Weekly Newsletter #4 - 23 February 2022
Reflection
From the Executive Director
At last week’s Leadership Gathering we launched the Actioning Education for All Guide. This important document outlines our whole of system approach to Inclusive Practices for Catholic Education Ballarat;
"Our learning environments will continue to enable all students to access education that is appropriate, equitable and empowering, such that they can engage with the daily life of the school and curriculum, demonstrate their knowledge and strengths, and maximise participation through quality learning opportunities. We, in Catholic Education Ballarat, have a commitment to creating learning environments where all students are empowered to flourish, both personally and in community.
CEB believes that the principles of inclusion are predicated on the intention to provide an educational environment that promotes the human dignity of each student within a supportive Catholic community.
Our whole of system approach outlines our commitment to deliver quality instruction and provide multi-tiered systems of support to actively engage all students in their school life."
This document is the work of many. The development of the Actioning Education for All Guide drew firstly on the work of the Learning Diversity Team from the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS). Locally, members of the CEB Learning Diversity, namely Susan Rampling, Monique Ryan, Lisa Templar, Kate Sadler, Jacqui Righetti, Mandy Veal and Leonie Walsh consulted with the broader Wellbeing, Learning and Teaching and Catholic Identity Teams. These teams drew on the current experience in schools within the Diocese of Ballarat along the research and evidence that exists to inform inclusive education practices to formulate the final document.
As part of the launch we had Dr Kate de Bruin from Monash University speak to us on the history, importance and research base behind the principles of Inclusive Education. Afterwards Kate reflected on the progress our diocese has made and strongly affirmed our direction.
Kate made the following observation, “.... My visit to North America taught me that schools with strong uptake and implementation of multi-tiered systems of support were well-supported by their district. I was strongly reminded of this when talking to you, reading your documents, and speaking with your principals. I feel as if the CEB and the schools within this Diocese may be the closest I've come to seeing something like that in Australia.”
So at this stage of our journey I would like to pay tribute to the work happening in our schools and within CEB to get us to where we are now and I look forward with great optimism to where we will go in the future. This work will tie into the development of our Communities of Practice, which is a key recommendation of our recent Wellbeing Review.
I encourage schools to make contact with Tony Perkins, Leader: Wellbeing, to set up times to meet to discuss the possibilities and practicalities of setting up Communities of Practice around the Diocese.
Sister Anne Forbes - RIP
Last Friday we received news of the passing of Sister Anne Forbes. Please see the message below from Mary Ryan of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea.
"This is to inform you that Sister Anne Forbes died peacefully in the early hours of this morning at Mercy Place Ballarat. Anne’s ministry was primarily in education in the Ballarat Diocese. She was a founding staff member at St Martins in the Pines (1967), now Damascus College. Anne also taught at St Patrick’s College Ballarat. Anne was the Diocesan Director of Caritas for some years, a work which she loved. Anne also spent time in Timboon and Wendouree Parishes, sharing her music ability and visiting the locals.
In Ballarat especially, Anne became a champion advocate for the East Timorese for many years. She made a home for many East Timorese students who came to Ballarat for education and created a safe haven for these young people, they treasure her presence in their lives today.
Anne was a woman of Justice and Mercy.
Anne’s funeral will be held on Friday 25th February at St Alipius Church, Ballarat East at 1pm. The funeral will be livestreamed. Please contact Pat Cashin Funerals for details."
People & Development Update
COVID-19 Update.
The Victorian Government announced on Tuesday, 22 February an easing of some COVID Safe rules as follows.
Effective from 11.59pm Friday, 25 February 2022, in education settings face masks will only be required indoors in limited circumstances.
This includes;
- students in year three and above at primary school.
- workers at early childhood centers and primary schools; and
- for anyone on public transport, in taxis or rideshare services.
Premier Andrews has said that masks are still required for primary school children in grades three to six because the vaccination rate is still too low.
Masks are no longer mandatory in secondary schools or workplace settings such as Catholic Education Ballarat offices.
The public health recommendation for Victorians to work or study from home will be removed.
Extension for third dose deadline.
The Minister for Health has indicated an extension for the booster deadline for education workers:
- The third dose deadline for workers in education facilities who were fully vaccinated on or before October 25 will be extended by a month, provided that workers have a booking within that time – meaning all education workers have until 25 March to be ‘up to date’.
- Fully vaccinated workers who are not yet eligible for a third dose will have a third dose deadline of three months and two weeks from when they had their second dose.
- Workers who are recent international arrivals will have a new third dose deadline of four weeks from the date of their arrival, provided they have evidence of a future vaccine booking.
- Workers whose temporary medical exemption (e.g., because they had COVID-19) has expired will have a new third dose deadline of two weeks following the expiry of the medical exemption.
Please refer to the updated memorandum to staff and FAQ regarding the vaccination order.
Application to vary LSL provisions to remove uncertainty.
Over the past few years, many staff have raised with us the complexity of the Long Service Leave (LSL) provisions contained in Appendix 3 of the VCEMEA. In particular, confusion regarding how LSL is calculated and paid in respect of employees who have worked part-time, and a combination of part-time and full-time.
We communicated with DOBCEL employees in January 2022 about this noting that it is important we resolve the issues with the calculation of Long Service Leave provided for in the 2018 VCEMEA. With the support of the IEU, Diocese of Catholic Education Sale Limited (DOSCEL), on behalf of the Governing Authorities, applied to the Fair Work Commission for an order to remove this ambiguity or uncertainty by varying Appendix 3 of the VCEMEA. DOBCEL supports the application as a party to the 2018 VCEMEA.
The Fair Work Commission requested additional information about the proposed variation which has now been provided. Commissioner Platt has indicated that based on the information received to date, and in the absence of any objections, the application to vary the VCEMEA will be granted.
And, once again we want to inform you that any DOBCEL employee covered by the VCEMEA has the opportunity to raise an objection about the Application to vary this provision, via a written submission to Commissioner Platt of the Fair Work Commission. Should you wish to raise an objection, you can write to Commissioner Platt’s Chambers outlining the basis for the objection, at Chambers.Platt.C@fwc.gov.au by 4.30 pm (AEST) Friday 4 March 2022.
Further information for employees in relation to the proposed variation:
- Memo to employees regarding the proposal for variation of the LSL provisions in the VCEMEA.
- Original Application to vary the LSL provisions filed 20 December 2021.
- Revised Application to vary the LSL provisions filed 4 February 2022.
- Statutory Declaration in support of Application by DOSCEL.
- Submission for the proposed variation from the IEUA 28 January 2022.
- Submission for the proposed variation from the 10 February 2022.
- The Commissioner’s Statement (dated 16 February 2022).
New Ministerial Order- Child Safe Standards.
On February 10 the Ministerial Order 1359 - Implementing the Child Safe Standards- Managing the Risk of Child Abuse in Schools and School Boarding Premises was published. The Department of Education and Training (DET) has stated that this will soon become available on their PROTECT website. DET has also advised that we can expect new guidance, policies, and other resources to become available for school in late March. Catholic Education Ballarat (CEB), alongside the other three Catholic dioceses, will be consulted on the draft resources. However, DET is allowing for a very short window for consultation.
CEB has a strong commitment to update, replace or create documents that are contextually relevant for DOBCEL schools and locations. Prior to DOBCEL Board for policy ratification on the development of DOBCEL Policies, Procedures and resources aligned to the DET documentation the Manager of Safeguarding and Standards, will, where possible, communicate with key stakeholders including:
- The Diocesan Child Safety Network,
- Principals,
- Various CEB teams including Leadership,
- Wellbeing & Safeguarding, and Family Engagement Standing Committees, and
- Safeguarding Reference Group.
Given the restricted time available pending the release of DET documentation and the ministerial compliance date of 1 July 2022 opportunities for feedback and consultation will be limited.
Important updates will continue to be provided promptly.
Thank you all in advance for your patience and flexibility.
Mercy Regional College Open Day
Mercy Regional College, Camperdown, is inviting prospective families to its Open Day on Wednesday, 23 March 2022. The visitors will have an opportunity to discover life at the College in action, engage with students and staff, meet the leadership team, and tour the College grounds.
Click on the poster for details!
Registration is essential and can be completed on the MRC website at www.mercy.vic.edu.au/join-our-college/open-day-2022/
Catholic Education Update
Learning and Teaching.
Google Professional Learning for Chromebook users.
Google has offered to fund our Diocese for some training for school staff, based on our Chromebook purchases. This training will be facilitated by certified representatives from Google and Using Technology Better.
As each school has responsibility for purchasing their own Chromebooks, we need to know how many Chromebooks are purchased across the Diocese, and therefore what funding would be forthcoming.
In order to gain this information, we ask that one representative from each Primary and Secondary school please take less than one minute to fill in this simple, 3 question, multiple choice form by this Friday, February 25th.
The data will then be collated and the Professional Learning sessions listed below will be confirmed. Registrations will be via Eventbrite once confirmation has been received.
Please contact Kev Cummins for further information.
Catholic Identity & Mission.
After last year’s success, ECSI 101 will again be offered in 2022.
This year there are two course options:
Guided, which includes 12x Wednesday afternoon Zoom sessions
Self-directed, which involves 12 introductory, self-paced, fully online modules.
Please click on the links above for more information and to register yourselves.
Learning Diversity.
Please see below for the latest Learning Diversity Update publication for Term 1, 2022.
Progressive Achievement Testing (PAT) News.
We are in the process of renewing our system PAT Reading and PAT Maths licences for 2022. This year, we will be obtaining licences for the adaptive assessments and this gives us complimentary access to the linear tests.
There are two new PAT assessments this year - PAT Spelling Skills and PAT Critical Reasoning.
The PAT Critical Reasoning assessment is available now. More details here.
The PAT Spelling Skills assessment will be released on March 7. More details here.
There are free 30 day trials available for both assessments.
ACER are offering a variety of training options for the PAT suite of assessments, a number of which are free. The schedule is provided here.
Universal Design for Learning.
Universal Design for Learning - How might we ensure quality learning and teaching that promotes excellence and fosters authentic human development?
“Teachers using UDL offer their students what architects bestow on their buildings: coherence, utility, and access for all.”
CEB is seeking to engage schools in a conversation to explore existing understandings of the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). What learning opportunities have been accessed? How have the principles of UDL been applied in your school setting? How might the principles of UDL inform our responses to the issues of this time?
To commence this conversation you are invited to a webinar to be conducted at 4.00pm on Monday 21st March. Come and learn with and from your colleagues.
Interested participants are asked to please add your name to the linked document. We will seek to engage those interested to help shape our agenda.
UDL March 21 Webinar Participants
ILSY Learning Area Leader Professional Learning Program (ILSY LAL PLP).
ILSY PLP 2022 will build on the 2021 Literacy Leaders program by enabling a deep understanding of the literacy needs of learners in Mathematics, Humanities and Science. Participants will also learn discipline specific literate practices and pedagogies and action learning in their own school context. The 2022 ILSY PLP is suited for Learning Area Leaders and Year 7 and 8 teachers from Humanities, Science and Mathematics. It is recommended that schools send multiple participants and each school can have up to 6 representatives.
The workshops will be facilitated by Associate Professor Larissa McLean Davies and Dr Pauline Thompson from the University of Melbourne. The Day 1 workshop will be held at the Red Lion in Ballarat on Thursday 17 March and coaching will commence in Term 2. Further dates and information can be found here. ILSY LAL PLP registrations are still open and close on 11 March.
It is not too late to register for these events (thank you to those already registered). If you require further information about ILSY, please contact Julia Petrov, Learning and Teaching Education Officer (Secondary) on jpetrov@dobcel.catholic.edu.au or 0432 499 683.
Professional Learning Webinar Opportunities.
ALEA - What do people mean when they talk about the Science of Reading?
Business Services Update
nbn: Supporting Australia’s Students during NAPLAN testing.
nbn will again support the successful holding of nationwide National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests by placing an embargo on network upgrades during the testing period.
The Online NAPLAN tests are fundamental to understanding students’ capabilities and planning how Australia’s education system develops – nbn’s role is to lift the digital capability of Australia’s education system by providing reliable and efficient digital connectivity to enable the completion of these tests.
This year marks the first time all schools will be completing the NAPLAN tests online – so nbn understands the importance of network connectivity to the successful operation of the tests.
nbn has been in close liaison with the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) which coordinates the Online NAPLAN assessments.
nbn has agreed to place an embargo on any planned network disruptions and upgrades as follows:
- The Coordinated Practice Test Window that tests the functionality and load of the system - 8am-6pm local time 24 March 2022.
- The NAPLAN Test Delivery Window where students complete the actual tests - 8am-6pm local time 10 May to 20 May 2022.
During these times, planned outages will be rescheduled as much as possible, or will occur during the evening.
The embargo applies to all technologies across the entire nbn network nationally.
For general enquiries, contact Kate Griffiths, Director NAPLAN Online Project Management Office ACARA via National PMO NationalPMO@acara.edu.au or 0402 090 023, including to notify of any incidents or issues during the above-mentioned dates.
Outgoing Deliveries to Schools and Offices
Every now and then our CEB office has the odd item to go out to a regional office or the schools.
We have now set up four lockers within the Ballarat office where items will be left for collection and checked by any staff before heading out on the road around the Diocese.
Career Opportunities in the Diocesan Education Community
Catholic Education Ballarat Vacancies
- Education Consultants – Central Zone – full-time, fixed-term position (closes 25 February)
- Education Consultant – Mid-North Zone – full-time, fixed-term position (closes 25 February)
- Executive Assistant to the Executive Director – Ballarat Office – full-time, ongoing position (closes 25 February)
- Education Officer (Learning Diversity) – Horsham Office –fixed term position at 1.0 FTE (closes 14 March)
School Vacancies
- Finance Officer – St Patrick’s School, St Arnaud – fixed-term position at 0.6 FTE (closes 25 February)
- Classroom Teacher (The Arts) – St Augustine’s School, Maryborough – fixed-term at 0.8 FTE (closes 25 February)
- Gardener – Loreto College, Ballarat – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 28 February)
- Sessional Music Teacher – Piano – Loreto College, Ballarat - sessional teaching (closes 28 February)
- Science/Mathematics Teacher – Loreto College, Ballarat - fixed-term position at 1.0 FTE (closes 28 February)
- Teacher (Arts Specialist) – St Patrick’s College, Ballarat – fixed-term position at 1.0 FTE (closes 28 February)
- Head of Music – St Patrick’s College, Ballarat – ongoing position at 1.0 FTE (closes 28 February)
- Casual Relieving Teachers – St Patrick’s College, Ballarat (closes 28 February)
- Learning Support Officer – St Columba’s School, Ballarat North – fixed-term position at 0.7 FTE (closes 28 February)
- Mathematics Teacher – St Mary MacKillop College, Swan Hill – fixed-term position at 0.75 FTE (closes 2 March)
- School Officer – Reception/Administration – St Columba’s School, Ballarat North – fixed-term position at 0.19 FTE (closes 7 March)
- Instrumental Music Teacher(s) – Monivae College, Hamilton - ongoing position and part-time (closes 7 March)
- Year 5/6 Classroom Teacher – All Saints Parish School, Portland – full-time for Terms 2, 3 and 4 (closes 11 March)
- Classroom Teacher – St Mary’s School, Swan Hill – fixed-term, part-time position (closes 11 March)
- Classroom Teacher – St Mary’s School, Swan Hill – fixed-term, full-time position (closes 11 March)
- Classroom Teacher – St Mary’s School, Donald – fixed-term position at 0.6 FTE (closes 8 April)
- Casual Relief Teachers – St Alipius’ Parish School, Ballarat East (closes 30 June)
- Casual Relief Teachers – St Francis Xavier, Ballarat East (closes 9 December)