through this pandemic and will continue to play a leading role in the economic rebuild,” she said.
“The pandemic may pass, but some in the business lobby have made clear they want to make pay cuts permanent,” she said.
“Australian unions fought for and won the JobKeeper wage subsidy and the increase to the JobSeeker payment.
“We won’t allow pay cuts to further punish young people, women and be a drag on the living standards of working people.
“We continue to campaign for paid pandemic leave and proper workplace safety regulations to keep all workers safe as the economy reopens.”
“Pay cuts and cuts to workers’ rights will not help Australia recover. They will just make this crisis last longer and deeper while people at the top reap the profits.” Western Teacher
July 2020
27
Education and Training Centre
Education & Training Centre SharpReading Workshops in October Dependent on the lifting of travel restrictions, the SSTUWA is pleased to host another series of SharpReading workshops in October. These will be conducted by co-writer, Hilton Ayrey from New Zealand.
What is SharpReading? SharpReading is not another magic bullet strategy; here today, gone tomorrow. It is an approach to reading education based on tried, proven and effective teaching and learning practices. SharpReading is based on hundreds of hours of careful observations of students, identifying what works for the learner, and trying to discard the bits that clutter and clog the brain and turn the students off. SharpReading is an effective approach to shared and guided reading instruction.
Everything you need for a SHARP Guided Reading Routine for PP – Year 8 SharpReading-guided and shared reading routines are quite unique and shift the locus of control from the teacher to the students, providing them with the opportunity to habitualise comprehension skills and transfer them into everyday reading. Choose a course to suit your needs:
Stage 1 and 2: Getting Guided Reading Right for the Beginning Reader Meet the needs of your beginning readers with a simple routine for guided reading that gives students the time and the structure to learn and habitualise decoding strategies.
The Struggling Older Reader For those readers who get stuck on decoding and start slipping further and further behind. Rebuild confidence and decoding fluency in your students.
Stage 3: A Systematic Approach to Comprehension Strategy Instruction Readers who have developed some fluency with decoding are shown how to dig into text to construct meaning and think critically.
“My students have said: ‘This is fun. I like trying to unpack sentences and convincing others that I know what is going on.’ “They really enjoy the clear structure of the session and the challenges it brings.” Holly, Year 4 teacher, Napier
Visit www.sstuwa.org.au/training to join a SHARP event 28
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Education and Training Centre
SharpReading events at SSTUWA Highly recommended for the experienced classroom teacher who is looking for a fresh approach to developing decoding fluency, the beginning teacher who needs some structure to get an effective reading program up and running, as well as the relief teacher who needs a stand-alone routine that can be quickly introduced as a once-off in an existing classroom program. Event times to be confirmed.
Getting Guided Reading Right for the Beginning Reader: PP-Year 2
A Systematic Approach to Comprehension Strategy Instruction: Years 2-6
A big part of reading instruction in the early years revolves around the guided reading lesson - small groups for 10-15 minutes a day (if you are lucky). Have you ever questioned what you are actually achieving in that 10-15 minutes?
This course helps to create a manageable guided reading program in your Year 2-6 classroom. It targets readers who have developed fluency with decoding and now have the available head space to process text at a much deeper level as they construct meaning and think critically.
Monday 5 October
SharpReading Five Bits Guided Reading Routine direct from New Zealand aims to: •
Truly develop decoding fluency - this approach works!
•
Provide a simple, structured experience that creates security for the reader.
•
Free up the teacher to monitor the strategies their readers are using and then plan next step teaching.
•
Provide for simple, manageable data collection during the lesson.
Tuesday 6 October
Comprehension Instruction – Building on Stage 3
The Older Struggling Reader: Years 3-8
This course is designed as a next step for those who have previously participated in the SharpReading Stage 3: 'A Systematic Approach to Comprehension' workshop and have incorporated the SharpReading approach into their reading program.
Almost every Year 3-8 classroom has them; those readers who still struggle with decoding fluency, whose reading age is one plus years behind their chronological age, for whom the gap is widening all the time and whose confidence levels about reading are in tatters.
Now that there is an understanding of the foundation for active reading covered in Stage 3, Stages 4-6 can be bolted on to the routine to develop all the critical thinking that we hope for in our readers but struggle to consistently achieve.
This course will equip you to deliver a well-researched and proven 8-10 week intervention that will develop those missing decoding strategies and rebuild reader confidence.
Wednesday 7 October
Thursday 8 October
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July 2020
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Member benefits
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
AutoBahn
Mechanical and electrical services. Members receive $20 off any service or 5% off any repair.
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.
PLE Computers Save on your IT with access to the PLE Computers academic portal.
sstuwa.org.au/autobahn
sstuwa.org.au/ple
Bayswater Mazda
The Good Guys Commercial
Exclusive offer including $500 fuel card, 4 years free service and more.
sstuwa.org.au/bayswatermazda
Bob Jane T-Marts
Online access to live discounted pricing on The Good Guys’ full range.
sstuwa.org.au/thegoodguys
National fleet pricing on a range of products and services.
Educational Resources
easifleet
A Thinking and Caring Approach. By Barrie Bennett and Peter Smilanich.
sstuwa.org.au/bobjane
Bose headphones or Bluetooth speaker, or a year’s worth of Magic Hand car washes with any easifleet procured novated lease.
sstuwa.org.au/easifleet
Fleet Network
Package your next car and save on tax. Bonus Samsung 8” tablet or Dash Cam with vehicle delivery.
Classroom Management
sstuwa.org.au/classroommgmt
Effective Group Work Beyond Cooperative Learning. By Barrie Bennett.
sstuwa.org.au/effectivegroupwork
sstuwa.org.au/fleetnetwork
Graphic Intelligence
Hertz
Possibilities for Assessment and Instruction. By Barrie Bennett.
5-10% discount on vehicle hire in Australia, NZ, USA and Canada.
sstuwa.org.au/hertz
ME Bank
Motor Market by Union Shopper
You choose the car, then we find you the lowest price.
sstuwa.org.au/motormarket
Thrifty Car and Truck Rental
10% discount on vehicle hire in Australia.
sstuwa.org.au/thrifty
tyresales.com.au
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.
10% discount on tyres.
sstuwa.org.au/teachersuperstore
Western Motor Vehicle Consultants
Entertainment
sstuwa.org.au/tyresales We’ll find a car you’ll love. Save time and money when sourcing your next vehicle.
sstuwa.org.au/westernmotors
Computers Altronics
Adventure World Save up to $14.50 on Adventure World tickets with Westclub.
sstuwa.org.au/adventureworld
Movie tickets
sstuwa.org.au/tmbank
Build it yourself electronics centre. VIP trade discount in store and online.
Cars
sstuwa.org.au/altronics
Discounts on physical tickets (greater savings) and instant digital tickets.
Apple on Campus
sstuwa.org.au/movietickets
sstuwa.org.au/apple
Rockface
For details visit:
Allwest Fleet
Vehicle salary packaging – save time, money and tax. Receive a $300 gift card with your new car.
sstuwa.org.au/allwestfleet
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Massive discounts on products and services for SSTUWA members
Western Teacher
June 2020
Dell
Indoor rock climbing in Balcatta. $15 all day climbing pass with harness hire.
sstuwa.org.au/dell
sstuwa.org.au/rockface
Save up to 15% off selected items.
Member benefits *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 St John
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
10% discount on travel insurance.
sstuwa.org.au/travelinsurance
STA Travel Insurance
$20 discount for members.
sstuwa.org.au/statravelinsurance
Shopping Abacus Educational Supplies
10% discount, in store and online.
sstuwa.org.au/abacus
First aid saves lives. Discounted first aid courses and kits for members.
Dot Mall
WA Opticians
sstuwa.org.au/dotmall
sstuwa.org.au/stjohn
20% discount on spectacle frames and lenses. Perth and East Perth.
sstuwa.org.au/waopticians
Housing
BBQs, heaters and backyard kitchens. 5% discount for members.
Electrical buying
Let Union Shopper find the best deal on your electrical purchases.
sstuwa.org.au/electricalbuying
Houspect
isubscribe
sstuwa.org.au/houspect
sstuwa.org.au/isubscribe
Buy, build and invest with confidence. $50 discount on building inspections.
Johns Building Supplies
Trade prices on paint and painters’ hardware. Builders prices on all other hardware lines.
sstuwa.org.au/jbs
Kleenheat
In appreciation of teachers’ support of the community, Kleenheat is offering SSTUWA members bigger savings on natural gas.
sstuwa.org.au/kleenheat
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
Up to an extra 10% off any print and digital magazine subscription; over 4,000 titles.
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
Retravision
Cost plus 5% on all products. Osborne Park location only; in store or via phone. Nation-wide delivery available.
sstuwa.org.au/retravision
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 $18 on Rottnest ferry tickets with WestClub.
sstuwa.org.au/rottnest
STA Travel
Exclusive discounts for members.
sstuwa.org.au/statravel
Western Teacher June 2020
31
Classifieds
Classifieds For sale: Cooloongup
3x2 plus large utility room, fully powered workshop set amongst a quiet street and bushland. Large patio area and backyard for entertaining and family time. Offers from $350,000. EOI: 0401 847 317
For sale: Mandurah (Soldiers Cove)
$339,000. Sought after area, short walk to Mandurah Foreshore. A touch of art deco in this 1950s era 3x1 home on 809m2 block. Featuring high ceilings, decorative cornice and jarrah floor boards. Private street frontage with bus stop to Mandurah station out front. 6x4m workshop, 30 fruit trees, PV solar panels and solar hot water. buymyplace.com.au (property 5181804) 0449 183 499
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
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
Denmark
The Rise is a modern, comfortable, 3x2 fully equipped house close to town with elevated views. Located close to Scotsdale and Mt Shadforth drives and their many tourist attractions. Stay for 7 nights and pay for 6 nights. Bookings.denmark.com.au (property The Rise) (08) 9848 2055, 9am to 5pm
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 | 9448 5527 a_r_moore@bigpond.com
Dwellingup
Après Huit and Dwell Cottage provide luxury self-contained accommodation set in beautifully landscaped gardens. Can 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
Falcon
Shady two bedroom beach cottage 300 metres from surf beach and protected Falcon Bay. Located on a grassy, peppermint gum 1012 sq metre block. Sleeps eight. Well-equipped including BBQ. Close to Miami Village and all amenities, great for crabbing and fishing. Less than one hour from Perth’s CBD along Forrest Hwy. $150 per night for Western Teacher readers. 0415 035 390 | richard.wright@iinet.net.au
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
France (South)
3x2 house located in quaint village adjacent to Canal du Midi - noted for having 300 days of sunshine per year and hence lots of vineyards. Spain is 1hr drive; Barcelona is 2hr drive. $700 per week. 0407 368 511 | craigrebecca@bigpond.com
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
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
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 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
Mt Lawley/Dianella
Newly built 1x1 self-contained extension, furnished, with laundry, dining, lounge, kitchen and one undercover parking bay. Aircon, TV, fridge, washing machine and microwave included. Quiet residential area close to city, buses, Galleria Morley, Mt Lawley cafe strip and Northbridge. 10 min walk to Terry Tyzack Aquatic Centre; golf course across the road. $80 per night, min two nights. $50 per night for weekly and monthly rentals. 0439 964 239 | cymbie.burgoyne@gmail.com
Northam
Renovated, self-contained 30s-style three bedroom house with beautiful river views. Short walk across the bridges to town. Sleeps six-eight. Kevin: 0414 446 431
Prevelly
One bedroom private spa apartment in quiet Prevelly cul-de-sac. Two minute walk from beach. Suits couples. $165 per night for Western Teacher readers. Lucy: lcartell@iinet.net.au
Email 50 words or fewer to editor@sstuwa.org.au with your phone and union membership numbers. Free for members. 32
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July 2020
Classifieds
Classifieds 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
Victoria (Jan Juc Beach)
Planning a holiday to Victoria? Stay on the beautiful Surf Coast, in between Torquay and the famous Bells Beach. Sleeps eight comfortably. Walking distance to the beach, golf club, shops and river mouth. Everything you need is already there. Large entertaining areas. Discount for Western Teacher readers. 0403 803 064
Discover the best of India
Bespoke guided tours. Choose: your itinerary; your dates; your inclusions; your ayurvedic/yoga retreat; your festivals; your budget. Your holiday, your way! Personalised information sessions – we come to you. H&M Luxury Tours ...creating memories! 0409 554 702 | support@luxetoursindia.com luxetoursindia.com
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 3 starts 27 July. 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. 9334 1259 | youth@stjohnambulance.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
Calling all retired teachers!
Are you a retired teacher with a spirit of adventure and time to spare? Would you like to assist families in remote areas of WA? You may like to join REVISE WA as a tutor. For more info, visit www.revisewa.com.au
Belly Rubs Boarding Kennels
Personalised approach to boarding your canine companion. $25 per dog – mention you’re a teacher to receive a 10 per cent discount. Located in Southern River. Elisa: 0417 620 766 | FB: @bellyrubsboarding
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
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July 2020
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Noticeboard
Noticeboard Retired Teachers’ Association
Anna Stewart Memorial Project
We expect to hold a celebration lunch on Monday 27 July at the union building. We commence with choir at 10am then literature at 11.35am followed by lunch at 12.45pm. New members are most welcome.
Hopper on David Hill's Convict Colony.
This year’s project will run from 19-23 October and is open to women union members. Participants will see how unions are organised, become involved in current union issues and campaigns whilst visiting workplaces. Applications are due to the SSTUWA by close of business Friday 28 August.
The literature session will be on Edward Lear, poet and painter, and the following session will be given by Peter
See you soon.
The quarterly meeting will be held on Wednesday 23 September at the SSTUWA. The next newsletter will be available in late August.
Lynette Virgona Scholarship
Items for November State Council must be received by 5pm Friday 25 September.
International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is organised by the United Nations every year on 9 August to focus on the rights of the indigenous population groups across the globe. It also celebrates the way of life and culture of more than 370 million indigenous people worldwide, as well as raise awareness of each group’s needs. For more information visit un.org/en/events/indigenousday
Applications are now open for the Lynette Virgona Scholarship. The deadline for applications is Friday 25 September. More info: sstuwa.org.au/scholarships
The Public Good
Level 3 Classroom Teachers’ Association 2020 meeting dates: Saturdays, 10.30am-12.30pm at the SSTUWA premises
UnionsWA, in collaboration with key public sector unions in WA – including the SSTUWA – and community supporters, has launched The Public Good campaign, which highlights the prominent and positive role that the public sector workforce plays in the lives of Western Australians.
SSTUWA committee meeting dates:
Early Childhood Educators’ Committee
TAFE Committee
Time: 4.15pm
Term 3
Term 4
22 August
28 November
Venue subject to change. Visit www.l3cta.org.au for venue information and to confirm attendance, or email contact@l3cta.org.au
Find out more: thepublicgood.com.au
For more info and the application form, visit sstuwa.org.au/scholarships
Ann Strauss: 9387 2906
State Council Conference
Venue: SSTUWA office | Contact: (08) 9210 6000 or contact@sstuwa.org.au Teleconference facilities are available
International Committee
LGBTIQ Committee
Time: 5pm
Time: 4.30pm
Time: 4pm
Dates to be confirmed
Dates to be confirmed
Dates to be confirmed
New Educator Committee
Women’s Committee
Psych Services Committee
ATSIE Committee
Time: 4.30pm
Time: 3.45pm
Time: 4.45pm
Time: 4pm
Dates to be confirmed
13 August
6 August
8 September
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Email to editor@sstuwa.org.au
Western Teacher
21 October
17 November
July 2020
3 August
26 October
5 November
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