CEB Staff Newsletter #17 - 25 Jun 2021

COVID Updates for CEB Staff

Working in the Office

Following the Acting Premier’s announcement on Wednesday that COVID restrictions in Victoria have been eased, the working from home requirement has been removed. 

Office settings permit a 75% return or up to 30 people if the total workplace is 40 or less, subject to a density quotient of 1 person per 2sqm. 

A reminder that facemasks are to be carried at all times and are still required to be worn inside in public places, unless a health exemption applies.

Working in Schools

Non-essential onsite meetings or school visits should still be deferred or held remotely until further notice. Changes to these arrangements will be clarified when the Term 3 School Operations Guide becomes available. 

Where a school visit is considered essential, please discuss this with your Team Leader first.

July CEB Staff Meeting Updates

Following the Acting Premier’s press conference on Wednesday that the easing of COVID restrictions will apply for at least the next two weeks, the July CEB Staff Meeting will be held in-person at the Damascus Event Centre (DEC) at Damascus College, as planned. The DEC is a seated venue and falls within the capacity limit of 300. 

If health advice changes and we are required to move to a virtual platform, staff will be advised accordingly.

A reminder that facemasks must be worn at the CEB staff meeting while inside the venue, unless a health exemption applies. 

Please refer to the last Tuesday’s CEB Staff Newsletter #16 for further details on the meetings, staff dinner and staff photos, and download the agenda from Knowledge Banks > 9. CEB Staff > 9. Meeting Materials.

ReLATE PD Day Update

On Monday 5 July MacKillop Family Services will share two surveys and a video link with all CEB staff. The surveys will be open for completion for the duration of the week. The purpose of the surveys will be explained during our engagement with MacKillop Family Services at our PD Day on Thursday 8 July, however the data gathered from the surveys will not be required for this day.

Our advice is that the surveys require 3-5 minute to complete.

The two surveys are explained below:

1. Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL)
   Measuring the professional quality of life you feel in relation to your work. Both the positive and negative aspects of doing our work influences professional quality of life. For education professionals, understanding the positive and negative aspects of helping those who experience trauma and suffering can improve their ability to help them and your ability to keep your own balance.
   
   
2. Multidimensional Attitudes toward inclusive Education Scale (MATIES) 
   This questionnaire seeks to understand your attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disability in regular classrooms.

The surveys will provide data that will inform our ongoing engagement with MacKillop Family Services. We would expect to administer these surveys later in the year for Timepoint 2 to compare the data.

CEB Staffing Update

Lee Schlooz – Education Consultant – Southern Zone

Lee Schlooz, Education Consultant – Southern Zone, will be on Long Service Leave for the duration of Term 3. We are pleased to announce that Eugene Dalton has agreed to take on this leave replacement during Lee’s absence. Eugene has been Principal at Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School in Warrnambool before taking Long Service Leave this year.

We wish Lee all the very best as he takes a well-deserved break and we welcome Eugene to CEB and look forward to working with him in this new role.

CEB “All Staff” Email Address

As part of our transition to DOBCEL, the “all staff” Outlook email group previously known as DET or Diocesan Education Team has changed to Catholic Education Ballarat Staff (CEBStaff@dobcel.catholic.edu.au).

Emails sent to the previous email address will automatically be directed to the new address.

CEB Support for Higher Education – 2022 Applications Open

Higher education study support is designed to promote ongoing professional learning of the individual and in support of a high-performance culture aligned to our strategic directions.

Higher education study support is offered for higher education studies in an approved course of relevance and benefit to the person’s role and career at Catholic Education Ballarat (CEB) or the wider DOBCEL community.

CEB employees can apply, on an annual basis, for financial support towards higher education and study leave for approved courses of study by the end of August each year using the CEB Higher Education Support Application. 

If you are considering studying next year, have a chat with your Team Leader before completing an application.  Applicants will be informed of the outcome in writing before the end of Term 3.  For more information including how to apply refer to CEB’s Higher Education Study Support Policy and Procedure on Knowledge Banks.

Note this is separate provision to the DOBCEL Sponsorship: Higher Education Studies in Religious Education, Theology, and Catholic Educational Leadership Policy which is designed to specifically promote higher education studies in religious education, theology and educational leadership. It recognises that higher learning in these areas is an important element of contemporary Catholic leadership and teaching that will enhance the Catholic identity and the learning across our diocesan education community, ensure effective learning outcomes for students and support leadership succession.  For more information refer to this policy on Knowledge Banks.

Hazard and Incident Notification Tool (HINT)

The Hazard and Incident Notification Tool (HINT) is now available within SIMON for all staff to insert any hazard or incident occurrence and will be used to record essential information including; what happened, when it happened, who was involved and the extent of any injuries or damage.

HINT will replace all other existing hazard and incident notification platforms currently used by CEB offices. HINT will pre-populate staff details from within SIMON to help speed up the notification process. It has a simple tick box injury/illness classification process. The tool will make it easier and quicker for staff to complete notifications electronically, using their computer, tablet or mobile phone. 

If you have any trouble accessing HINT, please contact Simon O’Brien. 

Short Burst Skills Coaching – Culture Amp

You may be familiar with Culture Amp as the platform we use for our staff engagement survey.  Did you know that you can also access short burst skill coaching and playbooks for leadership development?  

In as little as  2-minute coaching a day, you can build on your leadership capability. Do as few or as many sessions as you’d like.  Designed by psychologists and managers, these simple activities help build better habits.

Go to https://ceob.cultureamp.com and sign in using your CEB email address.  You would have set a password the first time you completed an engagement survey. If you have forgotten your password or are a new user, click on ‘forgot password’ and an email will be sent to you by Cascade to login. 

Note: We may have your @ceob.edu.au email address or @catholic.edu.au.  If you are still unable to login contact Ange Jones. 

July Birthdays

We hope these staff enjoy their special day…