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A Regular update from the
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No 11, 2005. Published 19th September, 2005 |
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Dear Colleagues We are nearly at the end of what has been a very busy term at all levels. It has been very rewarding to be able to attend many of your meetings and conferences throughout the state and to be constantly reminded of the great job that Principals do. The PPA Executive has also been busy with a number of issues running throughout the term and representations at local, State and National level. A fairly lengthy report follows, and I hope that it gives a picture of where things are up to in a range of areas. My thanks go to members of the PPA Executive who have continued to represent Principals strongly at all levels. To all Principals and staff in schools, it is hoped that you have a great vacation in readiness for the last Term for 2005. I look forward to seeing many of you at State Conference. Roger Pryor Reporting to Parents All Principals will have received the email update sent on 1st September which outlined what has been happening so far in the Reporting to Parents arena. It is important to understand that the current situation comes at the end of over a year of consultations and discussions which, fairly recently, have been overtaken by the push from the Federal Government to drive their own agenda on schools throughout Australia and to marginalise the concerns of the profession. Our State Council met on 8th and 9th of September and Delegates from all of our local Area Councils across NSW had further discussions and moved a number of Resolutions. The major resolution rejected aspects of the Reporting format announced by Premier Iemma, especially the ranking of children in Quartiles. This is the position which we have continued to push at a number of levels and especially as a member of the Public Education Alliance (PEA), which includes the Federation of P&C’s, the NSW Teachers’ Federation, and other Principals’ groups. The PEA will be meeting with the Minister soon to advance this position. PPA members are encouraged to make their local Federal members aware of the impact that these attempts to impose Federal policy on States are having on our schools and communities. Investing in Our Schools Following a period of negotiation around the provision of resources to support Principal involvement in the assessment process for applications, a deal has been struck which sees Retired Principals working to complete the assessment process for applications received. It is anticipated that announcements will be made in October in relation to the funding of projects. We are very grateful to John McMillan and the newly constituted Association of Retired Primary Principals (ARPP) for undertaking this work. Annual School Reports NSW PPA State Council decided that, to be in the best position possible to judge impact of the new format for ASR’s, contact would be made with schools who participate in the trials and a monitoring process be undertaken to evaluate concerns or other aspects. Sustaining Our Schools (SOS) State Council was provided with a report in relation to this project which is being jointly undertaken by the Secondary Principals’ Council (SPC) and the PPA. This project looks at the future of public schooling within NSW and the strategies we may need to adopt to ensure the viability of our schools. As a major information gathering exercise, a survey is currently running online. Before completing the on-line survey, members are asked to look at the Public Education Council's final report "Building on Strong Foundations" and note particularly the points raised in Chapters 6 and 7 on the future of Early Childhood Education and Primary Education. Save the entire document to your computer by following this link http://www.nswppa.org.au/pecreport.pdf or https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/reports_stats/pec/report.pdf (PC users are advised to Right Click and choose Save Target As. Mac users, try Option-Click) The "Sustaining Our Schools" survey has been prepared for the NSWPPA using the services of "Zoomerang.com". The easiest way to access the survey is to either click on the link below or, if that doesn't work, cut and paste the link directly into your web browser. Most people complete the survey in 15-20 minutes. When you receive the on-line survey, please read through the whole survey first (you may wish to print a hard copy of the survey to read off-line). Follow the instructions on the screen and when you're satisfied with your responses, don't forget to click on the button that submits them to the Zoomerang server, but click ONCE ONLY. NB. Once you have clicked "submit" you cannot return to the survey. The survey will be on-line for another couple of weeks. Here's the survey link: http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB224LZZ7EHCY It is vital that we get as many responses as possible to this survey. Future of IM and other special classes Following the announcement a few weeks ago of potential changes to the number and distribution of some Support Classes within our schools, the PPA State Council was provided with further information in relation to this. The major points are summarised below:
Asset Management – Some key points from our Asset Management Reference Group 1. Some confusion may exist among principals about the “line of command” under the current regional organisation. Principals are advised to raise issues with their Asset Management Unit(AMU) Project Officer in the first instance, then the AMU Manager, then their own SED. AMU’s are resourced to support principals but need to be informed of site specific issues. The Asset Management Reference Group is strongly advising early contact with the Asset Management Unit Manager to resolve any ongoing issues. 2. Assets Management Unit (AMU) Project Officers now have a smaller number of schools so that they can provide strengthened support to Principals. This may include advice about building and ground works projects in the Investing in Our Schools program. 3. The DET Asset Management Directorate Web Site https://detwww.nsw.edu.au/assetmanagement/ is a useful source for information. Principals are advised to download information regarding the new maintenance contracts and other Asset Management programs from this site. Additional support documents for the new asset maintenance contracts will be available on this site in the near future. 4. Principals are advised to make sure they discuss their school’s condition assessment with their AMU Project Officer. When determining school priorities, items covered by regular preventative maintenance tasks should not be included in the list of prioritised maintenance works. 5. A program of Preventative Maintenance Tasks will be provided to schools by their maintenance contractor. If there is a need for an urgent repair to an item covered under these provisions prior to the initial inspection, principals are advised to contact their AMU project officer. Repairs to essential items may be funded by the AMU. Asset Maintenance Hotline Ph: 9561 1121. Area Council Elections Local Area Councils of the NSW PPA are reminded that our constitution calls for elections for all positions on local Area Councils to be held in Term 4 each year. In the last year, this was difficult in some areas due to DET structural changes. To enable us to be in the best organisational position possible for 2006, however, local Councils are asked to follow the guidelines outlined and complete the election processes in Term 4. PPA State Conference The 2005 State Conference is shaping up to be another excellent event, with over 500 registrations. As well as speaker sessions, conference attendees are reminded that they are expected to attend the Annual General Meeting and business sessions at conference, as important reports and discussions will be heard. All PPA members have speaking rights at these sessions, while two delegates from each local Area Council have voting rights. 2005 National Awards for Quality Schooling The National Institute for Quality Teaching and School Leadership invites nominations for the 2005 National Awards for Quality Schooling Applications close on Friday 21 October 2005 The awards recognise and reward outstanding achievements by teachers, principals, support staff and schools. A total of 88 awards will be given in the following categories from a prize pool of over $1 million: Excellence by a Teacher, Principal, School Support Staff or Excellence in School Improvement (for teams of teachers, individual schools and clusters of schools) In 2005, prizes to individual teachers, principals and support staff will be accompanied by funding to their school to foster professional collaboration and development. Take the opportunity to nominate someone in your school – or your whole school – for making an exceptional contribution to outcomes for students. The awards are open to government and non-government schools and staff at pre-primary, primary and secondary levels. Information about the award categories, prize money, how to apply, and selection criteria is available at www.niqtsl.edu.au (no registration or password required) For more information please contact the Awards Coordinator on Freecall 1800 131 323
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