ACT EDUCATOR TERM 3
CHANGE THE RULES Why the national union campaign matters to education
PUBLIC EDUCATION AWARDS Meet this year's winners
2018
SAVING TAFE What will it take to restore the embattled TAFE sector?
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ACT EDUCATOR MAGAZINE
INSIDE ACT EDUCATOR MAGAZINE | TERM 3 | 2018
ON THE COVER Shane Gorman, ACT school principal and winner of our 2018 Public Education Award.
OUR STORIES A CLOSER LOOK AT OUR LOG OF CLAIMS 10
PLAUDITS FOR OUR MEMBERS
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As we gear up for bargaining the school Three of our amazing members have recently recieved national recognition teachers agreement, we take a closer look at some of our claims and why they for their work. matter so much. KEN GREENWAY 1934-2018 SAVING TAFE: WHAT WILL IT TAKE?
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Nationally, TAFE needs massive reinvestment if it is to recover from the systematic disinvestment by multiple governments over the last decade.
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Keith Lawler pays tribute to the late AEU ACT Organiser. INDUSTRIAL RETREAT 2018
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Our annual industrial retreat took place CHANGE THE RULES STORY 16 at the end of term one at the beautiful Fitzroy Falls. Why does the national union campaign matter to educators? PUBLIC EDUCATION AWARDS
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Our 2018 Public Education Award winners have made amazing contributions to public education. Find out why their colleagues nominated them.
THE REGULARS PRESIDENT’S REPORT 5 SECRETARY’S REPORT 6 UPCOMING EVENTS 8
THE VITAL WORK OF TEACHER LIBRARIANS 26 DISCLAIMER: The assertions and opinions expressed in articles reflect the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the AEU. We do, however, think that these issues are worthy of discussion in our union.
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In our digital world, the role of qualified teacher librarians is more important than ever.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED 42
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SAVING TAFE: WHAT WILL IT TAKE? 13
WHY CHANGE THE RULES?
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PUBLIC EDUCATION AWARDS
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2018 INDUSTRIAL RETREAT
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT
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hat a fabulous night we had celebrating public education at our annual dinner in May. It was wonderful to see so many of you there. With the move to a bigger venue, we were able to have more members attend this year’s
dinner than any before it – and still there was a waiting list for tickets! To have such a huge response to events like this really drives home to me what a positive place our union is in. Every month, our membership is growing. This is in no small part due to the fantastic work of the organising team in the union office, but it’s also down to us, everyday AEU members, having conversations with our colleagues about the value and importance of being a member of their union. And it’s not just our numbers that are growing; more and more, I’m seeing the involvement of members increase as well. Our New Educator Conference earlier this year was the biggest and best we’ve ever held. Our industrial retreat at Fitzroy Falls at the end of term one was full of new faces, excited to learn more about building the solidarity and strength of our union. They took these skills back to their workplaces to empower their sub-branches, and to keep building us up. We're seeing schools where whole sub-branches are showing their union pride by wearing AEU t-shirts to work every Friday. Our New Educator Network and School Assistant Network grow larger with every meeting they hold. Branch Council meetings are as robust and well-attended as I've ever seen them. At times, we encounter the misconception that 'the union' is a few people in an office in Barton. But this trend proves to me that our members understand the truth of it: we are the union. I am; you are. We are only ever as strong as our membership is collectively. That's why what I’m seeing is so encouraging. As we know, our strength is never more important than at times like this while we're bargaining new enterprise agreements, but that's just one reason it matters. Across Australia, working people are realising that 'union' is not the dirty word some would like us to think it is. The Australian Unions Change the Rules campaign is helping people realise that we must stand together to make change. In April, Australian Council of Trade Unions Secretary Sally McManus tweeted that a record number of people had contacted the ACTU wanting to join their union. The AEU is a strong part of this movement, and we should be proud of that. But the fight is never over, and we must continue to have those conversations with our colleagues to encourage them to stand with us.
Angela Burroughs AEU ACT President
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SECRETARY’S REPORT
ACT EDUCATOR MAGAZINE
Within the community, there is a great deal of respect for what teachers do. People who try to pick on teachers are roundly and rightly criticised. Liberal backbencher Andrew Laming learned this a few months ago when he suggested publicly that teachers need to work longer hours and take fewer holidays. The response was swift; social media was flooded with comments from those who understand the demands placed on educators by their jobs. It wasn't just teachers leaping to their own defence, but members of the community and other politicians as well. The days of people believing that our profession works short hours and for only part of the year are well and truly gone, with public support for teacher and principal workload issues very high. School autonomy was once in vogue. It now has very few proponents, and there is an overdue shift to a system focus and meeting the needs of all children in all schools. It has been pleasing to see parent groups mobilised behind the concept of a great school for every child.
There is a sense at the moment that the days of educators having things done to them are on the wane, and educators are now demanding with more effect that things be done with them. We see this demonstrated at the national level in the conversation around needs-based funding, which has now become an orthodoxy after many years of choice and competition being the mantra - it's just a question of whether governments will step up to live out the promise and be true to the notion of needs-based funding. There has been a very quick turnaround in political and public opinion on the concept of national testing, with support dwindling for NAPLAN and particularly the reporting of the data. The position that teachers have been putting forward for the better part of a decade is finally accepted by the majority of professional groups, principal groups, parent and community groups, academics, state and territory politicians, and many federal parliamentarians. The momentum is growing quickly, and it seems unlikely that NAPLAN and My School have more than two or three years left to run. In the ACT, the public's response to the Future of Education process has led to a very sophisticated vision of what education should mean and reflects the views the profession has been espousing for many years. AEU ACT BRANCH
We will know we have really achieved our goals when we see new testing procedures that have the support of the profession – procedures that do not pit school against school or educator against educator, and where the data is used responsibly for the betterment of children, and not for the sick pleasure of political opportunists and edu-businesses. We will know that we have finally reached the goal of true needs-based funding when overfunded private schools cease to receive their many unfair advantages and the public schools with the greatest need are resourced in a way that reflects true need. It's only through our persistence as a collective group that these changes happen, and will keep happening. Sometimes, though, it's nice to take a moment to count our wins, even as we continue to fight for the next one.
Glenn Fowler AEU ACT Secretary
@GlennFowlerAEU
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ACT EDUCATOR MAGAZINE
2018 TERM 3 Upcoming Events RSVP at aeuact.org.au/events WEEK 1 BRANCH EXECUTIVE Wednesday 25 July 5.00pm - 8.30pm AEU Office, 40 Brisbane Ave, Barton
WEEK 4 NATIONAL SUPPORT STAFF WEEK Monday 13 - Friday 17 August BRANCH EXECUTIVE Wednesday 15 August 5.00pm - 8.30pm AEU Office, 40 Brisbane Ave, Barton SCHOOL ASSISTANT WORKSHOP Thursday 16 August AEU Office, 40 Brisbane Ave, Barton
WEEK 5 WEEK 2
BRANCH COUNCIL Saturday 25 August 9.00am - 12.00pm J Block Theatre, CIT
SUB-BRANCH LEADER TRAINING: FUNDAMENTALS Tuesday 31 July 9.00am - 4.00pm ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Centre
WEEK 8
SUB-BRANCH LEADER TRAINING: ADVANCED Wednesday 1 August 9.00am - 4.00pm ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Centre
WEEK 9
WEEK 3 NEW EDUCATOR NETWORK MEETING Wednesday 8 August 4.15pm - 6.00pm Kingston Hotel Function Room
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BRANCH EXECUTIVE Wednesday 12 September 5.00pm - 8.30pm AEU Office, 40 Brisbane Ave, Barton
WOMEN'S NETWORK FILM NIGHT Wednesday 19 September Keep an eye out for details! BRANCH COUNCIL Saturday 22 September 9.00am - 12.00pm J Block Theatre, CIT
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WHAT YOUR SUB-BRANCH CAN DO Organise a special event to celebrate and recognise the valuable work of our AEU school assistants Encourage and support school assistants to attend the AEU's workshop on 16 August Email photos and stories from your event to aeuact@aeuact.org.au and share on social media  with the hashtag #supportstaff2018
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ACT EDUCATOR MAGAZINE
OUR LOG OF CLAIMS: A CLOSER LOOK
LOOKING AFTER OUR PRINCIPALS
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et's free up school principals to do what they do best.
Talk to any school principal and they’ll tell you they love their job. Principals enjoy high levels of job satisfaction. Few professions get to improve and turn around the lives of young people. At the same time, our profession has extraordinary high levels of burnout. A strong sense of moral purpose does not protect principals from sleeping badly at night. National surveys of Australia’s principals – conducted annually since 2011 by a team led by Associate Professor Philip Riley of the Australian Catholic University – confirm rising and health-endangering stress. There are increased reports of bullying and violence, threatened and realised, by both students and parents. It points to an entire system under stress. Abnormal demands have been normalised across Australia. Principals have too much to do while there’s too little time to lead, teach and learn. One in ten don’t feel well supervised or supported. It’s little better in private schools. In fact, there are more similarities than differences across the government and nongovernment sectors. Riley believes the hours are so excessive, it won’t be long before there’s a national and coordinated legal challenge under WorkSafe.
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What’s creating the norm of a 60-plus hour working week for principals? In part, it’s community expectations; parents contacting principals all times of day and night (because they themselves work long hours and combine their work with the mobile phone). The main reason is compliance around managing and maintaining a physical site and increased administration. It includes everything from human resources to occupational health and safety, tree audits, leaking roofs and cracking concrete. It’s important stuff, but others are better suited to get those jobs done. Principals are appointed because they are expert educators, but they now spend only 25 per cent of their time on educational leadership – mentoring new teachers and creating an environment to optimise learning experiences – and 75 per cent on running a huge complex. One solution is employing a high-level business or operations manager – at the equivalent pay of a deputy principal so as to draw experienced people in construction, business and finance – or upskilling staff, who feel ill-equipped to meet growing demands. The Directorate has a role to play helping to recruit and train.
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However, that’s only one strategy. What’s needed above all is clarity about the core role of a principal. Principals tend to do far more than leaders in other industries who are never asked or expected to do as much as them. Member principals of public schools in the ACT are telling their union they should – and want – to be teacher experts, with their primary focus, time and energy on continual improvements in education.
The Directorate has to do things differently so as not to burden principals with unnecessary process and duplication. While principals as professionals try to learn to say no to things extraneous to their core role, policy makers must limit compliance measures and agendas so principals are not tied up with paperwork.
society's woes, including increasing mental health concerns among students. Schools are now expected to run far more programs than ever before and to deal with just about every aspect of a child’s life, and this must come at a cost. Resources, human and financial, are essential, and our principals expect their union to continue to campaign for these.
Principals are inundated by emails from the Directorate to tick boxes and this work is better placed with other personnel.
As one senior principal put it to us, “It’s good that schools feel connected, seen as a community and social hub. There's nothing wrong with that. It might build social capital. But who wears the brunt of that workload? The principal!"
In support of them, the union wants a clear set of guidelines identifying the tasks in which principals should have limited or no involvement, so they can shed the many tasks that others should be doing. Surely, the community and bureaucracy would agree? There should be extensive collaborative consultation between principals, their union and senior Directorate officers to both clarify and synthesise the role so that the prime focus of principals is educational leadership. The Education Directorate is listening, somewhat, providing more money to tackle mental illness and addressing sickness and absence. But the focus must be on primary prevention that would redesign the job itself. We must deal with the causes, rather than tinker with the problems by tackling only the symptoms. A number of health-related programs have been established to support principals, but they are bolted on, rather than integrated into what principals do.
If we keep principals as boxtickers, they will become risk-averse, and this will ultimately impede creative thinking. As alluded to, reform also requires the community to adjust its expectations. As families have become more complex and disadvantage more compound, principals are increasingly expected to solve
It underscores the point that principals must be freed from non-core work, and supported in their almost impossibly complex role, to make schools work even better.
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ACT EDUCATOR MAGAZINE
OUR LOG OF CLAIMS: A CLOSER LOOK
FACE-TO-FACE TEACHING HOURS
A
ustralian teachers in both primary and secondary sectors are
teaching longer hours than the OECD average.
The latest data tells us that primary, lower secondary and upper secondary teachers in Australia all work longer teaching hours than the OECD average. Divided by 40 weeks, the 871 hours a year performed on average by Australian primary teachers translates into 22.12 hours per week. While this may mean that the 21.5 contact hours ACT primary teachers teach each week is less than the national average, it is more than two hours longer than the average of 19.85 hours across comparable countries. We hear anecdotally from teachers who have regrettably chosen to go part-time and thereby reduce their income in order to cope with demands of their workload. Up to half of all Australian teachers are leaving the profession in the first five years. More time for planning, collaboration and mentoring would help reduce the pressure that pushes many of these teachers out of the profession, but there must be time for these activities during the school day. In 2014, we made a claim to reduce primary school face-toface teaching hours from 21.5 hours to 20 hours per week and secondary face-to-face teaching hours from 19 to 18 hours per week. The Government staunchly resisted this, arguing that workload reduction could
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be achieved in other ways. Members ultimately voted for an alternative way of reducing workload, redefining a teacher’s job, investing $6 million (or between 500 and 900 hours per school) in the capacity of schools to better manage non-teacher work and allow space for professional learning communities to be meaningful. This has generally had a positive impact but certainly hasn't solvedall workload issues. In the current round of bargaining for our new enterprise agreement, we are calling to reduce face-to-face teaching hours for primary school teachers from a maximum of 21 hours and 30 minutes per week to a maximum of 20 hours and 30 minutes per week. At the same time the number of specialist teachers (such as those teaching science, music, arts and PE/health) should be increased. We should not underestimate the scale of this challenge. We will need to bind ourselves to a powerful campaign and whatever action is necessary. Secondary teachers have been strong supporters of this claim, which does not directly benefit them. We need to commit to asking all non-members to join our union, whether they be teachers, school leaders or school assistants. We will need unprecedented unity and strength.
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SAVING TAFE: WHAT WILL IT TAKE? Leesa Wheelahan
A
lthough CIT remains the trusted provider of choice in the ACT,
nationally TAFE needs massive reinvestment if it is to recover from the systematic disinvestment by multiple governments over the last decade. What will it take to save TAFE?
Federal Labor has made two key promises if it wins the next election. The first is that it will reinvest in TAFE, and the second is that it will establish a national inquiry into post-secondary education in Australia. The inquiry will examine the role of TAFE and universities with the aim of developing a coherent tertiary education sector in which TAFE and universities are equally valued.
TAFE is reeling from 30 years of reforms to create a VET market and system in which it is forced to deliver low quality, fragmented competency-based qualifications in competition with for-profit providers. The scorched earth marketisation policies of the last 10 years in particular have resulted in a low trust, scandal plagued, fragmented system, and the decimation of TAFE.
This is just in time. TAFE is a shadow of its former self and it needs massive reinvestment if it is to recover from the systematic disinvestment by multiple governments over the last decade. We also need a national review that will re-establish public TAFEs as the centre of a strong public vocational education system, to overcome the damage that has been caused by casting TAFE as ‘a provider’, one among many, in a for-profit VET system.
The problem that the inquiry will need to confront is: how can Australia move from the wreckage of the past to a high trust system with trusted qualifications that individuals, employers, unions, governments and communities have reason to value? A high trust system needs to be based on trusted institutions, with TAFE as the anchor of that system, supported by enabling institutions, policies and frameworks.
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What might this look like? A first step would be to articulate a positive mission for TAFE and its role in our society and economy. The last major review of TAFE was in 1974, and then the Kangan Committee defined TAFE as doing what universities and schools didn’t do – that is, it defined TAFE residually. Instead, we need to articulate a positive mission for TAFE that is different from the other two sectors. TAFE is about far more than skills. Because TAFEs are deeply enmeshed in their local communities and regions, they will be a key institution contributing to renewal through sustainable and socially inclusive regional social and economic development. TAFEs don’t just respond to ‘demand’ for skills; they are key local institutions which have responsibility for working with local communities and industries to develop AEU ACT BRANCH
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solutions to problems and to creating opportunity. TAFE is an institution, it isn’t a provider. There is a big difference between the two. The notion of a provider implies one among many, and it doesn’t much matter if it is this or that provider which is providing the ‘service’. Providers come and go, and wax and wane in response to market demand. In this vision, the invisible hand of the market results in the provision of training for skills when and where as needed, with no need to invest in institutions, institutional capacity or teacher development. Governments only need invest in markets, not institutions. Competition is seen to be a self-evident good, with profit as the incentive. The problem is that in a for profit market the point is (as we have seen) to make profits, and monstrous
profits have been made by driving down quality and bringing the system to breaking point. In contrast, institutions are underpinned by social relations of trust in local communities. They are able to mediate between national and state governments and local communities by developing, in partnership with their communities, locally responsive and contextually appropriate solutions, while ensuring that the requirements of national policies are met. Anyone who has ever worked in a TAFE knows that this is what TAFE does, even if it has never been recognised in policy or funding. TAFE directors and senior managers are part of the local economic and social development committees; TAFE teachers and outreach staff (when we had them) work with disadvantaged communities to
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build supportive pathways into education and training. Learning support staff (again, when we had them) help those students who need additional support to develop the literacy and numeracy skills they need to function as citizens in our society. TAFE teachers work with local employers to improve their products or processes, and to develop effective workplace learning strategies. This is why damage to TAFE is also damage to local communities. The decimation of TAFE is the decimation of local community infrastructures. But TAFE can do much more than this – TAFEs can be a powerhouse for local socially inclusive and sustainable social and economic development. Rather than limit its work to responding to existing requirements for skills, TAFEs need to be funded to consider the knowledge and skills that will be needed for work in the future, and to develop, codify and institutionalise this knowledge. This is important scholarly activity that will support innovation, and it should explicitly be built into TAFE’s mission. For example, the teachers of electrical trades apprentices should be supported to consider how the latest insights from engineering will change the work of electrical trades apprentices five or ten years in the future. Or, teachers of aged care workers should be supported to consider, and develop appropriate curriculum, to ensure that the aged care workers of tomorrow understand the implications of the latest
research on dementia for working with elderly people with Alzheimer’s. If TAFE is to support its communities, then it needs to be funded to offer a sufficiently comprehensive range of programs that will enable students to realise their aspirations. A particularly pernicious consequence of existing policies is that students who go to TAFE can only get public funding for their studies for courses in areas in which employers claim there are skill shortages. In contrast, students who can afford to go to university can choose anything they want. Moreover, this is pointless policy because most VET graduates do not work in occupations directly associated with their qualification. TAFE should, within a national qualification assurance framework, be entrusted with developing local qualifications that meet the needs of students, communities, local industries and regions. Training packages are now 20 years old – it is time we recognised that they are bad qualifications based on bad models of curriculum that result in rigid, one size fits all qualifications for all Australia. We have had review after review that tinkers at the edges of training packages in vain efforts to fix their many deficiencies. We need a new model of qualifications, one that places the development of the student in the context of their broad intended occupation at the centre of curriculum and pedagogy. Achieving these goals for TAFE will require investing in TAFE
teachers and in TAFE teachers’ qualifications. Strong institutions require well prepared, qualified staff. As well as being industry experts, TAFE teachers need to be supported to become expert teachers. Being an expert teacher in TAFE means something different to being an expert teacher in schools or universities. Expert teachers in TAFE should be able to engage in the scholarship of teaching and learning so they can consider the transformations to work in their field and what that will mean in the future, implement a repertoire of responsive pedagogic strategies to work with the most disadvantaged students, and support sustainable social and economic development and innovation in their communities. TAFE is the anchor of its communities. It needs to be funded to support sustainable and socially inclusive social and economic development. It can work in partnership with schools and universities to achieve these goals, based on an understanding of its distinctive contributions and locally responsive and locally focused missions. Leesa Wheelahan was the Associate Professor at the LH Martin Institute for Tertiary Education Leadership and Management at the University of Melbourne. She is now the William G Davis Chair in Community College Leadership at the University of Toronto.Leesa has taught in tertiary education for approximately 22 years, which includes time as a TAFE teacher. This piece was first published in the Autumn 2018 edition of The Australian TAFE Teacher magazine.
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ACT EDUCATOR MAGAZINE
JOIN THE CAMPAIGN TO
Robby Magyar, AEU staff member and active unionist
W
hy should the national union campaign matter to
us as educators?
We’ve known for quite some time that unions are facing declining memberships, lacklustre public engagement and a seemingly never-ending onslaught of attacks from politicians, right-wing media and think tanks. But at the AEU it’s often difficult to empathise. Not a week goes by where our membership doesn’t rise, our sub-branches are more active than ever, and we’re taken seriously by pollies and the media alike. But there is never a time for complacency, nor can we ignore the broader struggle facing our colleagues in other unions and working people across the country.
RIGHT IMAGE: AEU ACT staff wave our flag at the Change the Rules May Day Rally earlier this year.
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That’s why the Australian Council of Trade Unions “Change the Rules” campaign is the breath of fresh air needed to
reinvigorate our movement, to take on the challenges facing working people across every industry, regardless of employment type, and unite all unions behind a set of universal ideals. ACTU Secretary Sally McManus has said the campaign aims to achieve more secure jobs, give working people the power they need to negotiate better pay and conditions, and challenge our workplace laws, which fail to balance corporate interests and the needs of working Australians. It’s broad, it’s ambitious and the time is right. Inequality is at an all-time high, wages are at record lows and four million workers are in insecure work. Recently, AEU ACT organiser Malisa Lengyel and Katie Slater, a north side Women’s Contact
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Officer, attended the Union Women Changing the Rules Conference in Melbourne to contemplate the importance of the campaign. Delegates, members and officials from a range of different unions gathered to discuss the impact the campaign can and should have on women at work, and our members got to discussing why the AEU should care. “The conference was an excellent opportunity to meet with like-minded unionists to discuss the importance of this campaign and how we can return to our respective sites with an informed and planned approach to the campaign and how to promote it amongst our membership," Malisa said. The Change the Rules campaign on the face of it may not impact educators directly, but an attack on one union is an attack on all unions. Inequality, occupational violence, the devaluing of professions dominated by women and privatisation are not isolated by industry.
“Gendered violence at work and at home, and insecure employment are two stand out connections of the campaign to the AEU," Malisa said. "We are looking forward to engaging our members on these issues.” And the Change the Rules campaign is calling on the government to improve funding and access to essential services, including education. The experiment of privatising vocational education and training is a prime example. Lack of government funding for public TAFE means educators are unable to provide the resources needed to generate the skills and experience for tomorrow’s workforce. It means educating gets harder, the quality of teaching is at risk and the role of educators becomes undervalued. This puts our TAFE educators at further risk of unstable employment and will result in skill shortages.
And it’s not just our TAFEs facing cuts. Public schools and universities are seeing educators struggle to provide the skills young people need to access secure work. The Change the Rules campaign is not just about the nature of work today, but the future of work for those you educate today. Fair Funding Now for public schools is important, but funding increases alone will not ensure the best for your students. And with each event held under the Change the Rules banner attendance increases, the atmosphere becomes more electric and the prospect of real change gets closer. With your involvement we can show that not only is the movement proud, but it’s growing. That’s why you should join the movement for change. Hope to see you at the next rally!
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ACT EDUCATOR MAGAZINE
SHANE GORMAN PUBLIC EDUCATION AWARD WINNER
O
ur Public Education Awards were presented at our
annual Public Education Celebratory dinner on 25 May. The Public Education Award is awarded each year to an AEU ACT Branch member who has worked to promote public education within schools or TAFE, the wider community and in their personal lives.
RIGHT IMAGE: Shane (centre) with Renae Burdack from Teachers Mutual Bank and ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry at our 2018 Public Education Celebratory Dinner.
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Shane Gorman has earned the respect of his colleagues both as a school leader and as a fellow AEU member. He was nominated for this award jointly by a classroom teacher and a school principal. From the calm, dignified, matter-of-fact way he participates in Council business, to his honesty and clarity whenever he is asked about issues from a principal's perspective, Shane never fails to add balance to a discussion. In everything he does, he never seems to lose sight of the greater fight for public education. Despite their dedication to our schools, our principals often find themselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes to ensuring teachers are able to get on with their jobs as educators. Shane is an example of a principal who manages this balancing act with integrity. He is always mindful of teacher workload. One of his strengths is providing the right balance of administrative support so that teachers can get on with their core business of teaching and learning. Shane has served on the AEU ACT Branch Executive for many years. His service has included giving his time outside sub-branch, Branch Council and Branch Executive meetings to rally and campaign for teachers’
rights, fair funding for our students and freedom for refugees. Shane has also championed principal wellbeing at a national level, highlighting the need to reduce principals' workloads. He knows that happier school principals will produce better-developed young Australians. Shane has a strong system focus and a passion for coaching and mentoring. He has become a mentor to many early career principals. He has influenced future leaders to view collaborating with the union in a positive way, as a strength that engages and motivates workers and ultimately improves the practice and wellbeing of schools. Colleagues comment on how school leaders he has mentored seem to be much more consultative, respectful of their teaching staff, fairminded and able to see issues from multiple perspectives. And they are strong union members and public education advocates, like Shane. Shane's dedication to public education has had a significant impact on those who have not even worked with him, and he has had a significant positive impact on the ACT system as a whole. He has given so much more than he was ever obliged to give.
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JOE CHAPMAN-FREEMAN RECONCILIATION AWARD WINNER
T
he AEU's Reconciliation Award is awarded each year to an AEU ACT Branch
member who has worked to
Joseph (Joe) ChapmanFreeman is an Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Education Officer who operates significantly above and beyond his duty statement. At Melba Copland Secondary
further the aims of Reconciliation School, Joe works with every in their work in Education.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student, their families and teaching staff to develop plans for each student's academic success. Joe encourages high aspirations and achievement from 'his' students and has backed this with participation in AIME, the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience program. Joe regularly works with teachers across the school to build indigenous elements into their programs; recent activities have included art and English classes, and he is about to work with a science teacher using the didgeridoo to model sound waves.
LEFT IMAGE: Joe (centre) with AEU ACT Secretary Glenn Fowler and AEU ACT
Joe is committed to promoting students' pride in their culture. A great example of this was his coordination of the Indigenous students to design a school shirt that would enhance their presence in the school while promoting their cultural identity.
In the wider community, Joe is a welcomed leader and ambassador for public education. He has a team of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school students who visit local primary schools three mornings a week to deliver breakfast clubs and literacy mentoring programs to at-risk primary students. Joe understands the importance of sporting activities in engaging many indigenous students and has been very active in developing cultural awareness and participation in this area. He has had an instrumental role in organising and promoting the annual territory-wide Burroinjin competitions. Around NAIDOC week, Joe's services as talented performer of traditional dance and didgeridoo are in high demand from other schools and Federal Government departments. Not content with his work and extracurricular activities, Joe is in the final stages of his Initial Teacher Education at the University of Canberra. Joe Chapman-Freeman is truly an amazing ambassador for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and he embodies the principles of Reconciliation.
President Angela Burroughs at our 2018 Public Education Celebratory Dinner.
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ACT EDUCATOR MAGAZINE
BEV CRITTALL FRIEND OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AWARD WINNER
T
he Friend of Public Education Award is awarded each year to a
person who is not eligible for AEU membership and who has promoted public education in their work, within the wider community and in their personal lives.
Bev is a full-time volunteer at Garran Primary School, working the same hours as the full-time canteen manager. She is also available to help with guided reading and math sessions. On weekends, Bev undertakes the shopping for Monday morning's canteen preparation. She plays a nurturing role in the school community, knowing the names of all the students and greeting every child, parent and staff member with a smile. Students and staff love the canteen, not just for the food but for the individual attention, banter and jokes. The school canteen – named "Garralicious" by the students – is at the centre of the Garran School community. The Garran canteen is not your standard canteen but instead has the feel of a country cafe, with tablecloths, cake stands and floral napkins. Delicious aromas of homemade soups, slices and pies waft from the canteen on a daily basis.
RIGHT IMAGE: Jennie Murray of First State Super and AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe present Bev with her award at our 2018 Public Education Celebratory Dinner.
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The canteen has been completely transformed over the last two years, driven by the paid manager and by Bev. The canteen was recently awarded a Healthy Food at School Canteen Menu Award from Nutrition Australia in recognition of its successful implementation of the National Healthy School Canteen Guidelines. It has been held up as a lighthouse canteen by the Education Directorate.
Students and staff are offered a healthy, colourful and diverse menu and encouraged to sample a range of fruit and vegetables. Parents and carers feel comfortable with their children ordering from the canteen several times a week as they know the food is homemade and healthy. When staff order from the canteen, it's Bev who dresses their plates, folds their napkins, writes them special notes and acknowledges their birthdays. Bev goes out of her way to acknowledge all staff during special events in their lives, be it the death of a family member or the birth of a child. Bev decorates the canteen to reflect the many festivals that our diverse community celebrates and finds creative ways to acknowledge the house of the fortnight. She reinforces the school's Bounce Back Program with posters and sayings supporting the work of the teachers in the classroom. All this preparation occurs in her own time, as when she is at school there is canteen work to be done. Bev, through the canteen, sets the tone for the community feel at Garran Primary and further promotes the values public education holds dear. It is people like Bev, passionate supporters of public schools, that give our system richness and strength.
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THE VITAL WORK OF TEACHER LIBRARIANS IN THE DIGITAL AGE Olivia Neilson Teacher Librarian, Lyneham Primary School
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n our digital world, the role of qualified teacher librarians is more important than ever,
but there has been a significant library staffing decline in the ACT government school sector in recent years compared to the Catholic and independent sectors.
Fourteen-year old Tom has his own laptop for school and a smartphone. He has a social media account that he often uses. Tom has trouble focusing on his assignments, which now come thick and fast. He searches for information but is overwhelmed by the amount of it, gets frustrated when he can’t Google the answer to the teacher’s question and is unable to synthesize content. Tom is not alone in needing help to navigate the ocean of data available to him. His parents know he can be fooled by fake news and sometimes cuts and pastes information that isn’t reliable. A 2016 study of high school and college students by Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, found that, “Young people’s ability to reason about the information on the Internet can be summed up in one word: bleak. When it comes to evaluating information that flows through social media channels, they are easily duped.”
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The report goes on: “Many assume that because young people are fluent in social media they are equally savvy about what they find there. Our work shows the opposite.” Ready to counter this worrying phenomenon are the school’s teacher librarians. They are at the front-line for students who need to know how to be savvy consumers and constructors of information as well as how to be safe digital citizens, creating positive digital footprints for life. But today only 4 in 10 ACT public schools have a qualified teacher librarian, down from 6 in 10 just five years ago. The decline is less dramatic in the Catholic sector and far less marked in the non-Catholic or independent private sector. Independent schools boast an average of one full-time teacher librarian and one fulltime library support staff member per school. Catholic schools have one halftime teacher librarian and one half-time support staff member,
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while on average, government schools have a teacher librarian for 1.5 days a week and a library support staff member for three days a week. With my fellow AEU member Holly Godfree, I have been tracking the disappearance of ACT teacher librarians using data from the Australian School Library Survey and other sources. We’ve found that the decline is greatest in early childhood and primary schools. Retiring teacher librarians and library staff who move to other schools aren’t being replaced. The impact is most keenly felt when students move into high school. Many students don’t have the information and digital literacy skills they need to use libraries and to research effectively. Secondary and tertiary institutions have to go ‘back to basics’ to teach them things they should already know. Primary students who get tailored tuition in libraries understand the benefits. “You teach us how to do note-taking and how to research information so we will know what to do in high school. It’s fun choosing which topic we want to research and deciding how we want to present it,” 12-year-old Jessica told me. Too many students are unable to access quality information and use it in the ways they will need to in the workforce. They know
how to type things into Google, but they don’t know how to use other trusted sources to uncover what they need. Often their schools subscribe to databases. Often they are unused. A 2013 international study of computer and information literacy - Preparing for Life in a Digital Age - finds that more than 94 per cent of Year 8 Australian students feel confident about finding information on the internet. Far fewer ask critical questions to get the information they really need. Of course, teacher librarians also support wide and deep reading. They are the masters of finding ‘THAT’ book for each student. The OECD finds that the performance of Australian 15-year-olds in reading, maths and scientific literacy has fallen, while the performance of 15-year-olds in other countries has improved. If children are not accessing a range of literature, they are not being challenged. In schools that don't have teacher librarians, what tends to happen is classroom teachers may take the kids in to borrow books. They don’t have the thorough knowledge of the library collection that a teacher librarian does, so it’s much harder for them to know what’s available to meet or extend a student’s reading interests.
A teacher librarian can take students to the next level. Many students get hooked on reading Andy Griffiths, which is excellent fun but not that taxing to read. The teacher librarian tries to encourage them in a way that sees them access and enjoy something a bit richer; that tempts them and pushes them to take the next step. Smartphones and other devices encourage skim reading and multitasking. They can supplant deep reading and a capacity to focus for long. It's all the more important that kids who aren't reading gain a love for it. But once they’ve caught the reading bug, we don't just want them to read the same sort of thing over and over, without ever being challenged or thinking deeply. Students risk stagnating. The skills young people will need to succeed in coming decades include problem solving, multidisciplinary learning, critical thinking, and the need to use technology well (not just to use technology). An essential component to reversing these trends, solving many of these problems and preparing today’s young people for their futures is the reinvigoration and staffing of school libraries with qualified staff. This piece was first published in The Canberra Times. AEU ACT BRANCH
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Your questions answered Our best advice for your concerns. This term, we’re answering your questions about workplace investigations. For more detail, call our AEU ACT Office on 6272 7900.
Workplace investigations can be stressful experiences, particularly when they follow a stressful incident or a conflict with colleagues. The AEU industrial team will always ensure that due process is followed and that our members get a fair hearing and an opportunity to justify their actions. Why do workplace investigations happen? Workplace investigations typically happen when there are serious allegations about an employee’s conduct. For teachers and school assistants, the sort of conduct that is most likely to be questioned is their behaviour towards colleagues or their physical contact with a student. As an employer, the ACT Government has a duty to protect its staff from bullying and harassment by their colleagues. Similarly, the ACT Government has a duty to protect the young people who attend ACT Public Schools. While very rare, sometimes there are incidents where a teacher or school assistant has not acted in a manner that is consistent with these duties. AEU ACT BRANCH
What types of incidents are likely to require an investigation? Serious incidents, or allegations of reportable conduct are likely to require an investigation. According to the ACTPS Preliminary Assessment Toolkit, the preliminary assessment should split allegations or incidents into two outcome-based categories:
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An incident has occurred and I’m worried my conduct will be questioned. What should I do? The first thing you should do is report the incident to your manager/supervisor. You don’t need to give them all the details right away, just enough to make sure they can manage the situation safely and effectively. You need to look after your own safety and that of others as a first priority. As soon as you are able, you should write a brief statement about what happened while it is fresh in your mind and note any witnesses who can support your version of events. It is important to record not only what you did, but the surrounding circumstances and the reasons for your actions. If you need assistance to get your statement together, you can seek help from a colleague (ensuring they were not a witness to the incident) or the AEU office. My manager has asked for a meeting to discuss my conduct. Should I be worried? Probably not, but you should take a support person with you just in case. Most conduct meetings are simply an opportunity for your manager to raise their expectations with you and ensure that you share a mutual understanding of acceptable behaviour. I don’t think my manager can be impartial in conducting the preliminary assessment. Can I get someone else to do it? Your manager will, in almost all cases, be the appropriate person to conduct the assessment. It will usually be to your advantage to have a person conducting the assessment who knows and
understands the context in which your conduct occurred. However, if you are concerned that they cannot be impartial, you can request that a more senior manager or an executive conducts the assessment. I know my conduct was an error of professional judgement. Will I be sacked if I admit that I did the wrong thing? The answer depends on what it is that you did, as there are some forms of serious misconduct that are likely to result in dismissal. Even in these cases, you will do better to admit your mistake or wrongdoing, show contrition and avoid a lengthy investigation process. When determining the sanction for your behaviour, the delegate must have regard to a range of objectives and mitigating factors, like an admission of guilt. Ordinarily, these objectives can be achieved through disciplinary or non-disciplinary action short of a dismissal. I’ve seen the allegations and I did what is alleged, but I don’t think it was the wrong thing to do. Can they investigate actions that aren’t misconduct? It’s important to separate out two processes – the investigation, and the finding of misconduct. The purpose of an investigation is to determine whether the events occurred as alleged. If the investigator finds that those events occurred, the delegate will need to decide whether they constitute misconduct or reportable conduct. However, unjustifiably investigating an employee for a matter that is clearly not misconduct may be vexatious or constitute workplace bullying.
When will I get my right to respond? Generally, you will be given several opportunities to respond and provide comment. You will usually be asked to comment at the Preliminary Assessment stage, and you must be given an opportunity to answer the allegations at interview and to respond to the delegate’s findings and proposed course of action. Typically, if your matter proceeds to an interview you should not be waiting more than a few weeks following the events. According to the Guide, “Cases are categorised dependant on the nature and seriousness of the allegations, with a projected timeline of between 21 and 95 days to resolve.” Where cases take too long to resolve, it raises significant questions of procedural fairness. The AEU has recently encountered cases where employees are being asked to respond to allegations about events that took place over between six months and two years previously. In these circumstances, there are significant questions of procedural fairness in relation to undue delay and the employee’s ability to recall events. What if it’s just the complainant’s word against mine? In some circumstances, complaints will be made relating to conversations or behaviour that occurs between the complainant and the subject of the complaint. These situations can be difficult as often the events are perceived differently by the two people involved. AEU ACT BRANCH
30 In order for an allegation to be substantiated, the behaviour has to meet the standard of Balance of Probabilities. What this means is that the behaviour has to be more likely than not to have occurred. When it is a situation of your word against another, it can be very difficult to determine that the conduct was more likely than not to have occurred. The best way to protect against this is to ensure that at the time or shortly after the events, you write out your recollection of the conversation and make notes as to what was said. If the conversation occurred in a meeting, it is advisable to send an email to the participants and outline your understanding of what was said and ask them for any corrections. This assists as both parties have an agreed record of the conversation which can be relied on later if you are not able to remember the details. What is the difference between reportable conduct and misconduct, and why does it matter? The ACT Ombudsman has developed a Reportable Conduct Scheme. This requires institutions who have Child Protection duties to report allegations to the ACT Ombudsman. The ACT Ombudsman has oversight responsibility for the process undertaken by the Directorate in addressing behaviour that has Child Protection implications in the ACT. The conduct which falls under the Reportable Conduct Scheme is narrow. It includes conduct such as: sexual offences involving a child; physical offences where a child is the victim or is present; convictions under law; convictions against the Education Law regarding AEU ACT BRANCH
ACT EDUCATOR MAGAZINE protection of children from harm; ill treatment of a child; psychological harm; and misconduct of a sexual nature. This conduct differs from the conduct contained within the Enterprise Agreement (EA) and Public Service Conduct under the Public Service Management Act (1994) (PSM Act) Section 9. The conduct contained in the EA and the PSM Act is much broader. Additionally, in contrast to the Reportable Conduct Scheme, misconduct under the Enterprise Agreement and the PSM Act is not an allegation-based process and requires findings of fact on the Balance of Probabilities. The conduct I’ve been questioned about happened at a social function and not at work. Can it still be misconduct? The short answer is yes, conduct which occurs out of hours and not at work can be misconduct in certain circumstances. Firstly, as you are employed as a Public Servant and are subject to Public Service Conduct requirements as defined in Section 9 of the Public Service Management Act, you must ensure you adhere to these conduct standards at all times. However, whether or not conduct occurring outside of the workplace can be the subject of disciplinary action will depend on the circumstances of the case. For out-of-hours conduct to be subject to misconduct procedures, there must, in most circumstances, be a clear connection between the conduct alleged and your employment, and the conduct would need to be against your duty as an employee or likely to cause serious harm to the employment relationship.
For example, misconduct at a school-organised Christmas party normally meets the requirements for the employer to start disciplinary action against you. However, conduct that occurs at a venue after the school-organised party may not meet the requirements for the Directorate to consider the actions as misconduct. How long will an investigation take? The ACTPS Shared Services Employee Relations has developed a method for categorising or triaging matters requiring investigation. The categories are dependent on the complexity and seriousness of the allegations and matters are categorised as either 1, 2, or 3. There is a projected timeframe for completion of between 21 to 95 days. This, however, is a guide for expected timeframes. Factors that may impact this timeframe are availability of witnesses, the availability of the investigator and the availability of yourself and your support person. Investigations must comply with the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness. This requires that the person who is the subject of the allegations be given a reasonable opportunity to respond. Delay can occur when the investigator is not in a position to provide the required information to allow a response. The concept of what is reasonable is determined by what a prudent person would consider reasonable in the circumstances. Despite the above outlined timeframes, the AEU is seeing investigations are taking in some cases more than six months to resolve. This can be challenging for staff under investigation, especially when it is coupled with stand down or suspension.
31 I’ve been told that I have been stood down/suspended with pay. What does this mean? Suspension and stand down are two processes that are sometimes used by the Directorate during an investigation process. Stand down is available to the Directorate under clause U7.6 of the EA. The use of this clause is administrative action by the Directorate and not a punishment, and as such is used in circumstances where there is a need to remove a staff member from the workplace. Reasons for this may be to protect the staff member from further harm, to protect the staff member from further allegations, to ensure integrity of the process, or in situations where the allegations are of a serious nature and there is a need to protect students. When using this provision to stand a staff member down, the Directorate must review the stand down every seven days to determine if it is still the appropriate action. In contrast, suspension of an employee is an action under clause H8 of the Enterprise Agreement. Suspension under clause H8 extends the timeframe for review of the suspension to 30 days. However, for the Directorate to suspend an employee, they must be satisfied “that it is in the public interest, the interests of the ACTPS or the interests of the Directorate to do so while the alleged misconduct is investigated�. It is very rare that an employee is suspended or stood down without pay. This normally occurs in situations where there are very serious allegations made against the staff member which, if founded, could be considered serious misconduct.
Importantly, when a staff member is stood down with pay, the decision is not appealable. This, therefore, is the most common way a staff member is suspended or stood down in the Directorate. If this happens to you, you will be paid at the rate of pay you were on at the time of the suspension or stand down. You will not be required to attend the workplace and cannot attend without permission. However, you will need to be available to attend the workplace if directed for interviews or meetings. This is often a very stressful time for employees and there is a need to seek the appropriate support. What if the investigator gets it wrong and finds that I did something that I genuinely did not do? The investigators make findings based on all the information available to them through the investigation process, including written responses and face-toface interviews. On rare occasions, they make mistakes and substantiate conduct that did not occur. The process of investigation undertaken by the Professional Standards Unit at the Chief Minister, Treasury, and Economic Development Directorate requires that the principles of procedural fairness be adhered to. However, it is not their job to determine the consequences of the substantiated conduct. The first thing that you should do if there is an allegation that is substantiated incorrectly is write to the PSU investigator and put on the record any corrections to your initial statement, or any additional information you failed to provide. This should then be provided on the file to person at the Directorate who will make the decision.
If the decision maker or delegate at the Directorate makes what you believe to be an incorrect decision, and as a result imposes a penalty under clause H10 of the EA, you have the right to appeal the decision under Section J of the EA. In order to initiate an appeal you must do so in writing and include the a description of the action taken or to be taken, the reasons for the application and the outcome sought. This must be sent to the Convenor of the Appeal Panels within 14 calendar days. An appeals panel will then be convened and will be made up of a person nominated by the Directorate, a person nominated by the employee and a chairperson from an approved list of panel providers. The appeals panel can decide to take no action if they believe: the application is frivolous or vexatious; there is another person with authority to hear the matter or; no review of the application is warranted. If the appeals panel determines that a review is appropriate then they will conduct a review on the papers (without the need for people to give face-to-face evidence) to determine if it was open to the head of service to take the action, that procedural fairness was adhered to and that the decision was appropriate in all the circumstances. The appeals panel can make a recommendation to the head of service regarding the decision or refer the matter back to the original decision maker to consider further information. What are the possible outcomes of the investigation? There are normally two outcomes of an investigation: that the conduct or behaviour is substantiated or that it is not.
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b. defer the employee’s incremental advancement,
If the investigation fails to substantiate the conduct or behaviour, a recommendation to that affect will be made to the decision maker at the Directorate. This normally results in the matter ending without any further action being taken. If the investigation substantiates the allegations, then the investigator will make this recommendation to the decision maker at the Directorate and the following actions or sanctions under Section H10 of the EA can be imposed: 1. A written warning and admonishment; 2. A financial penalty which can: a. reduce the employee’s incremental level,
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The action or sanction must be proportionate to the seriousness of the conduct substantiated. c. impose a fine on the This would include any employee, consideration of mitigating factors and the pervious d. fully or partially reimburse employment history and the employer for damage conduct generally of the wilfully incurred to employee subject to the property or equipment; allegations. If a sanction is going to be imposed, then you will receive the details in writing 3. Transfer the employee with the allegations that were temporarily or permanently substantiated, the reasons for to another position at level or the decision and the proposed to a lower classification level; sanction. 4. Remove any monetary benefit derived through an existing The AEU recommends that if you are concerned about some Special Employment conduct you have engaged in Arrangement; or are subject to allegation, you should contact the AEU office 5. Termination of employment. prior to providing any responses or attending any interviews for advice.
PLAUDITS FOR OUR MEMBERS Michelle, who currently works at Birrigai School, was recognised for her work teaching science at Torrens Primary School. She says 'learning by doing' is definitely her motto. "I love the hands-on nature of teaching science and watching students learn through full immersion in exploring and investigating their world.
A teacher for 31 years and a self-described lifelong "union man", AEU ACT member Geoff McNamara (pictured right) was made a member of the Order of Australia in last month's Queen's Birthday Honours. Geoff has worked in public education his entire career, and has taught science at Melrose High School for the past ten years. He says he doesn't remember a time when he didn't love science, and now gets to share that passion with his students. “Science is the most important subject they are going to learn, because of the nature of the world they grow up in, it has to be. They have to be scientifically literate in order to understand what to make of it all.� Geoff is also a former recipient of the Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools - the first teacher in the ACT to win the award. Two more of our members have received national recognition for their work. Adam Porter and Michelle Allen were each presented with an ASG National Excellence in Teaching Award earlier this year, selected from around 1450 nominations in 2017,
"In my classroom, there are no standardised worksheets in sight, but there's plenty of noise as students brainstorm, employ thinking skills to problem-solve,
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at Hughes Primary School. He says he lays the foundation and creates an environment which allows his students to be the best they can be. "I exude humour and enthusiasm in every minute of the day, encapsulating not only their interest but their ability to be independent learners who strive to be challenged...I ensure that each child's opinion is valued and that students support their peers at all times." He also says he's an advocate for male teachers within the profession. "An important leadership role I have undertaken at Hughes Primary has been the mentoring of new educators, especially male teachers, who can consider the role of teaching in early childhood education as overwhelming. "Male teachers are a rare commodity in the field of early childhood education."
perceive and share observations of pattern and outcomes, explain to peers what they've accomplished and that it takes time to think through an idea. That idea may look like hands covered in a slime concoction, ducking marshmallows zipping across the room from catapults designed and built by the students or exploring phenomena outside.
Congratulations to Michelle, Adam and Geoff for this welldeserved recognition. They exemplify the incredible work - much of it unsung - that our members do every day around the ACT.
"This is what engagement looks like; something I strongly believe is a crucial element to students achieving success." Adam, who was nominated by a parent of two of his former students, teaches kindergarten AEU ACT BRANCH
Specialists in Federal Workers Compensation Claims
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If something’s happened to you at work, we’ll guide you through the legal process, every step of the way.
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KEN GREENWAY 1934-2018 Keith Lawler, Former AEU ACT President Senior and retired members will remember with affection Ken Greenway, who passed away on 27 March 2018, aged 83. Ken played a vital role in the early days of our Union as one of our first Liaison Officers (aka organisers). While we union bureaucrats in the office plotted devious ways to thwart the employer, Ken and his colleagues were the highly visible face of the Union, recruiting members, explaining policies, and dealing with a multitude of school-based issues. Ken excelled in this position. He was passionate about the Union, as he was about teachers and students. He was highly articulate and he was trusted. He was guilty of the occasional colourful turn of phrase, but it was usually in appropriate context. He was highly gregarious, and many will remember enjoying a fermented beverage with him in the Teachers Club in Weston. Not long after concluding his work with the Union, Ken and his life partner Cheryl moved to the hamlet of Nandaly in the Victorian Mallee, where they ran the local shop and post office. Ken and Cheryl lived there for over thirty years, only recently moving to Grenfell. Sadly, during the last years of Ken’s life he suffered from Parkinson’s Disease, but with the loving care of Cheryl he continued to write, draw, speak - and occasionally partake of a fermented beverage. I was fortunate to maintain contact with Ken and Cheryl in recent years. I will miss Ken, as a good friend and as a true contributor to our Union. AEU ACT BRANCH
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Is there a more iconic image of togetherness than a group of unionists gathered around a campfire with a guitar? In an idyllic wilderness setting near the beautiful Fitzroy Falls, our industrial retreat at the end of term one was an opportunity for members to take part in two days of presentations and workshops geared towards building their understanding, skills and capacities as union representatives - and sing a few songs around the fire. For Tahlia Bruce, a teacher at Narrabundah Early Childhood School, this was a chance to gather with like-minded educators and unionists and share knowledge. "As a new educator it can be difficult to find your place within the directorate, however I have found my home with the union," she said. "The retreat was a place for our sense of camradery to strengthen, Whether we were sitting around the firepit or a table, it was clear we were in it together. We had the opportunity to explore our rights and entitlements in-depth and hear about ways in which other schools have successfully implemented change." Sarah Drew of Neville Bonner Primary School agreed, "It was amazing to see so many union-minded people at the retreat and to be able to talk and connect with people, to gain ideas and suggestions for improving our presence within the school, and simply being with people who care so much about others."
"I wanted to attend the Fitzroy Falls Industrial Retreat because I wanted to learn more about the union and my position within the union sub-branch. "I walked in without knowing much at all and have walked out a lot more confident in my role, the schools role and the role of the union." This annual retreat is a chance to build these skills in an informal, relaxed setting. A highlight is always a gathering around the campfire for a chat and a drink or two. This year, some members had specially prepared songs to share with the group (we've included one of these, by Telopea Park School's Karl-Erik Paasonen, on the page opposite, for your reading pleasure). Attendees have now taken their new skills back to their workplaces, where they've used them to sign up new members and build union strength. "Since the retreat," Sarah told us, "we've been able to implement things I learned about, such as a more active Workload Committee, union events and how to have join conversations with others. "I’ve been able to speak to my sub-branch executives more about their role within the school and about the bigger picture of the union across all schools. "I’m sure I will be attending the next retreat, with more people in tow!" AEU ACT BRANCH
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WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS Congratulations to everyone who joined or re-joined in Term 2! By joining our union, you’re helping us all win better pay and conditions, as well as ensuring our students have the learning conditions they deserve. Susan Camden-Smith, Karen Power, Anthony Tate, Rachel Pope, Matilda Cave, Emma Bartlett, Jacqueline Krek, Gabrielle Payne, Britanie Fuller, Natalie Christian, Michaela Barbieri, Renee Willey, Katherine Stretton, Addison Sullivan, Jayne McDonald, Yoogadurga Uthiakumar, Samantha Briggs, Kate Bindley, Bradley Jarrett, Ken Wilson, Stuart Butterworth, Lindi Heap, Linda Huber, Georgia Page, Natalie Wiles-Deane, Maha Siddiqui, Ned Timothy Sloman, Stephanie Edlinger, Hannah Brydie-Watson, Rebecca Freeman, Emillie Cottam, Alys Humphrey, Kate Allen, Lucy Sheppard, Mette Kragh, Jeong Hyun Kim, Robert King, Michael Heeney, Jasminka Cerni, Monique Pasfield, Joshua Garretson, Alison Kanaridis, Jolene Hazle, Fiona Chapman, Matthew Stretton, Samuel Bryant, Mia Hine, Sneha Sane, Lynette Johns, Alice Harding, David Cruise, Jean Connolly, Peta-Marie Sackl, Edward Bassanelli, Cameron Ryan, Jessica Shaw, Renee Broadhurst, Peter Knights, Julie Lawless, Leanne Harrigan, Rachael Lee, Jessica Roberts, Joe Chapman-Freeman, Shannon McAlister, Dane Wells, Rachael McGarity, Joanne Wallace, Molly Pianca, Penelope Burrell, Aleesha Boye, Michelle Daly, Mihalis Theoharidis, Mariyam Agil, Christopher Olsen, Genevieve Murphy, Vladimir Susko, Leanne Leake, Anna Sanders, Albert Palazzo, Karen Nixon, Shannon Black, Alex Bareham, Rebecca Andrews, David Charles Stradwick, Sandy Kay, Tashfia Pasha, Christine Beltrame, Amber Griffin, Sarah Nicholas, Georgia Stephens, Tegolin Spink, Ebony O'Connell
AEU ACT BRANCH
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OUR AEU ACT OFFICE TEAM
GLENN FOWLER Branch Secretary
Glenn.Fowler@aeuact.org.au
VINCE MCDEVITT Lead Organiser
Vince.McDevitt@aeuact.org.au
PATRICK JUDGE Industrial Officer
JACQUI AGIUS Senior Industrial Officer
Jacqui.Aguis@aeuact.org.au
JACOB DUNNE Case Support Officer
Patrick.Judge@aeuact.org.au
Jacob.Dunne@aeuact.org.au
SEAN van der HEIDE Northside Organiser
MALISA LENGYEL Southside Organiser
Sean.vanderHeide@aeuact.org.au
Malisa.Lengyel@aeuact.org.au
MONIQUE MORTON Member Services Officer
ROBBY MAGYAR Membership Coordinator
Monique.Morton@aeuact.org.au
Robby.Magyar@aeuact.org.au
DAWN NIXON Business Manager
Dawn.Nixon@aeuact.org.au
GERARD DWYER CIT Organiser
Gerard.Dwyer@aeuact.org.au
MEAGAN PEARCE Communications Office
Meagan.Pearce@aeuact.org.au
KRISSI BREWSTER Administration Assistant aeuact@aeuact.org.au
AEU ACT BRANCH
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ACT EDUCATOR MAGAZINE
Ethical banking
Only four banks in the world have been named as a 2018 World’s Most Ethical Company.1 And we’re one of them for the 5th year in a row!
Find out more today* tmbank.com.au/wme *Membership is open to citizens or permanent residents of Australia who are current or retired employees of the Australian education sector or family members of members of the Bank. 1 The Ethisphere Institute is a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practice. The World’s Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient (EQ) framework and honours superior achievements in transparency, integrity, ethics and compliance. Worlds Most Ethical Companies and ‘Ethisphere’ names and marks are registered trade marks of Ethisphere LLL. www.ethisphere.com Teachers Mutual Bank Limited ABN 30 087 650 459 AFSL/Australian Credit Licence 238981 | 00711-CSR-0518-WME-ACTED-297x210
AEU ACT BRANCH