6 November 2023

President’s Report

I hope that you have all had a wonderful break and positive start to the term.

Term 4 always has a great level of energy in schools and your TPA executive are looking forward to approaching our advocacy on your behalf with the same level of energy and commitment to our work for our colleagues. Term 3 and 4 branch/online sessions have been fabulous, with the most recent being the AI in Education session in the south last week. Thank you to all involved in organising or participating in these. We invite new members to join the association, highlighting that membership now includes AST/QTC’s/AP’s and educational leaders on the Teaching Award and SES. During the holidays, TPA continued to be involved with the Workforce Shortages Working Group meetings which have been running for 10 weeks. DECYP are continuing to look at new/alternative ways to address the staffing shortages that we are all too familiar with, and we know this continues to be a challenge for many of our colleagues.

Across the first two weeks of term, TPA Executive have worked with the following groups and individuals on your behalf

• Vicki Mackrill and Mat met with Greens Education Spokesperson Vica Bayley
• Meeting with Deputy Secretary and Assistant Director Literacy/Numeracy re: Reading Priority
• Meeting with Directions Operation North/South to discuss consistent staffing/HR practices
• Joint AEU/TPA meeting with the Director of Safeguarding
• Regular meeting with Principal Wellbeing Leaders North/South
• TPA PARF Research Application – ‘Understanding the Psycho-social impacts on principals in leading school communities through critical incidents’
  • Met with HeeRa Ko & Therese Dickie, lead researchers from the ACU
• UTAS Course Advisory Committee – discussed ‘readiness’ in supporting students with high/additional needs, differentiation etc and DECYP reading priority
• Two ABC Interviews in relation to the Royal Commission recommendation to close ‘Support/Special Education Settings’ and recent ABS data showing an increase in young people with mental health disorders and the need for increased provision of school psychologists and support staff

E3 Entrepreneurial Education unConference

Cressy District School principal Mark Gleeson represented the TPA this week at a national conference in Adelaide, where participants worked towards the development of a whitepaper on the direction of entrepreneurial education in our country. Mark was nominated by a colleague recognising his leadership skills and practice in student engagement, with all costs sponsored by E3, which allowed there to be a full national representation.

unConference

2024 Tasmanian School Leaders Conference Update

The conference planning committee are close to finalising arrangements for next year’s conference. We are excited to announce that Keynote/Workshops/Panel presenters include; Kate Ceberano, Lee Crockett, Nadine Champion, Andy Mison, Angela Falkenberg and Matthew Johnson, with a few more spots to finalise in the coming weeks.

Early bird registration is now available – As a TPA member, save up to $200 by registering as an ‘Early Bird'

ASPA

The term 4 ASPA meeting was held in Canberra during the first week of term 4. The forum provided an important opportunity to establish actions in relation to key issues in education that impact all states and territories, with the most pressing being the impending National School Reform Agreement. To learn more about ASPA and their work, I encourage you to visit their website.

AGPPA/APPA

Tasmanian Principals Association Vice President, Ted Barrance, attended AGPPA & APPA on behalf of our association at a meeting in Canberra earlier this week.  

• Federal Education Minister Jason Clare joined AGPPA and discussed a number of current initiatives and announcements
  • New school upgrade fund which was released this week in Principal Matters (attached item 5). Federal funding, but process is delivered by the states and they will prioritise based on need
  • New campaign to focus on recruiting new teachers to commence teaching degrees
  • NSRA expert panel report chaired by Lisa Obrien was handed down on October 31
  • Review into Early Years will deliver increased funding for childcare and early years of schooling – consideration for how does this influence our state

• Report commissioned by AGPPA by Pasi Sahlberg was tabled and discussed as to the next steps of how to use this, the media presence and also how we use this with all sides of government to influence funding and policy directions - the AEU campaign has great resources around this as well.
• AGPPA Strategic Plan – review of the progress of the year to date, and also review of the plan moving into the future
• The APPA board met with the outgoing CEO of ACARA David De Carvalho, about NAPLAN and its current benefits and areas for improvement, the Australian Curriculum and changes and improvements to v9, the role of states and the duplication of each state department having their own curriculum services, the idea of a Curriculum Hub for states to input into through ACARA potentially serving states better. The difficulty of working with all states and having different views and expectations on education
• APPA met with Secretary of Federal Department of Education Tony Cook about the role of the federal government in funding all schools to 100% SRS (School Resourcing Standard). Currently all government schools do not receive the minimum funding and it is not being increased in some (ACT was funded but the increase per year to be funded means they are going to be going backwards). The AEU have some great resources around this information on their website. Tony Cook also discussed three reports being handed down next year:
  • Review in Early Years – productivity commission handing this down later this month, potential impact is higher funding to the EY sector 
    

• • National School Reform Agreement – Impact of the report and key accountabilities that will need to be met
  • The Inquiry into Higher Education – and the University Accord process 
    

• • The other important inquiries we are engaging with are the Disability Royal Commission and the review into the NDIS.

• APPA developed an anti-racism position statement for member associations
• Reviewed the ‘Thrive By Five’ initiative and how this can gain the attention of federal and state jurisdictions

To learn more about the National Primary Principals Association visit AGPPA Website and APPA Website.

Mat Grining
TPA President

2024 Tasmanian Educational Leaders Conference

There is no better time to continue to grow as courageous and connected leaders by prioritising your own learning and wellbeing – we look forward to seeing you making this investment in your professional learning. Please place these dates in your calendar (22-24 May 2024), registrations will be open soon.

Registration Fees

• Full - Early TPA Member - $600.00
• Full - Early Non-Member - $750.00
• Full - Standard TPA Member - $800.00
• Full - Standard Non-Member - $950.00

Keep updated with the progress by visiting - 

ZartArt Student Art Prize 2023

TPA Gold Sponsors

Winners for attending the ASCA stand at the PFD Tradeshow in your City!

The Winners are:

• Mary Collins, Guilford Young College Hobart - PFD voucher $100
• Leanne Holdsworth, New Norfolk High School Hobart - NutriBullet from the Good Guys Commercial
• Tracy Mclean, Hagley Farm School Launceston - PFD voucher $100 & NutriBullet from the Good Guys Commercial
• Linda Mulley, Our Lady of Lourdes Devonport - PFD Voucher $100
• Kiara Youl Deloraine High School Devonport - NutriBullet from the Good Guys Commercial

Keep an eye on the ASCA Facebook page for photos of the winners receiving their prizes! Congratulations to our members and well-done PFD on a great Tradeshow!

Enjoy Term 4 and congratulations to all the year 12 students and teachers who have committed to helping their students attain the best and finishing off the year well!

ASCA supports Australian Charities

• As a not-for-profit organisation, each year ASCA donates its surplus funds to a range of registered charities who assist in the education of vulnerable children.
• By simply purchasing from ASCA’s Preferred Suppliers, you are not only gaining best value for your school, but indirectly contributing to our Charity Partners.
• Since our inception in 1979, ASCA has continually supported these charities, with almost $5 million donated to partners such as The Smith Family.
• Thanks to your support, we were able to donate record amounts in 2022/23, a year in which our charities really needed it. Thank you.

To ensure our email reaches your inbox, please add membership@asca.com.au  to your address book.
Kerry Danks-Guy
National School Supplier Manager & Area Manager

M: 0417 742 055
P:  03 9978 0980
P:  1800 219 556
W: asca.com.au

Teachers Health

How free, proven to work, online parenting support helps families in schools

An initiative funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care makes it easy for all parents and carers of children under 12 to access FREE evidence-based, online positive parenting support.

Now parents, carers and school communities can get proven support with free online parenting courses developed by the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program®. All are world-acclaimed resources that strengthen home-school relationships and help create caring environments where kids can learn, grow and thrive.

Triple P Online gives families the knowledge and skills to feel more confident in their parenting skills, tackle problems before they grow, and promote children’s resilience, self-regulation, problem solving and social skills. The Fear-Less Triple P Online program further provides strategies to support parents/carers of children who are often anxious, worried or fearful. Its practical ways to help children learn to manage and reduce anxious feelings improves their emotional wellbeing. Triple P Online for Baby supports new or expecting parents get off to a positive, more confident start in their new family life.

Social contagion is key part of creating a positive parenting culture. You can help by sharing this information widely across your school community and direct parents to our website to register:

Future Leaders Awards 2024

myfuture - Professional learning - final events for 2023

Wellbeing at work for career development practitioners

Tuesday 21 November, 1:00pm (AEDT)

As rewarding as career development work may be, it is not without its challenges. Practitioners may struggle with their workload, resourcing, responsibilities, or clients. Many practitioners work alone and lack a team of colleagues to turn to for support.

In this webinar, Dr Mary McMahon (The University of Queensland) will share insights into the wellbeing and professional practice of career development practitioners. She will first explain the inter-related nature of health, wellbeing, and work, and summarise some of the challenges often faced by career development practitioners. She will then offer several practical strategies that practitioners can apply to help maintain their health and wellbeing, including reflective practice, peer supervision, and engaging with professional communities.

myfuture Insights - Thinking in a joined-up way: the importance of the careers information ecology

Tuesday 28 November, 1:00pm (AEDT)

Where do young people look for information about careers? Monash University researchers recently set out to find the answer to this question, analysing what career information sources young people use, which ones they are most confident in, and the interrelationships between them. Their findings describe a 'careers information ecology' comprising various sources that complement one another, as well as the degree to which young people trust each one. Most importantly, they note the significance of certain relationships, such as with parents and peers, in the careers information ecology.

Join the authors of our latest Insights paper, Professor Steven Roberts and Dr Ben Lyall to learn more about their research findings, and how taking an ecological view of career information can help you support students to access and make sense of the information they need. Obtain practical suggestions on how to help students navigate an increasingly complex careers information ecology.

Visit myfuture.edu.au | Follow myfuture on LinkedIn

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