I am writing this report from Canada, where I am touring BC, Ontario and New York on route to Ottawa as I am attending the Education International 7th World Congress which I am looking forward to. See: http://www.ei-ie.org/congress7/en/
Good news to start Term 3. Settlement at last on the long running Catholic systemic agreement. This outcome has taken a huge amount of work from many people and to them, on behalf of all members in Catholic systemic schools, I say thank you for job well done. Some may not be happy with the outcome, but it is the best outcome for the majority of members. We have a few extra dollars in our pay packets (just in time for the mid year sales) and working conditions in some cases have improved. Congratulations and well done to the negotiating team.
Chapter meetings will be held this term throughout all systemic schools to vote on accepting this enterprise agreement.
Work is also being done on agreements in other sectors including independent schools, Christian schools, and the early childhood sector.
Teacher accreditation is well on the way for all teachers in NSW and is an essential element from 1 January 2018 as part of NSW’s Great Teaching Inspired Learning (GTIL), all teachers need to be accredited to continue, return or to start teaching in a NSW school. This is a new requirement for pre 2004 teachers.
Vocational Education and Training (VET) continues to be of concern to teachers. Discussions are continuing with the Teacher’s Federation and a seminar is planned for Monday 10 August in Sydney with Professor Kira Clarke from Melbourne University as the guest speaker.
The IEU Professional Development calendar is still proving popular with members, especially in rural areas.
Women in Education forums have been held in Nowra, Newcastle and Gosford. Some impressive speakers attended and addressed these forums with rave reviews from participants. These events will continue with forums in Lismore, Port Macquarie and Armidale in August and the last one for the year to be held in October in western Sydney. These forums offer our members a chance to come together, share ideas, listen to inspiring speakers, network and also a time to share stories and issues affecting their work and conditions.
Planning for the IEU’s Environment Conference scheduled for 16 October is well underway with Dr Mark Diesendorf as the keynote speaker. This should be a wonderful conference as usual and I encourage members to attend.
The Early Childhood Conference will be held 29 August and will again attract many enthusiastic participants.
The Securing Our Future Conference was a huge success and catered for members from all sectors of the membership.
Thank you for welcoming me to your Branch meetings and I hope to get to many more during the year.