Farewell to NSWPPA President Roger Pryor

On behalf of the NSWPPA we wish Roger well as he begins a new phase of his Leadership journey and his commitment to NSW Public Education. We all serve Public Education in a myriad of ways and as President; Roger made a difference to Principals and children in our Public Schools. Prior to his decision to resign, Roger had worked closely with the Teaching Principals’ Reference Group and Chairperson Angie Evans to achieve the betterment for our smallest schools, announced at State Council by Minister Carmel Tebutt. It will now be possible for two adults to be on site at all times, during school hours.

 This will be a legacy that will have a positive effect on the principalship of small schools for many years to come. Thank you Roger for all you tried to achieve, good luck in your new endeavour and all our good wishes go with you.

Meetings

A variety of meetings have recently been attended by members of the NSWPPA Executive

June 22^nd

Executive met with Maree O’Halloran, President NSWTF – Major Discussion Points

1. Issues re Employee Performance And Conduct – this will form part of our next joint meeting and will be discussed when we next meet with the Minister
2. Executive Release – Maree stated that this was still  “on the agenda” and had been discussed at each of the  recent Federation meetings with the Minister
3. A-E and Reporting to Parents

June 22^nd

Executive met with Executive members of the Federation of P&Cs– Major Discussion Points:

1.      A-E Reporting to Parents – expressed that they were in favour of the present direction because it was not a norm- referenced ranking but a performance against an outcome reporting process. They also felt that there needs to be an emphasis placed on explaining to parents this very vital difference as there is a misconception in society around what A-E  means.

2.      Early Childhood – They hold the position that every child should have access to Prior to School learning and will work with the NSWPPA to further unpack this vital area for Public Education.

3.      Canteens – will work closely with the NSWPPA in developing guidelines for the operation of School Canteens

June 23

Executive met with Deputy Director General Trevor Fletcher

^{1.      Presented the NSWPPA Position Paper re Reporting to Parents – in relation to the software  there will be a meeting on the 20th July to look at all aspects of this and the NSWPPA will be represented}

^{2.      Members of the NSWPPA Executive will attend a meeting with Regional Directors on August 28th to discuss the need for appropriate time to be allocated for NSWPPA meetings within the framework of Regional meetings where necessary, and to discuss a more time-effective model for the delivery of mandatory training.}

^{3.      Betterment to Small Schools – these funds will be allocated on an individual school basis in full consultation with the Principal.}

^{4.      Annual School Report – on-going discussion will take place with the NSWPPA  to ensure that the present situation will be improved upon.}

NSWPPA Reference Groups continue to be the “engine room” of the Association with Principal colleagues working tirelessly on behalf of our membership, meeting regularly with senior DET representatives to raise issues forwarded by your Area Councils, providing strategic and pragmatic advice to the DET and creating NSWPPA position statements that will be used in discussions with all key Education stakeholder groups.

These are the current Hot Topics being discussed. For more detail contact your Area Delegate or view Reference and Standing Committee Chairperson Reports on your Website. We will include this section on a regular basis to keep you up to date and draw your attention to currency of discussion.

Aboriginal Education

      DET 3 year plan for Aboriginal Education

      Schools in Partnership

      AGQTP Quality Teaching Indigenous Project

      Status of AEA positions

 

Administration and Finance

      Authority to Travel

      Photocopy loans from DET

      SCHOOLBUY

      SASS Training

 

Asset Management

      FM Web

      Certificate of Compliance for use of Halls

      Emergency cleaning at no cost to schools

      Incorrect Billing

 

Disability Programs

      Learning Assistance Program

      Review of Special Transport

      Interagency Guidelines

      Concerns around ED/BD classes

 

Human Resource Management

      Discussion paper re Principals selecting their own staff

      Principal classification

      New Guidelines re Conduct

 

Student Welfare

      School Counsellor Allocations

      RSSP funds

      Regional data

 

 

A Few Gentle Reminders

 

      EOI Early Childhood Working Party

      EOI Conference Committee

      NSWPPA Award Nominations close on July 21^st . These relate to Life Membership, Fellowships, Professional Awards, Aboriginal Education Award, Social Justice and Equity Award etc. Please ensure that deserving colleagues are nominated by the deadline. The process is complex and needs to be finalised prior to our State Conference in early Term 4.

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

 TELEPHONE SURVEY

      Early in Term 3 the DET will be surveying all primary schools to determine the telephone carriers and contracts that are currently in place in schools. DET is investigating the possibility of gaining significant savings in telephone charges across the State for all schools. It is most important that all schools respond to this survey so the Finance and Administration Directorate can have solid facts about telephony contracts and current charges. These facts will be used to negotiate a state-wide corporate charge for telephony that all schools will have access to. Schools will not have to change their current contractors to take advantage of these anticipated reduced charges

      FEDERAL GRANTS

We have been advised that if schools have received Federal Grants they should contact the School and Regional Financial Operations Unit on 9244 5586 before signing any contracts. The S&RFO Unit will provide advice as to whether the contract has been approved by Legal Branch.

Peter Rowsell Chairperson NSWPPA Admin and Finance

During a Teleconference on 27^th June with Rob Randall regarding Reporting to Parents, Rob mentioned that the manual re using the software is now available on the DET Intranet hotlink

For Principals who are yet to attend the training sessions this is a vital resource.

A huge thank you to the Principals who spent last Saturday and Sunday promoting the value of Public Education to the community at the Education Expo at Rosehill.

Bon Voyage to our Principal representatives who are attending the NZ Conference and the APPA Conference in Alice Springs, I am sure they will, as always, promote by both word and deed the great educational provision that Public Primary Schools provide in NSW.

Finally may we, the Executive of the NSWPPA, thank you for all that you do each day for your communities and hope that you find time during the coming school vacation to spend time to re-charge your batteries by doing things that are important for you on a personal basis.