ATPDF: Next steps
The IEU has written to all NSW/ACT non-government school employers alerting them to the ATPDF Fact Sheet. The Fact Sheet provides clear advice on what is required to comply with the policy intent of the ATPDF, and identifies specific practices that are duplicative or excessive. The Fact Sheet discourages unnecessary documentation and asserts that the ATPDF should be anchored in a teacher’s ordinary duties.
It is encouraging to see a number of employers have already responded positively to the arrival of this Fact Sheet.
“To advance our mutual objective of alleviating unnecessary workload burdens on teachers and school leaders, I will ensure the Fact Sheet is disseminated to teachers and school leaders through our Gateway newsletter, which reaches both CEO and school staff. Furthermore, I am pleased to inform you that the P&D Framework will be included on the agenda for discussion at the upcoming Term 2 IEU/CEDoW consultative committee meeting. I take this opportunity to express gratitude for your letter and appreciate the clarified guidance resulting from the collaboration between the IEU and AITSL.”
Diocese of Wollongong
“This is wonderful! Appreciate the IEU’s efforts in securing this document.”
Christian Schools Australia
“We are very supportive of the TPD Framework and AITSL Fact Sheet. We also appreciate the IEU’s support of its contents. We are delighted to see very close alignment with our ongoing investment in system initiatives to support and build the capability of our teachers, ensure balanced workloads, and maximise the learning growth of every student.”
Diocese of Broken Bay
If you believe the current ATPDF process in your school or system is unnecessarily onerous, talk to your colleagues and contact your organiser to discuss options.
The IEU has requested that employers consult with IEU members as they look to evaluate and amend their ATPDF processes.
Let us know what’s happening in your school by contacting your organiser.
An ongoing process
The ATPDF Fact Sheets form part of an ongoing process the IEU has undertaken with a number of government and regulatory authorities, with a view to addressing, at a structural level, processes that lead to excessive teacher workloads.
The NCCD Fact Sheet
The first of these was the NCCD Evidence Fact Sheet. The IEU approached the Department of Education to raise the concerns of IEU members struggling to manage unsustainable workloads and who were alarmed by the impact of excessive documentation on the delivery of practical support for students with disability, the purpose for which the NCCD was designed. The NCCD Evidence Fact Sheet addresses unnecessary practices and was developed in a collaboration of the federal Department of Education and the IEU. In many schools, the NCCD Evidence Fact Sheet has been used to review and dispense with unnecessary processes and documentation.
The NESA Curriculum Fact Sheets
The IEU advised NESA that members were being asked to undertake many administrative processes in the name of ‘compliance’, despite NESA confirming it did not require many of these processes at all.
At the union’s urging, NESA produced its School Registration and Programming and Record Keeping Fact Sheets, which clearly state what is and, most importantly, what is not required for compliance purposes.
Members have reported that the NESA Fact Sheets are beginning to have a positive impact in reducing unnecessary workload practices.
- IEU NESA fact sheet: bit.ly/ieunesacompliance
- NESA fact sheet:bit.ly/nesafactsheet2023
The AITSL ATPDF Fact Sheet
The AITSL ATPDF Fact Sheet continues this important work of aligning the official advice from regulatory authorities with the on-the-ground experience for teachers, ensuring that systems, schools, or individuals within schools are not inadvertently creating workload issues for teachers and support staff: bit.ly/AITSL-ATPDFfactsheet
Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACEQA) Compliance Processes
The IEU is currently working with ACECQA with a view to bringing some much-needed balance to the administrative and work processes in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector. Stay tuned for more information.
The common theme running through all these documents is that a teacher’s professional judgement should be paramount in determining what constitutes an appropriate level of documentation for teaching and learning, administrative, and data collection processes.
The IEU is constantly working with employers, regulatory authorities and governments to achieve positive industrial and professional outcomes for members. Encourage your colleagues to join their union to ensure the voice of the profession is heard at every level and in every forum