Executive Director’s Update to Principals #36 - 5 September 2024

2024 ACU Australian School Leader Occupational Health & Wellbeing Survey

Principals and Deputy Principals are strongly encouraged to participate in this survey of leaders health and wellbeing.

We will be receiving a report on the Victorian Catholic sector findings, in addition to our own diocese, subject to having enough participants. While the survey is completely anonymous, clearly the more localised the aggregated information we can receive, the more useful it will be. 

 The flyer below provides more detailed information and link to participate. 

National Catholic Schools Parent Survey

Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA) is seeking our support to promote participation in a national survey of parents in Catholic schools.

The survey invites parents to share their views on existing and emerging affirmations and/or challenges in relation to their child/children’s wellbeing and learning.

It is anonymous, confidential, and completely voluntary and designed to assist the CSPA and the Catholic sector  to develop action and advocacy priorities/objectives.

I encourage you to publish the invitation to participate in the survey below in your school newsletter.  

2025 Student Free Days and School Closure Days Planning - responses due 14 October

Last Thursday’s ED update (below) included information about applying for Student Free Days and calendaring for 2025. 

In this update we ask that Principals input their 2025 dates and intended student free days within the attached survey. 

Given several Principals are attending the pilgrimage, the due date will be extended until the second Monday of Term 2, 14 October. 

The survey can be accessed here.

The School Days and School Hours Guideline can be accessed here and a valuable resource to support Formation for Mission planning can be accessed here. 

Please direct any questions to your Ed Con or Matt Byrne as you plan your 2025 Calendar. 

Background

Schools are currently planning for 2025. In that planning will be the consideration of student free and school closure days to achieve school improvement and staff formation for mission. 

Please refer to the attached documentation to support your understanding of the definitions and procedures relating to allocating Student Free Days and School Closure days. 

When planning your school calendar, please keep in mind formation opportunities in Catholic identity for your staff.  One student free day each year must be designated to this purpose.  This day should be part of a staff formation plan and reflect the intentional, ongoing and reflective nature required for formation for mission.  

The first and last gazetted day of the school year will be student-free days.  Schools may plan four other student-free days across the year.   In 2025 we have not included an additional day for TIL at the end of the year given schools' different approaches to managing this. 

Tom introduced at the DLG that schools may apply for additional student-free days in 2025 between Easter and Anzac Day (thus reducing Term 2 to a 10 week term).  If schools did consider student free days between April 22-24, then schools would draw on one day from their normal student-free day pool and DOBCEL would allow up to an additional 2 days for collaboration with at least one other school within the diocese. 

While this time between Easter and ANZAC day presents a specific opportunity to enable schools to collaborate at the same time, DOBCEL’s commitment to supporting collaboration across schools is genuine.  If schools choose not to use the two additional between April 22 - 24 then schools will be still supported with an additional 2 days pupil-free for collaboration with at least one other school within the diocese at any time during the year.  Please be mindful that you will need to pre-agree these dates with another school/s.

Next week we will distribute a digital form for schools to make their request for student-free days, and this form will remain open until Wednesday 18^th September.  Please direct any questions to your Ed Con or Matt Byrne as you plan your 2025 Calendar.

In summary-

There are 6 approved student free days for the 2025 school year-:

• First day of gazetted school year
• Last day of gazetted school year
• At least one day for Catholic formation of staff
• Three further days

An additional 2 student free days will be allowed for collaboration opportunities with at least one other school in the Diocese.

Subject to the above, a maximum of 8 student free days will be possible for the school year.

Download the GUIDELINES and PROCEDURES for SCHOOL CLOSURES and STUDENT FREE DAYS

Diocesan Assembly Participation - RSVP due today, 5 September

In the last ED Update (below) we shared information regarding the Diocesan Assembly on 15 and 16 November .

A reminder that your RSVP to the event is due today.

Please complete the following survey and indicate if you would be willing to be a zone representative.

Survey link: https://forms.office.com/r/X8WE2ehQ3n

Background

Preparations for the Diocesan Assembly on 15 and 16 November are progressing with the formation sessions led by Fr Justin completed. The Diocese is now at the next stage of inviting the nomination of delegates from parishes, Catholic Education Ballarat, social services, health and aged care, religious congregations, diocesan commissions and councils, and Catholic organisations and agencies to attend the Assembly. 

Bishop Paul has requested each parish typically provide two delegates.   

We are now seeking Catholic education representatives. To ensure appropriate educational representation, we ask that each zone and the secondary principals network nominate up to two representatives. These would be education delegates and separate from the parish delegates. Tom Sexton, Megan Ioannou, and Matt Byrne plan to attend, and a small number of other CEB delegates also. 

If you or another leader within your school community could be your zone representative, could you please fill in the linked survey by September 5. In the event we have more than two representatives from each zone, we will work with you regarding our overall number of representatives. Principals are encouraged that if they do commit to this opportunity, they should calendar a day when you are not working to offset the weekend commitment.   

The Diocesan Assembly will be held on the evening of Friday 15 and all day Saturday 16 November, 2024. It will be held at Federation University, University Drive, Mount Helen.  Overnight accommodation will be provided for regional attendees. More information on accommodation will be provided once delegates have registered. 

Recent participation in the formation sessions around the diocese is beneficial, but not necessary.   

The assembly is seeking representatives with the ability to discern with an open heart, listening to what the Spirit is saying in relation to leadership and governance in a synodal Church in the diocese. 

If you have specific questions please reach out to Matt Byrne via mbyrne@dobcel.catholic.edu.au or event organiser Jane Collins via jane.collins@ballarat.catholic.org.au.   

Please indicate your willingness to attend by completing this survey by 5 September  

REMINDER: Universal Speech Screening for Foundation Students –New offering for schools from Term 1, 2025

The Catholic Education Ballarat Speech Pathology (SP) Team is pleased to offer all schools an opportunity to opt-in to universal speech screening for all foundation students in term 1, 2025.

Research shows that early screening of speech is important as children with speech problems can have long‐term difficulties that persist into adolescence and beyond with some 30% to 60% experiencing continuing problems in reading and spelling. This can then lead to longer term problems in literacy, mental health and employability (Ref: Law 2009a)

A pilot involving several schools from across the diocese was trialed in 2024, with speech screening completed for foundation students.  Findings indicated some students with significant speech sound disorders, some of whom had not accessed any previous intervention before coming to school. Other students were identified as having mild speech difficulties.  Feedback from schools was positive with planning for intervention being timely and supportive to both students and class teachers. 

In response to this, in 2025 the CEB Speech team are extending this pilot, and your school is invited to enter a partnership commitment with the CEB SP team to provide speech screening to all foundation students. For some students this may result in further involvement in the current speech sound program in your school.

1. CEB Speech Team Commitment - In designing a universal speech screening program for primary school students in the Ballarat Diocese, the CEB speech team commit to:

• scheduling screening across the diocese and liaising with key contact LDL/LSO regarding timetable for visits
• partnering with LDL/LSOs to provide a training video guiding the use of the Townsville screener
• supporting caregiver understanding and informed consent by producing a video for caregivers (and classroom teachers) that outline the speech screening process. This video will be available for transition sessions/conversations in term 4, 2024.  
• conducting screening and gathering of data in partnership with school LSO/s and LDL’s
• analysing cohort data, identifying class cohort trends and recommendations and providing the LDL and Classroom Teacher with this data and recommendations for the classroom
• providing recommendations for further speech program / referral via ROSAE for students requiring early intervention.

1. School Partnership Commitment - By opting in to the 2025 universal foundation student speech screening, schools agree that they will:

• provide carer/s with an opportunity to view a speech screening video (prepared by CEB) during transition sessions/conversations in term 4, 2024
• coordinate the gathering of consent from carer/s prior to screening in early term 1, 2025
• provide an LSO to co-implement the speech screening and data gathering in collaboration with the SP on the day
• provide an opportunity for LDL and Classroom Teacher to attend a feedback session with the SP outlining the whole class cohort recommendations and/or requests for further early intervention or speech referral
• ensure classroom teachers are supported to implement whole class cohort recommendations throughout the school year
• ensure LSO’s can be available after 6 months to rescreen those students identified by the classroom teacher as requiring potentially more intensive intervention

*Note: At any time, classroom teachers who identify students requiring assessment by the SP team will refer to the school LDL to refer the student to CEB.  This will require the LDL to support the carer/s to complete consent form and speech case history form and that these are uploaded on ROSAE as part of the CEB referral process.

If you would like to participate, please opt-in by clicking on this link and completing your school details no later than 15 October. The SP team will then contact you or your LDL with further information.

Principal vacancies

Principal - Our Lady Help of Christian's School, Wendouree (closes 4th October)

Principal- Sacred Heart, Colac (closes 29 September)