The latest education news for the principal and parent leaders

President's message - November
ACSSO's 2017 Round Table presentations
Passion-led learning index underway
Myschool website updates
Ideas for family summer fun
Choirfest 2019 applications open
New Smartphone Safety infographic for parents
Upcoming conferences

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Read our President's message

Our children deserve a fair go wherever they live, whatever their circumstances and whatever their opportunities in life may be. Public education is the first voice for our nation, its families and the first choice for our children’s future.

President's message

Seventy years of testing times

I don’t know what the last few weeks has been like for your family but for us it’s been exam time. As a father I look on at the process and build up to those crucial few hours, and reflect on my own experience as a fresh-faced youngster facing the same end of year challenge – although too many years ago now to mention. What our experience has highlighted, in the modern day, is the true professionalism and genuine interest from our teachers and principals to give every student the confidence and sense of assured preparation to be the best they can. If we are looking at public education to be a reflection of the communities in which they are based then I think we’re doing all right.

With this comes the willingness to work in partnership with parents and the wider school community to instil the sense of hope for the future and to reflect the place of community, and cultural expectations that frame so many of public education’s strengths. It’s this sense of inclusive openness and acceptance for all that is so important. Like all cultures that embrace public education it is deeply embedded and the result of a long continuum of passionate advocacy by those that have come before. In ACCSO’s case its 70 years of principled representation – a point that was emphasised by the Hon. Susan Ryan at the dinner held a couple of weeks ago to celebrate our 70th anniversary. The voice of parents in public education has never been stronger with Susan sharing the experiences of past champions that has put us all in the forefront of education; one that can never see parents relegated to bit parts in our children’s future. What is even more gratifying is the recognition from all sides of politics and government of the need for open dialogue and policy input from parents into shaping the future of education.

The times are constantly a' changing

There’s an old adage that there’s nothing as constant as change and in the feisty arena of education policy this could almost be said to be a defining tenet. With so many changes afoot, and with the goal of ensuring an open and informed dialogue from all sides, ACSSO recently held a Member’s education policy Roundtable, over two days, to discuss and reflect on what has occurred over the last twelve months.

Another key factor in this is keeping an eye to the future with a series of state and territory elections either in progress, or in the offing – and the implications for a future federal poll. All state and territory peak parent bodies were invited to attend this bespoke gathering together with our Board, Member’s representatives and their additional delegates. This was set in a format that allowed for free and frank conversations with a variety of key national education policy actors, shapers and stakeholders. The feedback so far suggest that all sides emerged with a deeper understanding of policy, its influencing factors and the parent perspective, and context. Please take the time to engage with your state or territory parent bodies representatives that attended the Roundtable and I’m sure they will be delighted to share their thoughts and reflection on the topics under discussion.

As advocates for public education we all have a responsibility, from our local school body to the highest office, to engage in informed debate, and to maintain an objective understanding of the policy issues that will impact on our children’s learning and experience of education. The Roundtable’s intent, in the face of many differing voices, was to bring calm rational objectivity to our mutual understanding of critical issues – I know my ongoing reflection and feedback from the discussions will provide a valuable backdrop to my role.

Roles and responsibility

It’s ACSSO’s responsibility to advocate for open and equitable education opportunities for public education by engaging with all sides of politics without fear or favour. For parent champions of public education at all levels our legacy is in fair, simple and transparent education policy and the legislation that enacts it. Unlike most representative groups in education, public education is represented largely by volunteers. Their commitment cannot be questioned as they give their time and expertise freely to those that come to rely on this input in their professional responsibilities.

With the rapidly approaching Education Council meeting in Hobart we call on its members to reflect on the authenticity of the parent voice in public education and how it may be better supported. The provenance and value of public education advocacy has to be fully acknowledged in a world where its detractors have gained a twenty-year advantage, with their highly resourced representative bodies filled with well-paid professional lobbyists. Our children deserve a fair go wherever they live, whatever their circumstances and whatever their opportunities in life may be. Public education is the first voice for our nation, its families and the first choice for our children’s future.

Phillip Spratt

November 2017

ACSSO 2017 Roundtable

ACSSO held its Annual Roundtable on 11-12 November 2017, coinciding with 70th anniversary celebrations for the organisations.

The days were filled with inspirational invited industry leaders who were both thought provoking and encouraged us all to action. Their presentation slides are also now available on the Conferences page here.

Speakers included Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham, The Mitchell Institute leader Dr Charlene Smith, Dr Pete Goss from The Grattan Institute, and Dr Phil Lambert PSM.

Passion-led Learning and the Australian Learning Lecture (ALL)

The Passion-Led Learning Index is now underway

The Passion-led Learning Index and Toolkit is central to ALL’s view that schools need to know each student’s interest and develop their deep learning from this. Their goal is to turn around the high levels of student disengagement and under-performance recorded in Australia.

The first Victorian secondary schools to take part in the in-school trial of the ALL Passion-led Learning Index and Toolkit have been chosen. They are:

Portland Secondary College
Eltham High School
Bentleigh Secondary College
Western Port Secondary College
Kingswood College
Mount Alexander College.

Distinguished passion reference panel

Eight of Australia’s leading education experts have been recruited by ALL to advise on the Passion-Led Learning Index and Teacher toolkit.

The ALL Reference Panel is made up of: Associate Professor Sandra Milligan, University of Melbourne; Rob Randall, CEO, ACARA; Christine Cawsey, Principal, Rooty Hill High School NSW; Viv White, Co-founder and Managing Director, Big Picture Australia; Jennie Vine, Assistant Principal/Head of Senior School, Wooranna Park Primary School; Lauren Sayer, Director of Learning Technologies - Senior School, Haileybury; Matt Deeble, Social Ventures Australia; and Josh Machin, Manager, Policy at the Business Council of Australia.

MySchool Website Update (x2)

2017 Attendance Data

The My School website has been updated with school student attendance rates for Term 1 and 2 of 2017.

Attendance data is reported for all students, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, with the exception of schools where students number less than or equal to five.

A further update will be undertaken to report the student attendance rate for Term 3 on 13 December 2017.

Attendance data reporting is a COAG (Council of Australian Government) initiative to help improve learning outcomes for all students by monitoring attendance. Also updated is 2016 data for: Senior.

Secondary Outcomes and VET in schools

ACARA has also updated its 2016 Data for Senior Secondary Outcomes and VET in Schools. Information is now available on the website.

**Help parents have fun with children this summer!**

Learning Potential has some great ideas about games, toys, books, puzzles and challenges which can be useful to keep family fun happening during the holiday season.

This is a great link to share with families via the school’s social media or newsletters

Call for Choirs - Choralfest 2019

Preparations of Choralfest2019 are underway and will be held in Fremantle WA, from 13 – 16 April 2019.

The Call for Choirs are now open! A pply here

The Choralfest® 2019 committee invites choirs to apply to perform in various venues around Fremantle Western Australia.

Performance opportunities will include Choralfest® daily lunchtime concerts, pop up concerts and evening concerts as well as a range of performance opportunities around Fremantle and possibly in Perth and regional areas.

Choirs may include any type of choral ensemble performing at a high level in any style. Opportunities are being developed for choirs to work with guest conductors in workshops/honour choirs (fees may apply).

Smartphone infographic for parent newsletters

UK based mobile phone company Tiger Mobile has updated its Smartphone Safety Infographic to share with Australian schools and parent groups. The infographic comes with an article that may be useful for your newsletters.

Extract

From cyber bullying to inappropriate web content, being able to contact strangers, being able to rack up hefty cell phone bills, all these things come to mind when we start thinking about the dangers of impressionable kids using a mobile. And truth be told, those dangers do exist. There’s no avoiding the fact that you do run a risk by giving your child a mobile.
And add to that the fact that you might not be savvy enough to protect them, and the situation gets even more worrying. Most parents can remember the days before smart phones, and as much as we’d like to think that we’re on top of the tech things in life, our kids just might be better. Today’s generation grew up with the internet, smart phones, apps, and to them all these things are simply second nature.
As a parent, protecting your child is of utmost importance. But the technological world changes quickly, not to mention how fast the trends and fads of an adolescent’s world transform. There are plenty of general safety statements around that aim to help you protect your child and his phone, but these just aren’t enough. Checking your kid’s Facebook chat messages might seem like a great thing to do, until you realise that more and more kids aren’t using Facebook chat anymore. It’s just not cool. So which app are you supposed to be checking?

Conferences

NSW P&C Federation 2018 Conference - Share Learn Network:

The P&C Federation Conference is being held on the 2 & 3 March 2018, for all New South Wales members regardless of their location (metro, regional or rural areas). For more information, go to P&C Federation 2018 Conference

Contact us to list your conference, mail@acsso.org.au

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