Executive Director’s Update to Principals #13 - 18 April 2024
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Principal Announcement
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CEB staff update
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Diocesan Leadership Gathering – May 9
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Embedding Child Safe Standards Workshop
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DOBCEL Hire of Facilities - Booking Form and Terms and Conditions
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TV/radio advertising campaign + social media support materials
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People & Development
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Annual Report to the School Community 2023 (ARSC)
Principal Announcement
Please see below a letter from Paul Desmond, Chair of Kildare Education Ministries Board, announcing Carmel Barker's decision to complete her service to Marian College at the end of the 2024 school year.
CEB staff update
Kerrie Zammit, Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, has resigned from her position with CEB to take up a position closer to home in Geelong. Kerrie spent many hours preparing for all types of DOBCEL/CEB activities, and her support of the Executive Director has been very much appreciated.
In the interim, while recruitment to the position takes place, please contact Tina Munro at execdirector@dobcel.catholic.edu.au or Ph 0456 734 387
Diocesan Leadership Gathering – May 9
The next Diocesan Leadership Gathering will take place on May 9th only, as many schools have Mother’s Day commitments on May 10th.
On this day, Dave Runge of Future Schools will facilitate this next phase of our Strategic Planning process. Pasi Sahlberg will join remotely throughout the day, and Dave will facilitate other input as the day progresses. The principles of Co-Design will underpin the day, and this will be a day of principal input leading into the Board’s Strategic Planning workshop days scheduled for July. This term, we will move from the why we need to aspire to become a high-performing Catholic system of schools to the what and the how we will become a high-performing Catholic system of schools.
Last term, schools were invited to bring another leader to engage with the strategic planning process. Schools are invited to do so again this term. The one-day program may assist another person in coming and may help with the sponsors, too.
GM Sponsors are scheduled to attend this meeting. GM sponsors provide valuable income to primary school principal networks, and they have generously amended their program to reflect the single-day program. They are keen to maximise exposure for sponsors, and we hope that Principals will get in and generously give of their time to sponsors at the gathering. This is reflected in the attached draft agenda.
The day will conclude at 4:15pm, allowing principals with Mother’s Day commitments on Friday to return home by early evening.
Dinner will still proceed on Thursday evening, but with reduced numbers given, many will travel home. We would appreciate it if principals completed the attached survey to confirm daytime catering and dinner numbers by no later than 9:00am on Wednesday, April 24th.
Please note that the day starts slightly earlier (9:00am). If there are concerns about your attendance, please communicate directly with Tom Sexton. If you have questions or concerns about the program, please contact Matt Byrne or your local DLG Design Team rep.
Embedding Child Safe Standards Workshop
Please ensure you, and appropriate members of your leadership team, have registered for the Child Safe Standards Workshops, as listed below.
Sarah Morgante’s workshop is tailored for all professionals working in the education sector. It covers legislative requirements to ensure the safety of students in our schools, alongside requirements incumbent on us as professionals working in the sector.
Given our commitment to ensuring a visible and robust child safe culture, it is essential all staff "continually grow their knowledge and practice in child safety " (Sarah Morgante. Director, One Red Apple 2024).
Workshop One – Southern Zone
| Workshop Two – Central Zone
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Workshop Three – Mid Northern Zone
| Workshop Four – Northern Zone
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DOBCEL Hire of Facilities - Booking Form and Terms and Conditions
As part of the not-for-profit requirements within the VRQA minimum standards, schools must have legally binding written agreements for leases or licences for premises occupied or used by the school and third parties.
Principals are advised that DOBCEL has created a Hire of Facilities template for use by schools along with Terms and Conditions to accompany the Form.
Any new agreements between DOBCEL schools and hirers moving forward should use these new documents to ensure evidence, as per requirement.
If you require additional support with this, please contact Penelope Irish: Properties and Facilities Officer, on email pirish@dobcel.catholic.edu.au or on phone 0429 473 351.
TV/radio advertising campaign + social media support materials
Following completion of a recent market research project, we are pleased to deliver an inaugural Diocesan-wide TV and radio advertising campaign to help promote our Catholic schools.
The campaign objectives are to build brand awareness and help drive increased enrolment inquiries, especially over time.
The TV/radio advertisements aim to be geographically neutral and will run from 22 April - 19 May.
The campaign invites prospective families, including those from market groups who may not have previously felt they could/would consider a Catholic education, to take a ‘closer look’ and ‘discover affordable, contemporary Catholic education,’ by searching their nearest Catholic school now.
In striving for the best diocesan coverage possible, the advertisements will run across:
FM Radio
- Ballarat (103.1 Power FM)
- Warrnambool (95.3 Coast FM)
- Horsham (Mixx FM)
- Swan Hill (Mixx FM)
- Mildura (99.5 HitFM)
- Hamilton (Mixx FM)
- Colac (Mixx FM)
- Listen to the radio advertisement here
Television
- Mildura regional viewing area (Prime7/WIN/CH10)
- Ballarat regional viewing area (Prime7/WIN/CH10)
- View the TV advertisement below
Monitoring/evaluation
While we don’t anticipate a dramatic response to the advertising in the short term, we ask schools to please monitor and record enrolment inquiries throughout the campaign period, as well as note anecdotal responses/reactions within local communities. This information will help inform future marketing activities.
Supporting social media assets and key messages for schools
A suite of social media graphics/posts has been developed for schools to communicate eight key messages across their own social media channels over the next 4-5 weeks in support of the TV/radio campaign, if/as useful to local context.
The key messages have been informed by the market research, broadly addressing what families reported valuing in our Catholic schools, as well as some of the key barriers to enrolment inquiry.
Schools are encouraged to post the TV ad to ‘launch’ the campaign locally next week, followed by eight key messages - or local variations.
The graphics have been professionally designed in a three-image carousal set-up (see below) and are provided in two versions - generic and editable in canva - with local photos and logos.
You could also post the messages ‘manually’ with your local photos.
Key Messages - school specific (insert name of school)
- Post 1 – Over the coming weeks Catholic education in the Diocese of Ballarat is running a TV and radio advertising campaign to let more families know about the great opportunities a Catholic education can offer for their children. We are proud to support this campaign and will also be posting some of the key values of our Catholic school on our social media channels. We encourage families to support us by liking and sharing. See the TV advertisement here.
- Post 2 - xxxxx is a place to shine, to explore and to dream, providing opportunities for students to fully flourish spiritually, academically, physically, culturally, socially, and emotionally.
- Post 3 - xxxxx seeks to identify the unique gifts and talents of every student and nurture those gifts, so our students have the resilience and confidence to grow, thrive, and find their place in the world.
- Post 4 - Our Catholic faith underpins the culture of xxxxx, setting an expectation that everyone acts with respect, dignity, compassion, and kindness.
- Post 5 - xxxxx places a high priority on care for the safety and wellbeing of every child - we want all our students to be happy and engaged in their learning, and in the school community.
- Post 6 - All families who seek the values of xxxxx are warmly welcomed, regardless of culture, religion, or background.
- Post 7 - Our fees at xxxxx are kept as affordable as possible, and fee relief is offered for families experiencing financial hardship.
- Post 8 - Strong partnerships with parents and a sense of community among families at xxxxx is a high priority.
- Post 9 - Close partnerships between xxxxx and xxxxx ensures students and families have a seamless F-12 journey with Catholic education.
With thanks for your support and assistance with all things marketing and promotion of Catholic education.
Any queries or concerns, please contact Gerard Delaney - Manager, Marketing and Communications on Ph 0413 274 176 or gdelaney@dobcel.catholic.edu.au
People & Development
Employee Relations
May Salary Increments
In accordance with clause 45 of the CEMEA 2022, the date for incremental progression for eligible employees is 1 May 2024. Employees with at least six months service within the incremental cycle (1 May 2023 to 30 April 2024) will be eligible to advance to the next salary subdivision. Service in any incremental cycle can only be counted once.
Fixed-term employees
Fixed-term employees with previous experience will usually advance at the start of their new contract (typically the start of a new school year). However, fixed-term employees who, at the time of commencing their new employment or receiving their new contract, do not have enough experience to advance can do so on 1 May 2024 (if they have enough service in the incremental cycle of 1 May 2023 to 30 April 2024).
Online Staffing Records
Non CPS Schools will be required to perform their own changes to the Online Staffing Records (OSR) application available on the CEVN website under Staffing and ER / Online Staffing Records (OSR). Incremental progression assessment and OSR management for CPS schools will be performed by the CPS Team.
Information for schools can be located on the VCEA Circular May salary increments.
Transition of VCEA Employee Relations materials to CEVN
Many of you may have noticed that some of your existing links to the Employee Relations page on CECV no longer work. This is due to this information being transitioned from the decommissioned CECV website to the CEVN website. Information about the transition can be located via the VCEA circular VCEA Employee Relations.
Ballarat: Ms Maree Baker on 0436 460 275 or mbaker@dobcel.catholic.edu.au or Ms Jo Huntley on 0429 598 163 or jhuntley@dobcel.catholic.edu.au
Health and Safety
Psychological Risk Assessment Training & Survey
As previously advised, the Victorian Government is reviewing proposed changes to OHS legislation that recognise that hazards that pose a risk to psychological health are just as harmful to employees' safety and wellbeing than physical hazards.
To support a safe and healthy work environment and to assist schools with tools and resources, DOBCEL has committed to furthering our knowledge on identifying Psychosocial Hazards by purchasing a Psychosocial Risk Assessment e-learning module. This is a pivotal step towards fostering employee wellbeing and engaging in early intervention strategies.
DOBCEL has purchased 100 licences and will allocate multiple licences to each school according to staffing numbers. Each licence can be reused which will allow for the training to be accessed multiple times. This training is directed towards school leaders and takes approximately 75 minutes to complete.
Please complete this survey to enable us to provide each school with login details to enable access to the training.
Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey
The Australian Catholic University (ACU) has released the findings of the 2023 Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey.
School leaders have reported high levels of resilience despite facing the worst recorded levels of physical violence, threats of violence, and bullying in the 13-year history of the annual survey conducted by the ACU.
Compiled by ACU’s Institute for Positive Psychology and Education (IPPE), the latest survey of 2300 principals showed school leaders suffered higher rates of anxiety and depression than the general population. Co-lead investigator Professor Herb Marsh said school principals were remarkably resilient, but increasing job demands and burnout are putting them at risk.
Please direct any queries to:
Employee Relations
Maree Baker, Manager Human Resources 0436 460 275
Jo Huntley, HR Advisor 0429 598 163
Health and Safety
Leah Crough, Occupational Health and Safety Coordinator 0419 687 893.
Annual Report to the School Community 2023 (ARSC)
To ensure that Principals can access the new software for the ARSC, we are requesting that each principal logs into their CEVN account, opens the ARSC document via SmarterSoft, and adds something to their school report. This can later be edited.
We want to be certain that all principals are able to complete their ARSC by 10 May as required, without delays due to not being able to access the program.
If you have any issues, please contact Susan Crowe: scrowe@dobcel.catholic.edu.au immediately.