Permanency gained for more schools psychologists

Industrial Permanency gained for more school psychologists

By Natalie Swinbourn Schools organiser

The SSTUWA’s recent work with school psychologists has resulted in an increased percentage of permanent positions across the system. In 2018 the Public Sector Commission announced Commissioner’s Instruction No. 23 (CI23), which allowed for the conversion and appointment of fixed term contract and casual employees to permanency. While this had many positive outcomes for the union’s schools and TAFE members, the CI23 process did not generate a major change to permanency figures for school psychologists. The discussions it did instigate between the Department of Education (DoE) and the SSTUWA have been productive and have ensured the way in which our school psychologists are employed has been improved. The department made a concerted effort upon request from the SSTUWA to look at increasing the permanent positions available to school psychologists. The proportion of school psychologists with all or part of their employment on a permanent basis has risen from 60 per cent in 2017 to 82 per cent at the end of 2019.

Lesmurdie Future Teacher Award

The SSTUWA would like to congratulate Lesmurdie Senior High School student Laila-Rose Newman (pictured right) for being the 2019 recipient of the Future Teacher Award. The union-sponsored award recognises students with a passion for teaching, with many going on to pursue a career in education and joining the union. Lesmurdie SHS union representative Linda Valdrighi said Laila-Rose was the 13th recipient of the award and was To provide an overview through the CI23 process, originally 138 school psychologists were reviewed, with only 13 of them were converted. Since the completion of that process in 2019 a total of 71 of the original 138 school psychologists reviewed have been appointed permanently through other means. The DoE has also confirmed that at the end of 2019 they were working with each specific region to increase the FTE eligible for permanency above the regional allocation for the department. They are able to do this where the DoE could show that schools had been purchasing a consistent amount of additional school psychologist time over and above the allocation from the department and that which was used up by ongoing backfill for leave.

The rules around fixed term contracts

Where permanent employment is not appropriate, the use of fixed term and casual employment arrangements should be made in accordance with legislation and relevant industrial instruments. All fixed term contracts must state the reason for the fixed term contract. The agreed options are:

ambitious about becoming a secondary teacher. “She has demonstrated leadership skills, actively seeks feedback to improve her results and continually strives to achieve her very best,” Linda said. “The attributes she has displayed during her time as a student at Lesmurdie SHS will no doubt make her an outstanding teacher. “Lesmurdie SHS branch would once again like to thank the SSTUWA for their commitment to education and unstinting support of members both experienced and emerging. We look forward to continuing this prestigious honour in the years to come.” a. For a defined and limited tenure of work (this is where there may be a limited source of money and it is only available for a short period of time). b. A vacancy due to a leave of absence (this is when you are backfilling for another employee – a few examples are someone on parental leave or another form of leave or acting in a promotional position). Should you currently be on a fixed term contract we encourage you to check the following key items: 1. Is the reason for your contract one of those listed above? 2. If it is one of the above reasons, you can ask the nature of your contract (e.g. Who holds your position substantively?). 3. If you are employed for the full year, is the end date of your contract the last day of the school holiday break in 2021? If you have any concerns or queries about your contracts please contact SSTUWA Member Assist on 9210 6060. Also encourage your fixed term colleagues to join us, as collectively we have more power to achieve the best outcomes for members.

The SSTUWA wishes Laila-Rose all the best in her journey to becoming an educator and, upon completion of her studies, welcomes her to the wonderful world of teaching and unionism.