Journal nov 2015 p9

Q U E E N S L A N D T E A C H E R S ’

13 November 2015 Volume 120 number 8

Also in this issue: EB8 Curriculum changes New funding model Gonski Week

Stronger together2015 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Conference

Customers who have a new owner-occupied home loan with QT Mutual Bank approved between 6 October 2015 and 29 January 2016 will automatically enter into prize draw. Minimum loan amount is $250,000. Loan must be funded by 31 March 2016. One winner will be drawn at random on 12 February 2016. The $20,000 will be credited to the winner’s home loan account with QT Mutual Bank within 30 days of funding date or draw date, whichever is later. Terms, conditions, fees, charges and normal lending criteria apply. Visit qtmb.com.au/termsandconditions for full terms and conditions. This promotion may be modified, cancelled or extended at any time at the discretion of QT Mutual Bank Limited ABN 83 087 651 054 AFSL/Australian credit licence 241195 QTMB.TJ.217.11.15

Apply before 29 January 2016 and you could win $20,000 off your home loan. Just imagine how that could help you take care of the future. It’s enough to make anyone smile. To find out more, simply visit qtmb.com.au/smileyface, your nearest QT Mutual Bank branch or call 13 29 30 today.

Win $2 ,

ff y ur h me l an!

,

QTMB217.TP.indd 1 19/10/2015 1:53 pm

13 November 2015Q U E E N S L A N D T E A C H E R S ’

www.qtu.asn.auISSN 0033-6238

Send your letter to the editor

Letters should be no more than 200 words in length and may be edited for publication.

online: www.qtu.asn.au/lettersemail: [email protected]: PO Box 1750, Milton LPO 4064fax: 07 3512 9050

Editorial policy Articles and letters should be sent to ‘The General Secretary, Queensland Teachers’ Journal Editor, PO Box 1750, Milton BC, 4064’, faxed to (07) 3512 9050 or emailed to [email protected]. Letters should be no more than 200 words in length. Articles should be a maximum length of 500 words. All submissions should be signed and those wishing to remain anonymous should indicate their name is not for publication. Articles, letters to the editor and advertising in this journal do not necessarily represent the views of the Union. The next edition will be published on 5 February 2016. The deadline for all editorial and advertising material is 11 January 2016. For advertising enquiries, email [email protected] or call (07) 3512 9000.

This QR code will take you to the QTU website. In order to scan QR codes, your mobile device must have a QR code reader app installed.

8 IR review submission

10 Our woman at the UN

11 New funding model

14 Digital technologies

15 Curriculum changes

16 Selecting school leaders

17 VET FEE-HELP risk

21 A refugee's story

23 Flexible working

features Cover image: Delegates at the 2015 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Conference (artwork by Amanda Power)

regulars 4 News

5 Editorial

7 From the President

9 From the VP

27 New teachers

29 Legal

31 Lighter Side

32 QTAD

33 Retired teachers

34 At leisure

34 Classifieds

35 QTU contacts

12 National Gonski Week

18 EB: How it works and what's next

20 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Conference

Vol 120 No 8 | Queensland Teachers' Journal 3

The commitment of long-standing QTU activists John Corbett and Bob Fifoot has been honoured with the presentation of Life Membership.

Decisions made at October State Council will result in changes to the ranks of QTU officers in the new year.

Brendan Crotty, currently QTU Brisbane South Organiser, was elected Deputy General Secretary, replacing Barry Welch. Brendan (pictured left) is a former manual arts teacher who began teaching in 1997.

Dan Coxen was appointed Central Queensland Organiser, replacing the retiring Barry Thomson. Dan (pictured

right) is currently deputy principal at Biloela State High School.

Both Brendan and Dan are due to take up their new roles at the beginning of term one, 2016.

State Council makes new appointments

John (pictured left receiving his award from QTU President Kevin Bates) and Bob (pictured right) were unable to attend the Life Membership ceremony at the QTU Biennial Conference earlier this year, so they were invited to collect their awards at October State Council instead.

The award, the highest that the Union can bestow, is presented to members who have now retired or resigned from the profession after giving long and outstanding service to the Union and its members.

Extra flexible student free day announcedThe Education Minister has announced that Monday 25 January 2016 is to be an additional flexible student free day.

The decision was taken in response to the concerns of members of the community as well as those of teachers.

Schools should now consult on how this day is to be used, as well as other flexible student free days. A local decision should be reached with LCC endorsement on whether or not teachers will be required to attend school on this day or undertake professional development in lieu of attendance at on 25 January at another time in the year.

Schools will have already commenced discussions on how the 15 hours of flexible student free days currently gazetted for April will be undertaken. Many schools, for example, will agree that teachers will return to work on Wednesday 20 January 2016 rather than Thursday 21 January as one of these days. Some schools will work extended hours on these days (e.g 7 hours, 7 hours, 6 hours, excluding lunch breaks) so that 10 of the 15 flexible student free day hours can be accessed on these days.

Additionally, schools must recognise the hours undertaken in teachers’ own time for mandatory professional development (if this mandatory PD is not delivered face to face on student free days) as counting towards these flexible hours.

It is important that schools act in accordance with the agreement between DET and the QTU. Schools must consult on how these flexible student free day hours will be accessed and the arrangements endorsed by the LCC as a workplace reform.

Kate RuttimanDEPUTY GENERAL SECRETARY

News

4 Queensland Teachers' Journal | Vol 120 No 8

Bob and John collect QTU Life Membership


Editorial

2015Two Journals ago, I took stock after the first six months of the Palaszczuk government. In the last three months we can add:• pay rises for school teachers and

principals and TAFE teachers• the plan for an additional 875 teachers

over three years, over and above enrolment increases

• a new and better model for distributing Gonski funding (see article on page 11)

• initial changes to Independent Public Schools (IPS), with more to come

• establishment of an HR taskforce within the department to look at issues like attraction and retention, and transfers and relocations

• an action plan for education and a discussion paper on coding and robotics (see page 14)

• a reference group to report on changes to IR legislation by December 2015

• legislation to restore workers' compensation rights

• legislation to restore workplace health and safety rights

• May Day (Labour Day) back in May.

The difference is not, as one journalist would have it, that the Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) or unions generally are controlling government. Rather, it is a government fulfilling its pre-election promises, open to consultation and responsive to the issues raised by the QTU on behalf of its members.

2016Four issues loom large, even now, for 2016:• enterprise bargaining (EB) in schools and

TAFE• a national campaign for the full Gonski

and to reverse TAFE cuts

• teacher workload • permanent employment.

In schools, the objective is a new enterprise bargaining agreement by 1 July 2016. The QTU’s log of claims will be formalised at State Council on 12 March 2016. Informal discussions with the department will commence from the start of next year. Your views on the log of claims and the future EB agreement are being sought now.

A federal election must be held next year. There will be three national campaigns involving our members. The campaign for the “full Gonski”, ie the full implementation of the recommendations of the Gonski Review of School Funding; a campaign to reverse cuts to TAFE and the privatisation of vocational education and training; and the Australian Council of Trade Union’s “Build a Better Future” campaign, which also encompasses education.

Teacher workload is an ongoing issue. The QTU is re-negotiating a series of joint statements on a range of professional issues that will have impact on workload. At present, the Union is negotiating a new joint statement on the collection and use of data in schools, with a view to reducing the associated workload. The Director-General had no major issue with the QTU’s position statement on data collection and usage when it was presented to the Union’s Professional Issues Conference earlier this year. Hopefully negotiations will be finalised by the end of the year and a joint statement published, either later this year or early next year.

While an important component, that alone will not resolve teacher workload issues, and

the QTU’s campaign to maintain acceptable workload levels will continue into 2016.

Other key issues will be the implementation of the changed Australian Curriculum and the implementation of changes to senior secondary curriculum, and assessment. Both will require substantial negotiation about timelines and resources.

The longstanding campaign to maximise teacher permanency in schools and TAFE will also continue. The former LNP government brought in legislation to negate enterprise bargaining agreements and awards that sought to maximise permanency. In the case of schools, those provisions went back to 1997. That legislation has now been removed by the Palaszczuk government and the Union will be campaigning to ensure that as many teaching positions as possible are filled permanently, rather than on a temporary basis. This has been a critical aspect of the re-negotiation of the Gonski funding arrangements (see page 11).

Best wishesUnionism is not a spectator sport. I thank you all for the contributions you have made to the Union’s achievements during 2015. I hope you enjoy a restful summer vacation.

As you can see, 2016 will be a busy year, but the work in progress bodes well for 2016.

Graham MoloneyGENERAL SECRETARY

Goodbye to 2015, but what will 2016 bring?

The Queensland Council of Unions’ 2015 Emma Miller Awards have recognised Lead Union Rep and QTU Peninsula Area Council President Jenni Holmes.

Jenni’s Union activism has spanned more than two decades, from her grassroots campaigning on teacher housing issues in Charters Towers to pursuing school and teacher housing issues after, firstly Cyclone Larry, and then five years later, Cyclone Yasi.

It is thus fitting that Jenni’s activism, passion and commitment should be recognised by the QTU at the annual Emma Miller Awards. Every year these awards both recognise outstanding grassroots activism of women unionists and pay homage to one of Queensland’s most energetic trade unionists from the 1890s onwards – Emma Miller.

After Jenni transferred to Tully State High School in the mid-1990s, she was instrumental in the creation of the Cassowary Coast Branch, which she has confidently

and capably represented on the QTU State Council and Peninsula Area Council ever since.

Political lobbying has included numerous submissions, discussions and invitations to federal Kennedy MP Bob Katter and former Tully SHS captain and Hinchinbrook MP Andrew Cripps. Particularly noteworthy was Jenni’s positive delegation to a hostile LNP government at the 2013 Tully Community Cabinet meeting amid a very significant police presence.

During the 1997 Your Rights @ Work Campaign, Jenni’s team of activists ran colourful stalls at the Mission Beach markets and organised enrol-to-vote activities which were successfully mirrored in various later election campaigns. They also specialised

in local media letter-writing campaigns to ensure the Union’s views were represented in a conservative electorate. As well as pursuing matters related to the impact of two cyclones on local schools and teachers, Jenni has led grassroots activities in relation to statewide enterprise bargaining and national Gonski campaigning.

Jenni is to be commended for her passion for improving the living and working conditions of teachers and students in Far North Queensland.

Kevina O’NeillACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY - WOMEN’S AND SOCIAL WELFARE ISSUES

QCU Emma Miller Awards celebrates Jenni

It’s official: Labour Day holiday moved to MayThe Queensland Parliament has passed amendments to the Holidays Act 1983 which officially return Labour Day to the first Monday in May from 2016.

It is a huge victory for the union movement in Queensland, which campaigned fiercely to have the Labour Day holiday moved back to May from October, where it was moved by the LNP government in 2013. It was one of the ALP’s key election commitments.

The Queen’s Birthday public holiday, which was previously held on the second Monday in June, will now be on the first Monday in October.

Treasurer and Minister for Industrial Relations Curtis Pitt said: “The celebration of Labour Day on the first Monday in May has particular cultural and historical significance for Queenslanders.

“The achievements of the labour movement in securing the eight-hour working day, collective bargaining, fair and safe working conditions, and decent and fair wages have long been recognised in Queensland by observing Labour Day on the first Monday in May.

“We’ve delivered what Queenslanders wanted, not what Campbell Newman thought was best for them.”

For more information, visit www.qld.gov.au/recreation/travel/holidays/public/

?Labour Day T-shirt competitionThe QTU wants YOU to design its Labour Day 2016 T-shirt.

Your design should reflect what “proud of the profession” looks like to you. You don’t have to use those exact words, though feel free to do so.

The competition will close to entries on 6 February, 2016.

All you need to know, including how to submit your entries, can be found at www.qtu.asn.au/tshirt-comp


News

?


Much has been said and written about the political events of January 2015 and the startling defeat of the Newman LNP government. While this was a watershed moment for Queensland, it is crucial that we take the time to celebrate the achievements of the teachers, principals and students in our state schools and TAFE, who remain absolutely focused on education amid the hurly burly of these tumultuous events.

In the final weeks of 2014, I penned a column for this Journal outlining our trials and tribulations in that year. I highlighted the need for ongoing campaigns to protect teachers, teaching and public education, to return the voice of the teaching profession to decision-making about education, to restore respect for our profession and to save TAFE. It must also be acknowledged that we anticipated that this would be a very difficult agenda to address.

In sharp contrast to what was expected, working with teachers and principals in schools and our members in TAFE, we have worked with the new government on a program of change and reform. The belief of QTU members that things could and should be better for schools, students and teachers has been temporarily realised.

Among these achievements, three stand out as correcting the wrongs of the past and establishing a positive agenda for the future in the school sector. The planned and fully funded allocation of 875 additional teachers above the requirements for growth, allocated over three years and declared to schools in advance, replaces the 519 teachers denied to students in the 2012 LNP budget. It also provides additional resources to address pressure points in the staffing of schools. The recent

announcement of the “Investing for Success” program, structured on the Gonski school funding model, establishes the architecture for school funding that is based on the needs of students. For the next two years, this will provide some of the resources necessary for schools to ensure that every student has the opportunity to gain the maximum advantage from their education. Finally, the elimination of the threat of enforced contracts for principals and deputy principals ensures that the positive and collegial workplaces that operate best for education can continue.

The response from school communities and the QTU members who work within them has been overwhelmingly positive. Principals report feeling empowered to undertake genuine improvements for their schools given the certainty surrounding the human and financial resources they need to accomplish real change.

In the TAFE sector the very real threat to the existence of TAFE as an entity has momentarily abated. Additional funding for the critical community service obligations of TAFE across the state, combined with the abolition of the Queensland Training Assets Management Authority, has done much to restore hope in the viability of TAFE.

Celebration of these achievements is not however a sign of complacency. Our ongoing campaigns in both schools and TAFE will be about cementing the early gains into genuine policy commitments from political parties in the lead up to the next election at a state and federal level. As a campaigning union, the QTU will continue to rely on the energy and dedication of the professionals in our ranks to drive us towards these objectives. We offer our sincere thanks to all for the work you have done and the contributions you will make in the future.

One thing is certain, governments and policies will come and go with monotonous regularity. However, the fantastic work of teachers and principals in schools and TAFE institutes all across Queensland is an enduring foundation stone on which our community is built. The QTU proudly takes its place alongside members, and all those who support public education, as we continue our fight for the teaching profession and public education, as we have done for almost 127 years.

Kevin BatesPRESIDENT

From the President

@qtupresident

2015 - A retrospective look at the year in public education

News


The QTU has made a submission to the Queensland Government's wide-ranging review of the state's IR system to ensure that the voice of our members is heard during the process.

As was reported in the last edition of the Journal, the review of Queensland’s industrial relations framework, a Palaszczuk government pre-election commitment, is now underway. The Industrial Relations Legislative Reform Reference Group, which has been formed to carry out the review, includes representatives of key stakeholders operating within the state’s industrial relations system, including trade unions, employer associations, local government, Queensland’s legal fraternity and state government agencies. Our General Secretary Graham Moloney is one of four Queensland Council of Unions representatives.

Queensland's industrial relations laws were last reviewed in 1998, and so a comprehensive review is timely. A series of “issues papers” was prepared, which canvassed the main issues for the review and posed questions for interested parties to respond to.

The seven issues papers are:• Issues Paper 1 - Background• Issues Paper 2 - Main Provisions of the

Industrial Relations Act 1999 (QLD) • Issues Paper 3 - Collective Bargaining• Issues Paper 4 - Local Government in

Queensland• Issues Paper 5 - Functions, Powers and

Composition of the Industrial Relations Court and Queensland Industrial Relations Commission

• Issues Paper 6 - Regulation of Industrial Organisations

• Issues Paper 7 - Contemporary and Emerging Issues.

You can find the issues papers at www.treasury.qld.gov.au/fair-safe-work/industrial-relations-legislative-reform/how-participate-this-review.php

The QTU's submission responded to all of the issues papers, but for Issues Paper 4 – Local Government. In additional to quite technical recommendations regarding the current legislation and framework, the QTU made the following recommendations related to contemporary and emerging issues.• Workplace bullying provisions should be

included in Queensland’s IR legislation.• Domestic and family violence leave

should be included in the Queensland Employment Standards, along with recommendations for a low evidentiary burden and consistent reporting measures across the public service.

• Flexible work arrangements should be encouraged, and the definition of “caring responsibilities” should be extended to cover not just those who care for children but for those who care for elderly or disabled relatives as well.

• Diversity within the public service should be sought, and employment targets should be developed that recruit, mentor and retain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees.

• Workplace consultation provisions should have their parameters prescribed through legislation, while allowing the process to be tailored to individual workplaces.

The consultation phase has now ended. The reference group has been asked to provide a final report to government in December 2015.

A copy of the QTU’s submission is available on our website, while all the submissions made to the review are available at www.treasury.qld.gov.au/fair-safe-work/industrial-relations-legislative-reform/index.php.

Kim RoyACTING INDUSTRIAL ADVOCATE

QTU makes submission to IR review

Work underway on Budget submissionEach year the QTU presents the Queensland government with a State Budget Submission. This long-standing tradition with both sides of politics supports our continued dialogue with government. The 2016/17 State Budget Submission, which exists as a draft framework and was endorsed by October State Council, will continue to be developed throughout term four. The submission will be informed by the QTU’s enterprise bargaining claim, as well as policy arising from the Palaszczuk government’s industrial relations review, and the Department of Education’s HR review. Other related state matters that could influence the final 2016/17 State

Budget Submission include the state government’s response to the senior assessment review and the implications for our members of the Quentin Bryce “Not Now Not Ever” domestic and family violence report. Additionally the QTU continues to monitor policy announcements of the new Turnbull federal government around issues of federation reform, tax reform, and the new government’s position on needs-based funding, teacher professionalism and curriculum.

Craig WoodACTING INDUSTRIAL/RESEARCH OFFICER


QTU members began the year by drawing a line in the sand and halting the implementation of the Australian Curriculum. This afforded teachers, school leaders and students some important time to consolidate the curriculum implemented so far. We’ve set some strong parameters to guide the negotiation of new implementation timelines that will ensure that no teacher will be required to implement more than one new subject or learning area at a time. For those schools and teachers who are ready to go with more than one subject area, there is an option to use local consultation processes to determine whether to implement multiple areas. Our solidarity in standing up against rapid implementation of the curriculum had a positive impact on the workload of many QTU members and is a great indication of what we can do when we assert ourselves as professionals.

We’re at the forefront of conversations about what the new system of senior secondary assessment and tertiary entrance will look like. Changes adopted will be in place for decades to come and the QTU will be unapologetic for advocating strongly in this space, ensuring that what is eventually adopted is good for students, teachers and schools and is workable and properly resourced.

As teaching professionals, you identified data for data’s sake as a major professional issue. As expert practitioners, you kept your focus on planning, preparing, teaching and assessing students’ learning, despite multiple pressures to collect, record and analyse ever increasing amounts of data that have little or no benefit in schools. With

negotiations now begun between the QTU and DET on a joint statement on purposeful data, we will be able to reclaim more of this space in the profession to ensure that meaningful data exercises are the only ones that matter.

You identified your “time wasters” and we’ve facilitated genuine discussions about our workload without being made to feel as though we are being unprofessional. Normalising discussion about workload is so important for teacher wellbeing and will be a continuing theme in 2016 as we negotiate our next enterprise agreement.

When many QTU members reported that they were being put under pressure to write individual student plans for many students in their class, we addressed this through the QTU Position Statement on Differentiation and Planning for Individual Students (including ICPs). As professionals, we stood up and said that classroom teachers are simply not resourced to differentiate for individual students in their classes. At the time of writing, the QTU is in the final phase of negotiating a joint statement with the Department of Education in relation to this issue.

In response to ongoing concerns raised by members about programs of observations and walkthroughs in their schools, we revisited the Joint Statement on Collegial Engagement in Classrooms to ensure that it reflects current initiatives in schools. We acknowledged that classroom observations and feedback can be important professional development opportunities, but we asserted our right as professionals to shape such schemes being implemented in schools

and be consulted about how classroom observations will operate.

In 2015, QTU activists have again stood up to defend the profession we are proud of. We are proud to be teachers, proud to be school leaders and proud to be unionists. Enjoy your well-earned break – and be proud of yourself.

Sam PidgeonVICE-PRESIDENT

From the VP

@sampidgeon

Be proud of yourself

Congratulations on making it to this point of the school year. Whether it has been a year of professional highlights or one characterised by more downs than ups, there is no doubt that you have made a difference. You’ve changed someone’s life, and as you farewell the students for the holidays and contemplate the summer break ahead, why not take some time to reflect on what you’ve achieved and what you’re proud of?


United Nations told: "teachers matter"

Susan Hopgood addresses the UN (UN Photo/Kim Haughton)

Education International represents 32 million teachers in 171 countries. I am one of them. I am proud to represent them.

Yesterday, the governments of the world reached an historic agreement. They said that a critical priority of this generation is free quality primary and secondary education for all with qualified teachers in a safe environment.

Let us not be humble about Goal 4. Education’s inclusion is a major success. For the last two years Education International has worked tirelessly to see education made a goal for 2030. This wasn’t the case even a short time ago. Global stakeholders viewed education for all as mission accomplished and saw no need to continue to prioritise it. We won that fight.

So, is this a "game-changer" as they say? No.

No matter how profound or unprecedented, these are words, not deeds. The game changes after the speeches when the players take the field; when the governments who’ve made the grand promises of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) make the commitments to finance the goals.

This is the tough part, because the SDGs force us to break down the silos. Look at the millions around the world displaced and on the move due to natural and human

disasters; parents risking everything to give their children a quality education, a healthy start and an upbringing free of violence.

The success of a single goal does not resolve this misery. The SDGs force us to think whole child, whole community, whole system. The SDGs are an ecosystem where education, poverty reduction, healthy lives, decent work and environmental sustainability are linked and embedded in shared national interests.

On education, the world is more than ready for quality; it’s sick and tired of pretend solutions. Tablets don’t replace teachers any more than cassette tapes did. More than two millennia of teachers and students have watched fads come and go while study after study reports the value of high-quality professional teachers. Teachers matter. They are not merely a "means of implementation", but change agents with transformative powers when they are qualified teachers supported with professional development, quality tools and safe environments for teaching and learning.

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics said this week that 74 countries face an acute shortage of teachers. They tell us that achieving universal primary education by 2030 means countries will need to recruit a total of 25.8 million primary teachers.

In the meantime, teachers in Lebanon are working unpaid double and triple shifts to accommodate Syrian refugee students. Teachers in the U.S. are spending nearly 500 dollars per year on school supplies for their students. Nepalese teachers gave up two weeks' salary each so the education ministry could have resources to rebuild the 5,000 destroyed schools.

No single goal addresses these conditions of poverty, conflict, natural disaster, health, hunger, infrastructure. Civil society efforts and philanthropy are not enough. And those public-private partnerships that drive private agendas with public money are a hoax that prey on weak governments and pick winners and losers among the population.

The Sustainable Development Goals will guide our success in the next 15 years. Not only because we reached a consensus today, but because we make commitments for tomorrow and the day after.

The SDGs are a collaborative path for a world in crisis and chaos. They not only provide a framework for effective government, they give us all a mandate to fight to shape government as an instrument of sustainable development that leaves no one behind.

*https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300

Susan Hopgood, AEU Federal Secretary and President of Education International, has addressed the United Nations for the opening in September of the Sustainable Development Summit in New York.

This UN General Assembly, which brought together the most world leaders in one place in history, met to adopt a new development agenda, including the new sustainable development education goal 4*. This is what she said.


EB

The QTU, the Queensland Government and the department have negotiated a new model for distributing Gonski funding that is much closer to the original recommendations of the Gonski Review.

The program that was called “Great Results Guarantee” (GRG) by the previous government will now be known as “Investing for Success” (I4S). But the reality is that it is Gonski funding that teachers, parents and school communities won through a five-year campaign.

As well as being closer to the original Gonski recommendations, the new methodology has the following features.• As in 2014 and 2015, all the funds are

distributed to schools.• The funding model applies for 2016

and 2017 so that, subject to normal enrolment variations, schools have certainty of funding.

• Subject to decisions of the federal government concerning Gonski funding, the model will continue, and can even be enhanced.

• The requirements for schools concerning publication of plans have been simplified.

• No school will receive less in dollar terms than in 2015.

CertaintyA critical element of the negotiations was to give schools greater certainty in funding. This allows schools to commit to programs and, importantly, allows schools and the department to employ people in those programs on a permanent basis.

The QTU has observed growth in temporary employment that has largely been in “school purchased positions”. With greater certainty of funding, there is no reason for those positions to remain as temporary rather than permanent employment.

With certainty also comes the necessity of spending funds to address areas of educational disadvantage. When future funding is uncertain it is natural to risk-manage and retain some funding for a rainy day. With greater confidence of recurrent funding, the funds should be spent for the purposes for which they are provided. As Gonski Review panel member Ken Boston says: “The child in year five who can benefit from the funding will only be in year five once.”

ConsultationThe QTU received numerous reports, particularly in 2014, that the content of GRG plans was being dictated to schools. In developing a plan for 2016 and into 2017, what is important and required is consultation with teachers, staff, parents and school communities.

The QTU had hoped that details of the funding would be released earlier to allow more time for consultation, but it is vital that it occurs nonetheless. Depending on the nature of the plan, it may require consideration by the local consultative committee (LCC) as well. As a matter of good practice, the Union believes that the plans should be considered by the LCC as part of the process of consultation, whether consideration is required by awards or agreements or not.

RecognitionThe Minister and the department are to be congratulated on the changes that have been made to the Gonski funding model.

Early on in the life of the new government, the QTU put its case for moving to a more consistent Gonski-like model. The Minister and the department were both supportive, which led to a genuine collaboration in changing the model of distribution.

Next stepsThe funds being distributed in 2015 and 2016 do not represent the full funding recommended by the Gonski Review and proposed by the former ALP federal government. In fact, they represent about one-third of the overall amounts with the bulk of the additional funding in the fifth and sixth year of the scheme’s phase-in.

The current federal government, after campaigning on a so-called “unity ticket” on education funding, offers no more than the fourth year level of funding into the future. The new Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has so far revealed no change in policy direction.

In the lead-up to the federal election next year, the QTU, its members, parents, other education unions and our allies will be campaigning for the “full Gonski” for Australian schools.

To become a supporter of that campaign, go to the igiveagonski website. Better school funding is already making a difference. Let’s get the “full Gonski”.


For more detail on I4S, read the Newsflash at www.qtu.asn.au/nflash-1815

New "Gonski" funding model negotiated


National Gonski Week ran from 26 October to 1 November, State Education Week ran from 25 October to 31 October, and World Teachers’ Day fell on 30 October.

The week between 25 October and 1 November was a big one for QTU members, with the conjunction of three major events giving cause for celebration.

Gonski morning teas, fun days and other events and activities took place across the state to keep up the pressure on all parties at the federal level to commit to needs-based, sector-blind schools funding, as while there may be some different names and faces in the federal government, unfortunately it still has the same anti-Gonski policies. National activities included making sure Malcolm Turnbull heard the Gonski message via phone calls, emails and tweets.

Celebrating education

Yarrilee SS Landsborough SS Trinity Beach SS Townsville

At Eight Mile Plains Busway

Stanthorpe SHSBest in show!

Biloela SSInala SS

Gonski Family Fun Day Brisbane


To mark State Education Week and World Teachers’ Day and to highlight the incredibly valuable work done by principals and teachers throughout the state, the QTU joined other education stakeholders in a major newspaper and billboard advertising campaign highlighting that teachers inspire Queensland students.

Brisbane’s Story Bridge was even lit up in honour of Queensland teachers and principals on the eve of World Teachers’ Day, thanks to the Queensland College of Teachers and the Brisbane City Council.

If you want to get involved and help send a message to Malcolm Turnbull, you can sign the AEU’s Gonski petition at www.igiveagonski.com.au/don_t_abandon_gonski

To mark State Education Week and World Teachers’ Day and to highlight the incredibly valuable work done by principals and teachers throughout the state, the QTU joined other education stakeholders in a major newspaper and billboard advertising campaign highlighting that teachers inspire Queensland students.

Brisbane’s Story Bridge was even lit up in honour of Queensland teachers and principals on the eve of World Teachers’ Day, thanks to the Queensland College of Teachers and the Brisbane City Council.A digital billboard on Milton Road, Brisbane

More photos available at www.qtu.asn.au/gonskiweek

Marion SSFamily Fun Day

Redlynch SC

Upper Coomera SC

Bwgcolman Community School


The Queensland Premier and the Education Minister have launched “#codingcounts: a discussion paper on coding and robotics in Queensland schools”.

The state government, which has launched the paper as part of a larger plan titled “Advancing education: An action plan for education in Queensland”, is committed to making sure that every student will learn the new digital literacy of coding and have the opportunity to apply these skills through robotics.

While the QTU has been involved in initial discussions with the Queensland Government on introducing the digital technologies curriculum, further negotiations will take place on a reasonable and effective way to phase in the curriculum from 2016 to achieve the government’s stated aim of having the curriculum offered across year levels in all state schools by 2020.

Genuine consultation offers a chance to avoid the mistakes of the rushed implementation of the Australian Curriculum in previous years, which led to the 2015 ban on further implementation.

For example, the QTU believes that it may be most effective to initially offer coding and robotics to students in the prep to year 2 phase, and that schools should determine where the curriculum is best placed within their whole of school curriculum framework and planning. It may be that schools determine to implement it in more than one of these three year levels to enable older students to catch up.

The QTU also believes that the curriculum should not be implemented in term 1,

2016, since schools will have already begun planning for term 1. While a teacher is implementing digital technologies, they should not be required to implement another area unless the LCC votes in favour of implementing additional areas in keeping with the QTU position. For example – a teacher who is familiarising and planning in term 1 and implementing/teaching in term 2 will not be familiarising themselves with another learning area in this time, therefore they would be commencing familiarisation in term 3 and implementing another area no sooner than term 4.

Other considerations include the timing and content of professional development, release time for planning and collegial engagement, adequate teaching resources including equipment, and suitable consultation within schools.

Digital technologies curriculum into the classroom (C2C) resource materials have been developed to assist teachers to deliver the digital technologies component of the Australian Curriculum-Technologies. The focus of the curriculum is on helping students become confident users of digital and information systems and it includes units on coding and robotics, programming, and web design. Units have been developed for each band level for students in years prep – 2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 and years 9-10. The 9-10 units can be delivered as an elective subject.

The units can be up to 40 hours for years 7 to 8 and are designed to be taught right

across Queensland irrespective of the digital resources available at the school. Most resources are designed to be used with stand-alone computers - large bandwidth is not required as they can be downloaded from the site, with the links embedded.

You can find the #codingcounts discussion paper here: http://advancingeducation.qld.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/Coding-and-robotics-booklet.pdf

Leah MertensRESEARCH OFFICER - PROFESSIONAL ISSUES

Education planThe Queensland Government has invited feedback on Advancing education: An action plan for education in Queensland.

Many of the issues in the action plan are ones on which the QTU has been working with the government, eg. 875 additional teachers, needs-based funding, a new classification structure for teachers and administrative support for schools.

The QTU will continue to be involved in progressing the profession’s interests through negotiations with the government about other matters in the action plan including workforce planning, workload management, adequate funding, suitable teaching resources and professional development.

To read the action plan, visit advancingeducation.qld.gov.au

Government unveils digital technologies plans


Curriculum

At the Education Council meeting on 15 September, state and territory Education Ministers endorsed changes to P-10 Australian Curriculum content descriptions and achievement standards for English, mathematics, science, humanities and social sciences, the arts, technologies and health and physical education.

The Education Council noted that each state and territory school sector and curriculum authority will determine the implementation schedule for schools.

The changes have done little to declutter or reduce the amount of content in the curriculum, and ACARA now refers to the Australian Curriculum as “aspirational”. This shift in how the curriculum is viewed makes it timely for the Queensland Government to revisit the position previously adopted in Queensland that the Australian Curriculum be adopted unmodified.

Teachers across Queensland have been put in the difficult position of determining what aspects of the curriculum can reasonably be taught in the time available. This is why the QTU believes that the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) should be tasked with providing advice to teachers and schools about which elements of the Australian Curriculum are to be considered “core” and which elements are aspirational or elective. Those teachers using the C2C materials may also welcome advice about which aspects of the C2C materials represent the core knowledge and skills that students must have. Such advice would give teachers certainty, serve to reduce workload and increase equity of

access to curriculum across the state.

The QTU has begun discussions with the QCAA, the Minister and the department regarding the next steps in implementing the Australian Curriculum beyond 2015. Given the new learning areas awaiting implementation and the work involved in adjusting school curriculum plans to accommodate the new HaSS (Humanities and Social Sciences) learning area, the QTU will remain vigilant in ensuring that once implementation recommences it occurs with the workload and professional development needs of teachers in mind.

The QTU position that no teacher should be required to implement more than one new subject has not changed. The only exception to this would be if the school or department at a regional or central level, provides significant resourcing and release time to support implementation or if the LCC, after consultation and a vote of QTU members, determines to implement additional subjects or learning areas.

The government’s approach to the announcement of the digital technologies curriculum and associated C2C units is most welcome and it will now be up to schools to determine how and when this

new learning area is implemented. Schools will have up until 2020 to fully implement across the band levels. More information about these new C2C resources is available on our website. Opportunities for teachers to access professional development, both online and face to face, will be available for teachers, however the QTU reminds members that the existence of C2C materials for digital technologies does not mean that this subject must be implemented without consultation.

The QTU will advocate for revised timelines that would modify the current P-10 implementation schedule so that schools should not be required to fully implement the remaining learning areas of the Australian Curriculum before the end of 2020.

Leah Mertens RESEARCH OFFICER - PROFESSIONAL ISSUES

Sam PidgeonVICE-PRESIDENT

More time and resources needed for revised Australian Curriculum

News


Selection panel changesFollowing discussions with representatives of the QTU, DET has agreed to modify selection panel composition requirements for classified teaching recruitment panels (including deputy principals, heads of department, heads of curriculum, heads of special education services and guidance officers).

The modifications, which are effective from term four 2015 for all schools (including IPS), include:• a selection panel will generally consist

of the line manager/supervisor for the position and two other panel members, one of whom should be a representative of the QTU

• selection panel members (including the QTU rep) will be suitably qualified and experienced and should be at an equivalent level or above to the position being recruited to in order to make the best possible assessment of applicants’ capability.

With regard to the QTU representative:• the QTU is responsible for supplying

a list of QTU nominated panel representatives to DET and updating this list each semester

• the QTU is responsible for ensuring a sufficient pool of nominated panel representatives is available across all regions

• a QTU nominated panel representative needs to be at an equivalent level or above to the position being selected.

Selection panellists play a significant role in determining the future leadership of Queensland’s public schools, a responsibility that should not be underestimated. Their efforts are greatly appreciated.

Allan CookCHAIR QTU EDUCATION LEADERS’ COMMITTEE

Paige BousenASSISTANT SECRETARY – EDUCATION LEADERS

The leadership skills of education leaders are a key factor in school effectiveness, but how do we make sure that the right people are in the right role?

The Department of Education and Training (DET) uses selection panels to go through the applicants to find the person most suited to a particular promotional position. A selection panel is convened for each vacancy.

Selection panels for principals, at a minimum, will consist of a chair (with line accountability for the performance of the principal), a community representative to be selected in consultation with the school’s parents and citizens’ association or school council, a representative of the relevant sector-specific principal association, and a representative of the QTU. Community representation can be from the school’s parents and citizens’ association, school council or a representative from P&C Qld.

The selection panel will determine the means of assessing suitability and merit, and must consider the suitability and merit of all applicants consistently and in accordance with the requirements of the vacancy.

Under the Public Service Act (2008), selection for promotional appointment must be based on merit alone (known as the merit principle). Panels must take into account:• the extent to which the person has

abilities, aptitude, skills, qualifications, knowledge, experience and personal qualities relevant to the carrying out of the duties in question

• if relevant: » the way in which the person carried

out any previous employment for occupational duties

» the extent to which the person has potential for development.

All panellists share the same responsibility to ensure this principle of selection is upheld, even though each will bring a different perspective to the task. It is this melding of differing ways of seeing the skill and achievements of applicants that is the great strength of this process, allowing everyone to be confident that the decisions made are legitimate and that the most meritorious applicant will be successful.

QTU representative panellists ensure that panels comply with set procedures at all times. Their focus on ensuring all applicants are treated consistently, ethically and fairly by the selection process provides applicants with confidence that the process has operated as intended. QTU representatives on selection panels have been endorsed by QTU State Council. Members who wish to serve as a QTU selection panel representative should complete the nomination form available with the Queensland Teachers’ Journal.


Selecting education leaders


TAFE

The third federal parliamentary report into TAFE and VET in two years has further underlined the rot in the vocational training and education training system in Australia and has called for changes to the way the VET FEE-HELP scheme is run.

The report, “Getting our money’s worth: the operation, regulation and funding of private vocational education and training (VET) providers in Australia”, exposes serious flaws and states that VET FEE-HELP’s continued operation poses an “unacceptable risk to the Commonwealth”.

It also found that controls on providers have been “unacceptably loose” and that there is “no effective price control” in the private VET system, before going on to call for new standards and greater powers on behalf of both the Department of Education and Training and the national regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), to ensure that abuses of the system are curbed.

However, the AEU Federal TAFE Secretary Pat Forward believes that new standards will make no difference unless regulators are given the capacity to enforce them, and that dodgy providers still receive lucrative incentives to mislead students. She has called for the government to heed the Senate inquiry’s call for a global review of VET FEE-HELP, but also called for the flow of public funds to profiteering for-profit registered training providers to be stemmed immediately by halting any new VET FEE-HELP sign-ups.

The evidence is that the regulators are overwhelmed and do not have the capacity

or resources to enforce the regulatory standards which currently exist.

The scale of the problem with VET FEE-HELP as identified through the report is staggering, with fees in the VET sector remaining completely unregulated, in total contrast to university HECS fees. Evidence presented to the Senate committee suggests that some of our most vulnerable student cohorts have incurred debts of tens of thousands of dollars for worthless qualifications.

VET FEE-HELP debts have risen exponentially from $25 million in 2009 to an expected $4 billion this year, as state governments use VET FEE-HELP to shift costs to students and taxpayers through loans. Three-quarters of VET FEE-HELP loans are going to private providers, while TAFE nationally still deals with over 60 per cent of enrolments. The costs incurred by students taking out VET FEE- HELP loans have increased by over 40 per cent, 44 per cent of all private RTO enrolments are in business and commerce, not in skills shortage areas, and students are being forced into online modes of delivery and assessment.

The AEU has called for at least 70 per cent of funding for VET to be reserved for TAFEs, to ensure that they can remain at the heart of the training system. This will retain the

quality, capacity and experience of TAFE, ensuring that the standards of vocational training in Australia don’t fall.

The evidence in the senate report is that VET FEE-HELP has created an open opportunity for operators who mislead students or charge over-inflated prices for courses of minimal value. The AEU believes that the current government’s proposed changes to standards will still leave private providers free to offer courses that don’t meet the minimum hours.

The Senate inquiry has recommended that a minimum hours requirement be implemented for private courses. This long overdue measure would go some way to ensuring students get what they are paying for.

The reasons given for implementing a market-driven model to fund vocational education include giving greater choice, increasing flexibility and dropping the price. The Senate report demonstrates the current arrangements do not satisfy any measure of success against these aims.

You can find the report here: www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/vocationaled/Final_Report

David TeraudsTAFE ORGANISER

VET FEE-HELP poses "unacceptable risk"


Last year, QTU members turned their minds to key issues that they wanted to see negotiated in the next certified agreement.

They did this in a political environment which required awards and agreements to be stripped of basic working conditions and to have matters that the then LNP government deemed “non-allowable” removed.

The very purpose of the LNP’s legislation was to erode the working conditions of Queensland’s public servants, police, doctors, emergency service workers, nurses and teachers. It was an attempt to remove the collective strength of union members.

These non-allowable matters included hard-won conditions such as class sizes, RAIS, transfers, school based management guarantees and job security. Added to this was the prohibition on any claims around workload management.

In reality, the purpose of the legislation was to relegate enterprise bargaining to a fight about salary increases and the value of working conditions. The price tag the government was prepared to pay for the loss of these conditions was a mere 2.2 per cent.

Move forward through time and twelve months later the bargaining environment looks very different. There is no requirement to mortgage working conditions to get a pay rise. Yes the government has a wages policy that states headline wage increases of 2.5 per cent a year, however this increase is not a ransom to be paid for working conditions. In fact, the concept of “non-allowable matters” has been removed from the legislation. Additionally the words “job security” have re-entered the government’s vernacular. This is a government that is talking, valuing its employees and providing them certainty in employment, as well as trying to walk an economically responsible line.

So what does this mean for QTU members

and bargaining? The reality is that our claim needs to be redeveloped and our bargaining and campaigning filters need to be re-engaged in an environment unfettered by the former government’s legislative prohibitions.

Between now and the end of the year, members are being asked to consider what they would like to see included in next year’s EB claim. There is no denying that the issues of workload and job security continue to be the highest priority for members, but what does this look like in enterprise bargaining?

An exercise branches and area councils have been doing over the past few weeks is to consider what each of these priorities means, what needs to be done to manage workload and to feel secure in our employment, and then how do we achieve this?

It’s the answer to “how we achieve this” that can lead us to our bargaining and campaigning priorities. It is also important that we recognise that not all of these priorities will form part of the EB campaign – quite simply, they may not fit.

However, that doesn’t mean we walk away from campaigning on these issues - we just do it in another context. Whether that is in a local area campaign, the state budget campaign or other campaigns, member priorities inform what we do.

So my ask of workplaces, individuals, branches and area councils is to tell us what you would like to see in the EB claim. Hold a workplace meeting and send in your ideas through the website. We can only achieve a positive EB outcome if we develop it together.

Kate RuttimanDEPUTY GENERAL SECRETARY

ABCD

It’s that process that comes around almost as regularly as clockwork. Every three years or so we gear up for our EB campaign, and then for the duration of that agreement we work/argue/negotiate with the government to ensure it delivers on what’s in the agreement. But how does it work?

While the industrial relations legislation is currently being reviewed, the fundamental principles of enterprise bargaining rarely change.

The employer and employees (the Union) develop a claim - they share these claims and then they bargain.

There are always must-win factors in every claim, but there are also those upon which compromises may be reached. For example, in EB6 QTU members were determined that temporary teachers should be remunerated for their holidays, in EB7 members were determined that class sizes and other conditions were remaining in the agreement. However, in these same campaigns compromises could be reached around some professional issues. In 2016, a similar process is likely to be followed, but we have a few hurdles to clear before we reach an agreement.

What now for EB8?


While the legislation has been amended to remove award stripping from the modernisation process, the award still needs to be modernised before bargaining can commence. This means that the award needs to be updated and should reflect the base conditions and salaries of teachers and school leaders. We are currently working with DET towards a timeframe of finalising the modern award in schools by December 2015 and in TAFE by March 2016.

This process has commenced in the school sector and will soon commence in TAFE. Members are being asked to send their bargaining priorities into the QTU. Executive will consider these priorities in December and work will commence on refining these priorities for consideration of workplaces and branches in area meetings in early 2016. QTU State Council on 12 March 2016 will be asked to endorse the school sector EB claim and TAFE council will consider the TAFE claim in April.

Following the finalisation of the EB claim, the QTU will advise DET and the government of its intention to bargain. A single bargaining unit (SBU) will be formed and formal negotiations will commence. The Union has already advised DET of its desire to commence discussions prior to April.

If an agreement is reached between DET and the QTU, members will be asked to accept the agreement. If DET’s offer (or response to our claims) is unsatisfactory, then the QTU will move toward the industrial phase of the campaign. Members will be advised of the progress of negotiations as they happen (whether this is through rallies, area meetings, the website or Newsflashes). Should industrial action be necessary, members will be balloted on the taking of such action.

If an agreement cannot be reached, the EB may also need to be arbitrated. The Union is hopeful that a new agreement can be reached through bargaining.

There must be a modernised award

We need to develop a claim

Bargaining commences

A new agreement is reached or the industrial campaign commences

Members are asked to be part of all elements of the EB campaign: developing the EB claim, participating in meetings, lobbying MPs, attending rallies and local area meetings and staying informed.

We can only achieve wins for members when members are standing together.

The role of members

ABCD

How does EB work?

News


Stronger together: QTU Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Conference 2015The 2015 QTU Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Conference was a thoughtful and inspiring event for all delegates and presenters.

Day one was open to non-Indigenous QTU members, a significant change which enabled the new approach towards reconciliation to be actioned through broadening of all participants’ awareness of issues related to Indigenous education. It is hoped that more QTU members will become part of this journey.

The conference this year also celebrated a significant milestone in the Queensland Teachers’ Union’s journey towards reconciliation with the launch of the QTU’s reconciliation action plan (RAP) 2015-16 (www.qtu.asn.au/rap). Dr Mayrah Dreise reminded us that reconciliation lies in action, and acknowledged the work of the QTU committees, RAP working party and Executive in endorsing the 20 commitments to action within the QTU over the next 12 months. Alex Shain, General Manager of Reconciliation Australia, also spoke to delegates about Nurragunnawalli and the process of creating a reconciliation action plan for your school.

The keynote address by Richard Franklin

targeted understandings about lateral violence and the relationship between colonisation and current lives of Indigenous students. His knowledge, experience, and humour challenged us all to disrupt narratives that contribute to negative perceptions of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Spread throughout the conference were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of acknowledging country and welcoming visitors. Elder Aunty Robyn Bell, a long-time Indigenous education worker, provided focuses for change that would lead to success for Indigenous students. Our far north Queensland delegates welcomed participants in languages from the Torres Straits and the mainland, while a Gamilaraay / Yeeralaraay greeting was given to our guests from New Zealand. This reminds us that we are always on Indigenous land, and the languages and practices of our Indigenous brothers and sisters remain lived experiences.

The conference heard from our Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) comrades in Aotearoa (New Zealand). Bill Anderson (Te Mataroa), Andrew Barron (Field Officer) and Bill Harris (New Zealand’s Post Primary Teachers Association field staff members workshop) shared their personal journeys and their fight for the rights of Indigenous peoples to self-determine their educational needs, policy and systems.

Presentations by QTU Vice-President Sam Pidgeon and QTU Research Officer Craig Wood created an atmosphere of currency in education policy change and focus under new political administration. AEU Federal

Aboriginal Education Officer Nicole Major covered many areas, including Gonski and how we champion this campaign to our communities, TAFE insecurities and developments, and the Recognise campaign creating an understanding that our Australian constitution is discriminative.

Letitia Murgha, a support teacher from Palm Island, presented a history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander industrial campaigns, such as the Torres Strait Islander pearling strike and the Wave Hill walk off.

Nicole Major led day two of the conference with a focus on structural training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander unionists. The conference endorsed a commitment to ensure that QTU has an observer sent to every national AEU Yalukit Yulendj meeting and conference. Nicole also contextualised Gonski for Queensland state schools, handing each delegate the Great Results Guarantee agreement for their school, asking them to read it and write a story about how the school has changed due to this funding - these will be put in the Koori mail early next year.

Before closing, the delegates were informed about the identified seats on QTU committees and were encouraged to apply.

Overall, a fantastic conference! Let’s hope that the pebbles of knowledge and culture shared over the two days of the conference create many ripples in our school communities and within individuals so that we can continue to stand Stronger Together.

Dr Mayrah Dreise, Craig Wood and Amanda Power


Legal

I was born in Iran, the youngest of six children. My Dad was a truck driver, my Mum a home maker.

In 1981, Saddam Hussein, backed by Western governments, attacked Iran. Like other patriotic Iranians, I joined the militia to defend my homeland. I was young and excitable about war. Everyone thought the war would end in six months; it lasted eight years.

During 1983, Iranian forces strengthened and Saddam offered to sign a peace treaty. The Iranian leadership decided to invade Iraq instead. This was a pivotal moment for many people, including me. I had thought the war was just, as we were defending our country. But invading another country conflicted with my beliefs. Millions of other young Iranians, motivated by their religious beliefs, did volunteer to fight. Thousands of teenagers died running on minefields. Thousands more were killed or injured by the Iraqis’ chemical warfare. By the end of 1985 however, the wave of volunteers was reduced to a trickle. So the Iranian Government enforced conscription; they blocked streets, arrested young men and sent them to war. Many young Iranians felt they had no choice but to leave their country. I was one of them. The alternative was to fight, and probably die, in a war to which I was opposed.

I left Tehran on a bus towards Pakistan. At check points along the way young people were questioned, and if the purpose for their

trip was deemed implausible, they were arrested. I was fortunate.

At the city nearest the Iran-Pakistan border, I paid smugglers $1,000, which was my parents’ savings plus what they could borrow. In a pick-up truck we headed for a border village. When the smugglers saw border guards, they drove into the desert, lights off, speeding in absolute darkness.

At the village, a young man took me across the border to the nearest Pakistani village – a walk of three days and four nights through rocky desert, the summer temperature reaching 40oC. I was anxious, as I did not trust this man; sometimes he vanished for hours, returning when I had almost given up on him. We passed armed bandits who, fortunately, knew him. He warned me not to speak Persian as they could take me for ransom or even slavery (in Karachi I met refugees who were victims of these bandits). Often we fled border guards’ cars, hiding in the bush or laying on the ground.

On the forth night we reached our destination and I was left at the prayer place. I was very thirsty and had a temperature, but there was no water. By morning I felt sick. My smuggler returned around midday and took me to a hotel - a mudbrick room. He was worried about Iranian spies, so moved me fast. After a quick meal, he put me on a bus to Karachi, giving the driver some money.

There were many checkpoints along the 600km dirt road. Before each one, I got off

the bus with two of the driver’s people and walked around it - up to 5 kilometres. After two days I arrived in Karachi.

Pakistan did not accept Iranian refugees, so I had to register as an asylum seeker at the UNHCR Karachi office before police stopped me (requiring a bribe of $5 to $100 for release). After registration, I had to pass three interviews to be recognised as a refugee, a three-month process during which time I borrowed money from other refugees to survive.

I was fortunate to be treated kindly by Pakistani people. Apart from occasional difficulty with police, I was free to go where and live as I wanted, plus received English, French and computer lessons. However, uncertainty about my future was a huge burden; I still suffer nightmares from that time.

Under the UNHCR agreement with Pakistan, Iranians had to be relocated. After two and a half years I was finally accepted by Canada. I left Pakistan in November 1988.

Now, 27 years later, I am an Australian citizen and live a happy life with my Australian wife and my children.

MajeedPRIMARY SCHOOL DEPUTY PRINCIPAL AND QTU MEMBER

A refugee's tale

My name is Majeed. I am a member of the Queensland Teachers’ Union and this is my story.

Recent events in our state, the nation and around the world have highlighted the plight of refugees and asylum seekers, yet the unique stories that each individual carries with them often go untold. Here, QTU member Majeed (pictured) shares the story of his journey to Australia 27 years ago.

Get smart with your salary.

www.qld.smartsalary.com.au

Call 1300 218 598

Salary packaging may enable you to spend more on the things you love and less on income tax. So you may enjoy tax savings on items like:

Laptops & iPads

If you use either of these devices for work, why not salary package them?

Novated Car Leases

There is no longer a minimum KM requirement, which means more people may enjoy great tax savings.

Q-Super

Make the most of your super by making pre-tax contributions into your super fund.^

Disclaimer: Salary packaging is only available to eligible employees of the Queensland Government as per the Standing Offer Arrangement CPO 250/10. The implications of salary packaging for you (including tax savings and impacts on benefits, surcharges, levies and/or other entitlements) will depend on your individual circumstances. The information in this publication has been prepared by Smartsalary for general information purposes only, without taking into consideration any individual circumstances. Smartsalary and the Queensland Government recommend that before acting on any information or entering into a salary packaging arrangement and/or a participation agreement with your employer, you should consider your objectives, financial situation and needs, and, take the appropriate legal, financial or other professional advice based upon your own particular circumstances. You should also read the Salary Packaging Participation Agreement and the relevant Queensland Government Salary Packaging Information Booklets and Fact Forms available via the Queensland Government Contracts Directory at http://qcd.govnet.qld.gov.au/Pages/Details.aspx?RecID=839. The Queensland Government strongly recommends that you obtain independent financial advice prior to entering into, or changing the terms of, a salary packaging arrangement. ^Pre-tax superannuation contributions are not eligible for the Government Co-contribution.

We don’t pay fees to financial advisers, so there are no hidden costs to you!

QLD GOV_Teachers Ad_Oct 2014.indd 1 21/10/2014 10:25:22 AM


Flexibility

Here is the good news: DET is committed to “fostering a supportive workplace culture where our employees are encouraged and assisted to balance work, family and other aspects of personal life”.

The department’s view is captured in "Flexible Work Arrangements: a guide for employees, managers and principals".

Life is busy and work is even busier. Knowing that DET is committed to developing a culture based on the belief that “providing employees with a variety of flexible work options contributes to building a positive, healthy and productive work environment and supports employees in achieving work-life balance” can make all the difference.

It can be difficult to know how to access the right information and then navigate the territory of workplace flexibility in your school. The guide is a useful departmental document and should be read in conjunction with the department’s policy and procedure. Members can also seek assistance from the QTU.

All permanent employees have the right to ask for (in writing) access to permanent part-time employment, and the department’s stated expectation is that all applications will be actively considered and written reasons provided if the permanent part-time arrangement can’t be provided. A written response that states that it can’t be provided for operational reasons is not sufficient. The actual reasons need to be provided in writing following the department’s advice in relation to ethical decision making.

The department’s policy (procedure) makes the following strong assertion:

“The Department of Education and Training is committed to providing work environments and practices that better

support the work–life balance of teachers, including access to part-time employment.”

To assist with enabling a workplace culture that is supportive of flexible work arrangements, including access to permanent part-time work, the department’s policy provides guidance to principals when making deliberations.

It advises that all applications from teachers to work part-time be considered, that the applications need to be assessed based on the inherent requirements of the position, and that the following should be taken into account.• What outcomes are required and what

are the different ways of achieving them?• Whether the decision-making process is

fair and transparent (and a supporting flow chart is provided to assist).

• The advantages of a proposal. • The challenges of a proposal and the

options available to overcome them.

The last dot point clearly reinforces that the culture the department is committed to engendering is one of facilitating permanent part-time arrangements and looking for ways to implement.

At times, a culture develops where the view espoused is that permanent part-time is only really for employees who are caring for children or have health or other caring responsibilities. While such requests are given priority, permanent part-time can be approved for a wide range of reasons. It is worth reiterating that the expected culture within the department is that the task is to genuinely attempt to meet the request based on the inherent requirements of the position and the requirements essential to the operation of the workplace (operations requirements).

Sometimes teachers report that their principal doesn’t support permanent part-time occurring or that our school says we can only have 10 per cent of teachers undertaking permanent part-time. Statements like this make it very hard for a decision maker to defend a decision that says a permanent part-time arrangement can’t occur, because the early statement would tend to undermine how actively the individual request was considered and how willingly options available to overcome challenges were explored. Such statements could be seen as school-based policies that run contrary to DET policy and procedure and the industrial instruments that underpin the policy framework.

Of course, the happy ending is that as schools become more skilled at facilitating permanent part-time arrangements, solutions to overcome challenges are being implemented every year, and therefore becoming part of how things are done.

Kevina O’NeillACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY - WOMEN’S AND SOCIAL WELFARE ISSUES

Flexible work arrangements and permanent part-time employment

Get smart with your salary.

www.qld.smartsalary.com.au

Call 1300 218 598

Salary packaging may enable you to spend more on the things you love and less on income tax. So you may enjoy tax savings on items like:

Laptops & iPads

If you use either of these devices for work, why not salary package them?

Novated Car Leases

There is no longer a minimum KM requirement, which means more people may enjoy great tax savings.

Q-Super

Make the most of your super by making pre-tax contributions into your super fund.^

Disclaimer: Salary packaging is only available to eligible employees of the Queensland Government as per the Standing Offer Arrangement CPO 250/10. The implications of salary packaging for you (including tax savings and impacts on benefits, surcharges, levies and/or other entitlements) will depend on your individual circumstances. The information in this publication has been prepared by Smartsalary for general information purposes only, without taking into consideration any individual circumstances. Smartsalary and the Queensland Government recommend that before acting on any information or entering into a salary packaging arrangement and/or a participation agreement with your employer, you should consider your objectives, financial situation and needs, and, take the appropriate legal, financial or other professional advice based upon your own particular circumstances. You should also read the Salary Packaging Participation Agreement and the relevant Queensland Government Salary Packaging Information Booklets and Fact Forms available via the Queensland Government Contracts Directory at http://qcd.govnet.qld.gov.au/Pages/Details.aspx?RecID=839. The Queensland Government strongly recommends that you obtain independent financial advice prior to entering into, or changing the terms of, a salary packaging arrangement. ^Pre-tax superannuation contributions are not eligible for the Government Co-contribution.

We don’t pay fees to financial advisers, so there are no hidden costs to you!

QLD GOV_Teachers Ad_Oct 2014.indd 1 21/10/2014 10:25:22 AM

Still getting your dues by post? Time to go digitalBy the time you receive this Journal, the majority of QTU members will have received their dues notices by email for the first time. If you didn’t, now is the time to make sure that you receive them electronically next year.

If you did not receive your dues notice via email, you should first check your junk folder to make sure that it hasn’t been diverted. If it’s not there, that probably means that you have not supplied us with an email address or the address you have supplied has failed. If that is the case, your dues notice will have been sent through the post, as usual.

To ensure that you get the full benefit of the new system in the future, all you have to do is visit www.qtu.asn.au/myqtu as soon as possible and update your email details. Once you have an email address in place, select “my dues” from the menu on the left of the page to opt in for email delivery.

There are a variety of benefits to taking the dues process online, for members, the Union and the work that it does. Cutting back on the amount of paper used when posting the notices will significantly reduce the Union’s impact on the environment, while the new approach will also make the process simpler, more efficient and more convenient for QTU members.

And cutting back on the escalating printing and postage costs will mean that more of your dues can be ploughed into the Union’s core work: campaigning for, supporting and advocating on behalf of state school teachers and principals and TAFE teachers.

CQAC farewells Therese Therese Dobson, Rockhampton Office Administrator, has ended her 33 years of service with the QTU.

Central Queensland Area Council (CQAC) farewelled Therese (pictured front row, second right) following their term 3 meeting. Delegates were joined by local activists, QCU colleagues, QTU General Secretary Graham Moloney, Deputy General Secretary Barry Welch, and life members Frank Douglas, Brendan Cook and Robert Schwarten in many hours of collegial reminiscence. Therese has been recognised as the “voice of the Union” in Central

Queensland, and will be missed. Attendees at Therese’s farewell heartily congratulated her on her many years of exemplary service and wished her well for her retirement.

Emerald dinnerThe annual Karen Patterson Memorial Dinner has been held in Emerald, with QTU President Kevin Bates as guest speaker. Kevin and QTU Regional Organiser Barry Thomson, were joined by 60 QTU members for the evening. Pictured: Michelle Peters (Workplace Rep Emerald SS), Barry Thomson (CQ Organiser), Bede Horsfall (President Central Highlands Branch), Kevin Bates (QTU President), and Cresta Richardson (QTU Executive)

Chinese delegation visits BrisbaneA 13-year association of friendship and learning has continued with the biennial visit of the Shanghai Education Union (SEU) to Queensland. Established in 2002, this tripartite association between the SEU, QTU and Independent Education Union Queensland and Northern Territory Branch has seen significant mutual benefits for all concerned. There were visits to Sunnybank SHS (pictured), where they heard about the verification process taking place on the student-free day and the secondary assessment process, and the school at Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, a concept which the SEU representatives were inspired to take home to Shanghai to enhance their own education system.

News


Executive principalsThe QTU has negotiated an increase in the allocation of executive principals.

Throughout this year, the QTU has been meeting with representatives of the department to discuss entitlement to executive principal appointments. A broader review has also been carried out into access to executive principal positions as a direct nexus to student enrolments of 1,600 or more over two annual census periods, as well as access to executive principal positions as a result of school complexity.The possibility of seeking approval from the Public Service Commission (PSC) to extend the current executive principal scheme to accommodate predicted eligibility for executive principal entitlement has also been discussed. Seven schools have already been identified as likely to be eligible for entitlement in semester 2, 2016, in accordance with the current scheme criteria.

As a result of this lobbying from the QTU, the Director-General has approved the allocation of an additional five executive principal positions, in accordance with the existing executive principal scheme. The PSC has also advised that these five additional executive principal roles can be accommodated within the existing scheme. In accordance with the agreement, all incumbent principals in these schools will participate in a closed merit selection process. As with existing executive principal allocations, roles will be appointed under Section 122 (S122) agreements for an initial period of three years. The Executive Principals Review Reference Group will reconvene as soon as possible. The membership for this group is:

• two representatives of the QTU• three representatives of DET HR• a State Schooling Division representative• a regional director (or nominee) • an executive principal (nominated by the

regional directors).


News


Women make up the majority of educators yet still face barriers to full participation and progress in their profession.

This year’s AEU Women’s Conference, held on 10-11 October, was a once-a-year opportunity for women delegates and observers to focus exclusively on the issues that impact the AEU’s women members, from superannuation pay gaps, to gender-based violence to the ongoing pursuit of family-friendly working conditions.

The annual conference also provides a training ground for women members and a chance for more experienced women leaders in the union to share their expertise with newer activists.

Margot Fink and Ivy McGowan are two young transgender women who spoke about the positive impact that the Safe Schools Coalition had on their lives as young gender-questioning high school students. Both now work as advocates themselves for Minus18, a youth-based advocacy group for LGBTI young people (pictured). Margot has recently been nominated for the Young Australian of the Year Award for her work.

Ivy and Margot both talked about how important role models are for young LGBTI students and that the simple act of asking how a student is going and taking time to hear the answer can make a difference for young LGBTI people.

ZsuZsa Gaynor- Mihaly, a year 11 student from the Fitzroy High School feminist collective, attended with her principal, Pauline Rice. The FHS Femco grew out of a concern by

students about sexist language, gender stereotyping and the way that female characters were dealt with in the novels they studied in English class. ZsuZsa said that the students' desire to change their school environment had then changed the schools around them, many of which now have their own collectives.

Kimberly Smyth, a third-year plumbing apprentice enrolled at Melbourne Polytechnic, told delegates that “girls can’t be what they can’t see”. She was inspired to retrain as a plumber after being told that girls had to study hard because “unlike boys, they can’t fall back on a trade”. It was not easy for Kimberly being the only female student and also older than most of the other apprentices, but she sees a bright, well-paid future for herself and is keen to help other women to take up plumbing opportunities.

The conference also heard from expert speakers on women’s workplace participation, domestic violence and issues facing women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

AEU Women’s Conference fights for equality

From conversation

comes growth.Whether it’s over-the-phone or face-to-face advice, we’ll talk you through your options and provide a plan to help get your finances growing towards the lifestyle you’re looking for in the future.

See what a good financial plan could do for you.

Start the conversation today.

qinvest.com.au/conversation1800 643 893

QInvest Limited (ABN 35 063 511 580, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence Number 238274) (QInvest) is ultimately owned by the QSuper Board (ABN 32 125 059 006) as trustee for the QSuper Fund (ABN 60 905 115 063), and is a separate legal entity responsible for the financial services and credit services it provides. Advice fees apply. © QSuper Board of Trustees 2015. 8977 07/15.

Appointments available now

8977 Qld Teachers Union Journal Ad.indd 1 20/07/2015 4:47:15 PM

A number of questions have been raised by both mentors and new educators regarding the beginning teacher mentoring in schools program.

The formalised mentoring program commenced this year, with the aim of allocating funding to better support identified mentor teachers and new educators in their first year of teaching.

While the funding is new (and very welcome), the programs being run in schools are not. Every state school in Queensland is obligated to undertake an appropriate program to best support teachers new to the profession who are appointed permanently and also in longer term contract/temporary engagements.

Schools determine this program in consultation with mentor teachers and beginning educators to ensure the program meets need at the particular school. The intent of the new funding was not to invent entirely new programs for beginning teachers and their mentors but to allow an enhancement of current programs being undertaken. Examples of enhancement to current programs include, but are not limited to:• providing in-school time for mentors

and new educators to meet• reducing new educators’ workloads• allowing professional observation

during school hours• accessing professional development

during school hours.Two areas of concern constantly being raised by QTU members regarding the program are:• examples of best practice or lack thereof • transparency in the use of the allocated

funding.

After consultation with the QTU, DET has produced an e-newsletter which has been provided to all mentors and new educators in their first 12 months of teaching. This e-newsletter provides an example of a program currently being undertaken in a feature titled “Schools in the mentoring spotlight”. DET has given the QTU a guarantee that an example will be provided in each e-newsletter which is produced, providing schools reviewing their programs with the opportunity to look at what others are doing – in other words, a resource bank.

The QTU is still in discussions with DET to determine an appropriate mechanism to ensure transparency in the use of the allocated funding provided to schools for the program. The QTU will keep members informed as information comes to hand.

You can find more information regarding the program, including the associated funding mechanism and nexus, via http://deta.qld.gov.au/great-teachers/excellence/mentoring.html

As a new educator, if you have concerns regarding the program being run at your school, in the first instance speak with your school Union Representative. If there is no Union Rep at your school, contact Lynn Cowie-McAlister, the QTU officer responsible for pre-service teachers and new educators, at [email protected]

Lynn Cowie-McAlister ASSISTANT SECRETARY (NEW EDUCATORS)

Beginning teacher mentoring clarified


Beginning teachers

Cool resources from Cool AustraliaInterested in incorporating more about the environment and sustainability in your teaching, but not sure where to start? Want some fresh free resources for teaching about the environment and sustainability? You should look at the Cool Australia website.

Cool Australia has 750 online lessons which are all age specific, written by teachers and linked to the Australian Curriculum. The key topics around which these activities are organised are; sustainability, energy, water, biodiversity, climate change, consumption, waste, the Arctic and Antarctica.

And while the curriculum resources are free, Cool Australia is now offering online training for a fee which helps fund the work of Cool Australia. Topics for the online professional development include: making geography cool, making science cool, and sustainability in the curriculum. Cool Australia also arranges an annual EnviroWeek, which in 2015 was 30 August to 5 September. Around 708,000 students have pledged and taken action for EnviroWeek with associated curriculum materials since 2009.

Cool Australia was founded in 2008 by Jason Kimberley, following his reflections on a trip he made to Antarctica in 2005 and the visible effects of climate change that he observed. The result is an incredible array of resources and professional development. Cool Australia estimates that 625,000 students will have engaged in learning activities provided by Cool Australia in 2015.

The Australian Education Union, the national teaching union of which Queensland Teachers’ Union members are part, has been a partner with Cool Australia almost since its inception.



Legal

It is important always to bear in mind that a person who gives a notification, whether under the general duty of care, under an employer instruction or under a mandatory provision such as those referred to in relation to the department’s “Report of Suspected Harm or Risk of Harm”, may be called as a witness.

You could be a witness (and potentially a critical witness) in:• a criminal trial• a civil action for damages• a teacher registration case• an employer investigation • an anti-discrimination case.

This is probably not an exhaustive list. If a person is in a position to give evidence in respect of which they have been consistent right from the beginning, particularly because they have made a record and retained it and used that as the basis (together with their memory) for all subsequent reports (including the initial mandatory notifications), then obviously the decision maker is assisted in “getting it right” by having accurate and reliable evidence. We have many examples of this in our experience, both in relation to ensuring the acquittal of the innocent and the guilty being found guilty.

Such a document should set out, factually, the conversation or observations. It should record the time, date and place being talked about and also the time and date of completion of the record (presumably at

the bottom of the record). For example, a teacher who has been approached in the grounds should record something such as this:

“At approximately 11.00am on ... I was carrying out playground supervision duty in area B (see attached plan) of X State School.

"About that time a student called Y walked up to me and said: ‘There’s something I need to tell you. Mr Z touches me…’”, and so on.

Such a document should record, factually, the events and conversation. If comments are necessary, then a comment which is not a description of the event should be put in brackets to distinguish comment from a direct statement of what happened. The document should be then signed and preferably witnessed (the witness would only be witnessing that the signature was made at the time which the document asserts, not witnessing to the events). The original of that document should be retained by the staff member as their personal record. Copies can be supplied to appropriate other people and the record so made would be the basis of any further reporting.

It is absolutely vital in the interests both of child protection and justice more generally (and, indeed, of the person in question) that accurate, immediate records are made. Where a record is made sufficiently close to the event, a witness may, indeed, be permitted to rely upon the record in giving evidence.

In any event, it enhances the chances of consistent, accurate evidence based on a contemporaneous account.

In conclusion, nothing in this article is designed in any way to discourage compliance with employer instructions. Rather, it is intended to enhance them and by adding a first step which enhances the integrity of the system.

The objective, of course, is to acquit those who are innocent and convict those who are guilty (or the equivalents in non-criminal jurisdictions). Courts, tribunals and administrative decision makers have the best chance of achieving these outcomes if they have before them material from careful, sober, objective witnesses who are consistent and, in particular, consistent because they have made a detailed, appropriate record as soon as possible after the relevant conversation or observations.

Andrew KnottTRESSCOX LAWYERS

Mandatory notification: the need for an evidentiary record


Retired teachers

From conversation

comes knowledge.They can be powerful things, conversations. And they can change your life for the better.

We’re here to help you set yourself up for the lifestyle you want in the future.

• Talk to us about our range of information and tools.

• Create a simple super action plan that you can put in place now.

Spend a few minutes with us and see how much you could get out. Start the conversation today.

Just quickly, we need to let you know that this product is issued by the QSuper Board (ABN 32 125 059 006) as trustee for the QSuper Fund (ABN 60 905 115 063) so please consider how appropriate this product is for your personal needs. You can do this by downloading a copy of the product disclosure statement at qsuper.qld.gov.au or calling us on 1300 360 750 and asking for a copy. © QSuper Board of Trustees 2015. 8525 05/15.

qsuper.qld.gov.au/ knowledge

8525 Education Journal Full Page x4.indd 1 29/10/2015 2:18:58 PM


Year seven girl dramas seem to be the main focus of my teaching at the moment. I don’t know if it’s hormones, the weather or the canteen specials that are behind it, but the problem is constant.

We all know that teenage girls can be terrible to each other – best friends to your face and the first to gossip and bad mouth behind your back. Subtle scathing looks directed across a classroom can reduce a girl to tears, while the boys in the room sit back mystified and wonder what just happened.

“They keep ignoring me.”

“Simone keeps giving me dirty looks.”

“Sarah and Marley keep leaving me out of everything.”

“Tahlia keeps posting mean things about me on Facebook.”

I, for one, am glad that social media did not exist when I was going through those difficult teenage girl years. Vile comments and sarcastic observations used to come flying out of my mouth with alarming regularity, often aimed at those I classified

as my friends. I was also at the receiving end of many a put down and hurtful remark. Whispered remarks behind hands in classrooms, bitchy conversations on the phone at night and the constant changing alliances within the same small group of friends. At least none of my nastiness and hormonal rants are recorded anywhere, unlike the cyberspace footprint being left behind by today’s teenagers.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe Amy is wearing that top again. Like, doesn’t she have something else she can wear? It’s embarrassing just to be seen with her.”

While no less hurtful when delivered live, at least the comment is not recorded for the world to see. If, at some point in the future, the two parties repair their friendship, the comment may be remembered, but cannot be revisited by scrolling back through newsfeeds and messages. And, let’s face it, young girls change their alliances on an almost hourly basis. The girl that was hated yesterday may well be the best friend of tomorrow. It’s hard to keep track of who is in with who, and who is not speaking to each other.

“I’m never speaking to Amanda again. She’s been ignoring me all day and she is talking about me behind my back to Hannah and Fiona.”

“Hannah and Fiona messaged me last night and told me they want to be friends again and leave Amanda out of it.”

“Amanda is my BFF. We just stick together now and ignore Hannah and Fiona.”

It is enough to make your head spin. As a year seven form teacher, I almost need a daily chart showing the current alliances and disputes so that I am in the loop. Maybe this could be emailed out to parents at the end of each day so they know the state of play before their child gets home. I’m sure this would reduce the number of phone calls I deal with each day and show everyone that their daughter is normal and so is everybody else’s.

Christina Adams

Teenage dramas: who's in and who's out

"It is enough to make your head spin. As a year seven form teacher, I almost need a daily chart showing the current alliances and disputes so that I am in the loop. "

Lighter side


Queensland Teachers' Assist Desk 1300 11 7823 | [email protected]

What student free days (SFDs) am I required to attend? The addition of a flexible student free day on 25 January means that there will be a total of seven staff professional development days for 2016; three mandated student free days (21-22 January 2016 and 17 October 2016) plus four flexible student free days (25 January and 6-8 April 2016). Schools have the flexibility to position the four flexible SFDs at other times during the year outside of normal school hours. School communities should negotiate their arrangements in consultation with their staff through the local consultative committee, with arrangements being finalised by the end of the preceding year.

Mandated SFDs (21-22 January and 17 October 2016)• All permanent (including part-time teachers) are required to

attend the three mandated SFDs and will be paid in full for their attendance.

• Temporary (full-time and part-time) teachers engaged for all of term one attend and are paid for the SFD held on the last day of the summer vacation (22/01/2016). If a teacher has been requested to attend prior to this date, we would suggest they discuss payment by the school with the principal and seek payment confirmation in writing.

Flexible SFDs: (25 January and 6 – 8 April 2016)• Permanent full-time teachers will be paid for all four flexible

SFDs and will be required to undertake 20 hours of professional development scheduled by the school.

• All permanent part-time teachers will be paid for Monday 25 January and the final two flexible SFDs and will be required to undertake a total 15 hours of professional development. Only those permanent part-time teachers rostered to work the first flexible SFD of the Easter vacation will be paid for that day and as such are required to undertake a total of 20 hours of professional development as scheduled by the school.

Temporary teachers employed for less than the full term (term one), would normally commence employment on the first teaching day (now 27 January 2016), and are therefore not required to attend any SFDs prior to this date. Temporary teachers may attend professional development on a voluntary basis or negotiate payment from the school. Temporary teachers employed for all of term one should receive payment of the flexible SFD scheduled for 25 January 2016, and will be required to undertake 5 hours professional development as scheduled by the school. Temporary teachers employed up to the end of term one and from the beginning of term two will be paid for the Easter vacation, including the flexible SFDs scheduled in that vacation. These temporary teachers will be required to attend the SFDs or up to 15 hours of flexible professional development where scheduled by the school during their temporary engagement. If you are a temporary teacher and you are unsure of what SFDs you are entitled to attend, you should seek advice from your principal.

The QTU would recommend getting any advice about payment of SFDs in writing.

I am a permanent teacher currently on unpaid leave from my base school but am employed on a contract for semester two. Am I entitled to any payment during the Christmas break?Entitlement for the summer vacation period is based on the number of school days worked during the school year. Remote schools attract an entitlement of 33 days’ vacation. All other schools are entitled to 28 days’ vacation. Leave loading entitlement will be paid in December 2015.

Permanent teachers who undertake periods of contract work during unpaid leave will receive a pro-rata entitlement to Christmas holiday pay in accordance with the portion of the year worked, i.e. one semester contract = 50 per cent of Christmas holiday pay.

Formula: Number of days teaching service multiplied by 28 (or 33 days) vacation divided by the number of days in the school year.

Teachers on pay suspend (leave end-date last day of the summer holidays) over the summer vacation will be paid their entitlement as a lump sum payment in late December 2015.

Blaze07

6086

Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority

Join the 2016 NAPLAN marking teamThe Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) is seeking applications for the 2016 National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) marking team. The NAPLAN marking operation will take place in Brisbane and will commence with training on Tuesday 10 May 2016. Marking will continue until Wednesday 8 June 2016.

Markers will be paid for training and marking and gain continuing professional development (CPD) points for registration renewal. Day and evening marking sessions will be available.

New applicants must be a registered teacher (or have previously been registered, i.e. retired) and must attend a recruitment session before being included in the marker pool for possible selection.

For more information about joining the NAPLAN marking team:

• visit the NAPLAN marker information page atwww.qcaa.qld.edu.au/6173.html

• email [email protected]

• phone (07) 3864 0337. To apply, complete an online application atwww.qcaa.qld.edu.au/MAO/login.jsp.Applications close April 2016.

The QUT Master of Education (Leadership and Management) transforms good teachers and educators into great ones – influential leaders for our changing times. Our masters degree will improve your competitive position: preparing you to lead and manage people and develop strategic direction for a range of educational settings. It has a large online component for real flexibility.

Apply now for the first semester 2016.

Visit qut.edu.au/master-of-education

Be more than just competitive. Lead the profession.

CRICOS No.00213J © QUT 2015 EDN-15-593 21651

Retired teachers

Calling retirees: what are you doing with the rest of your life? Many people lose sight of their dreams as they progress through their career, then wonder why they are unhappy, wishing they could just stop work.

The concept of early retirement starts to emerge, but soon gets squashed because of financial considerations and so they continue on at the risk of health and happiness. For those who have recently retired, these may be the dilemmas facing you. Travel is an option until the finances are strained, but then how do we lead a fulfilling life?

Maybe learning new skills through such organisations as U3A? What about volunteering? There are many organisations crying out for help. Volunteers are required for education programs that look at increasing readiness for school, getting ready for secondary school or generally boosting literacy and numeracy skills in

school. Many community-based charities also require assistance. It is a great way to meet new friends and learn new skills. Research has shown that social contact is essential for both physical and mental wellbeing. It is never too late to add another layer of friendship.

The Queensland Retired Teachers’ Association has branches in Brisbane, Toowoomba, Maryborough, Rockhampton and Townsville. All branches meet regularly and offer friendship and social gatherings, such as listening to guest speakers, visiting interesting places or the sharing of wonderful food. Newly retired members (and older members too) should check out the QRTA website by following the links at www.qtu.asn.au if they have access to the internet, or by ringing their local Union branch to find the QRTA’s exciting 2016 program near you.

The final activity for the year will be Christmas parties. Check with your QRTA

branch and join members to celebrate. Brisbane members are invited to a Christmas lunch at the QTU building in Graham St Milton on 15 December at 11:30am. Please contact Donella Lister on 3848 5980, mob 0409 630 319 or [email protected]

No matter what your circumstances in retirement, remember this little poem.

Retirement is a time For feeling glad to be alive. A time when friendships blossom And enthusiasms thrive.

A chance to do the special things You always wished you could. Retirement is a special time For knowing ... life is good.

As the year draws to a close, I would like to wish all members a safe and healthy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Noela RogersQRTA PRESIDENT


At leisure

Teachers love to travel. However with wines from overseas being increasingly available in Australia, you can taste international wines without leaving your armchair.

First off, it’s off to northern Italy to taste Borgo SanLeo Pinot Grigio 2014. Best enjoyed young, it is pale yellow in the glass, light citrus aromas on the nose, leading into a clean and fresh palate with balanced fruit and acid, all coming to a crisp and satisfying finish. A true example of the style, with the grapes picked early to retain freshness and flavor, and it’s light on alcohol at 11 per cent. An excellent aperitif or a match with seafood. Perfect for the picnic hamper. Readily available and below $10 in major centres. Great value.

In the late seventies, Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough in New Zealand started a revolution in how this wine could taste. Overstone has a reputation for quality at

good prices and the 2014 Sauvignon Blanc does not disappoint, representing the regional style. Classic gooseberry and an explosion of tropical fruits with supporting acid. Again, best drinking when young. While it is often considered to be an aperitif wine, the rich flavours do lend themselves to food matches with seafood and Asian cuisine. Readily available and good value.

Spain has a long tradition stretching over generations for quality wine, and one of the most important red wine grapes is Tempranillo, grown in the north. From Bodega Barsac, Ole Tempranillo 2011 is a great introduction to the style. Intense red colour right to the rim. An attractive characteristic nose with strawberry and spice to the fore. The palate is fresh and integrated with cherry and plum fruits producing a flavoursome palate with a light but satisfying finish. Easy to drink and very food friendly - think red meat, tapas and hard cheese. The alcohol is 14.5 per cent, but the wine carries this with ease. Good value.

The last stop is Argentina. Malbec is grown in Bordeaux and parts of the Loire valley, but its major use is for blending, a pattern that Australia also followed. Argentina is different. Malbec is widely grown and used as a single varietal. The top region is Mendoza, nestled in the foothills of the Andes, which is the home of Macho Gaucho Malbec 2012. This is a superb example of the variety. In the glass it is bright with intense colour, offering aromas of cherries, chocolate and spice, all wonderfully integrated on the palate, which includes some dried herb notes, all coming to a juicy and smooth finish. While red meats are an obvious food choice, the gentle palate makes it a readily accessible wine for imaginative food choices. Expect to pay about $17 in major centres, but it is worth it.

Jenni Holmes, Keryn Archer and Warwick Jull

VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers required in Wacol area to assist students with literacy, numeracy and tertiary preparation one day per week. Please contact Volunteering Services Australia on 07 5526 1933 or [email protected]

RETIRING SOON?Volunteers For Isolated Students' Education recruits retired teachers to assist outback families with their distance education program. Travel and accommodation provided in return for six weeks teaching. Register at www.vise.org.au

TRAVEL

CUBA CULTURAL TOURS Drawing Cuba - Travel with an artist. Drawing, painting, printmaking. No experience necessary. Havana Jazz Festival Tour - Dec. Baila en Cuba - Learn to dance salsa, Nov. Learn Spanish in Havana - 1 month, lessons, accom. from $2500. Havana Ballet Festival Tour - Oct 2016. Bespoke tours for groups. www.cubanculturaltravel.com 02 8214 8420

Online Travel Insurance Hotspots2shop.com Get a free no obligation quote.

RESOURCES

www.realteachingsolutions.com offers:• practical advice for young teachers • exciting ideas for maths teachers and• guidance for new or aspiring HODs.

Financial members can list in the classifieds for half price.

To inquire about advertising or to place an ad in the Journal, contact (07) 3512 9000, visit www.qtu.asn.au/journal or email [email protected]

Classifieds

Winedown

QTAD (Queensland Teachers Assist Desk): 1300 117 823 Telephone: (07) 3512 9000 Fax: (07) 3512 9050 Email: [email protected] Web: www.qtu.asn.au Address: 21 Graham Street, Milton | PO Box 1750, Milton LPO, Qld 4064 Facebook: www.facebook.com/QueenslandTeachersUnion

All officers, organisers and members of Executive may be contacted through the Union office, except where an alternative is given below.

Senior Officers OrganisersPresident Mr K. Bates a/h phone 0418 789 162 twitter.com/QTUPresident

Vice-President Ms Sam Pidgeon a/h phone 0400 705 180

Honorary Vice-President Ms J. Swadling

General Secretary Mr G. Moloney a/h phone 0409 613 703

Deputy General Secretary Ms K. Ruttiman a/h phone 0419 655 749

Deputy General Secretary Mr B. Welch a/h 0408 194 385

Brisbane based:

Telephone (07)3512 9000 or email [email protected] B. Crotty (Brisbane South)

Ms F. McNamara (on leave) Mr S. Tibaldi (acting) (Brisbane North)

Ms K. O’Neill (on leave) Ms N. Clarke (acting) (Redlands/Logan)

Ms L. Esders (Moreton)

Mr D. Terauds (TAFE) [email protected]

Regional:

Mr Z. Sugden (South Queensland) 1-3 Russell St (cnr Neil St), PO Box 2859, Toowoomba Qld 4350 Phone (07) 4614 4600, fax (07) 4614 4650 Email: [email protected]

Ms E. Ferguson (North Queensland) 15 Palmer Street PO Box 5622, Townsville MC Qld 4810 Phone (07) 4722 6400, fax (07) 4722 6450Email: [email protected]

Ms J. McFadden (Gold Coast) Bldg 6, 175 Varsity Parade, Varsity Lakes 4227 PO Box 4, Varsity Lakes 4227 Phone: (07) 5562 6800, fax: (07) 5562 6850 Email: [email protected]

Ms M. Duffy (Peninsula)255 Mulgrave Road PO Box 275, Westcourt Qld 4870 Phone (07) 4046 7500, fax (07) 4046 7550Email: [email protected]

Mr S. Welch (Wide Bay) Shop 6, 264 Bazaar Street, PO Box 150, Maryborough Qld 4650 Phone (07) 4120 0300, fax (07) 4120 0350 Email: [email protected]

Ms M. Maguire (Sunshine Coast) 6a, 9 Capital Place, Birtinya PO Box 159, Buddina Qld 4575 Phone: (07) 5413 1700, fax: (07) 5413 1750Email: [email protected]

Mr B. Thomson (Central Queensland)Rockhampton Trade Union Centre, 110-114 Campbell St, Rockhampton, Qld 4700 Phone (07) 4920 4200, fax (07) 4920 4250 or a/h (07) 4928 8177Email: [email protected]

Executive membersMr P. AndersonMr A. BeattieMr A. CookMs K. CreedonDr P. DarbenMs L. OlssonMs C. RichardsonMs N. RoosMr N. ShirleyMs R. SugdenMs P. TaylorMr A. ThompsonMr S. Tibaldi (on leave)

Assistant secretaries – ServicesMr M. Anghel Mr J. BackenMs P. BousenMs L. Cowie-McAlister

Assistant secretary – Services/Women's CoordinatorMs P. Spalding (on leave) Ms K. O'Neill (acting)

Assistant secretary – Research and IndustrialMs T. Edmonds (on leave)Ms L. Mertens Ms K. RoyMr C. Wood (acting)

Submit your 2016 anniversaries or reunions to:

[email protected] or fax 3512 9050

Vale Ms LinIt is with profound sadness we announce the passing of a much admired colleague among the LOTE teaching community. Chiu (Pin) Lin was a respected teacher, who charmed the hearts and touched the minds of many students and staff alike, during her almost two decades of teaching in Mackay and Sunshine Coast South regions. Pin, you will live in our hearts forever, you have left us too soon. Chiu (Pin) Lin from Taiwan, 1962 -2015, thank you for being part of our lives.


Contact details Announcements

Journal 2016

Queensland Teachers' Journal 2016Vol 121 Edition

Editorial deadline

Print date

#1 11 January 5 February#2 1 February 1 March#3 21 March 15 April#4 9 May 3 June#5 20 June 15 July#6 25 July 19 August#7 5 September 30 September#8 17 October 11 November

To inquire about advertising in the Journal or to place an advertisement, contact

3512 9000, visit www.qtu.asn.au/journal or email [email protected]

Package a new car and save on tax

1300 738 601 www.fleetnetwork.com.au/bonus

Fleet Network Pty Ltd. To qualify for this offer you must mention this advertisement to Fleet Network prior to the completion of your initial contract. Vehicle must be new and supplied by Fleet Network. Not valid in conjunction with any other current Fleet Network offers. Employees should consult

their employer’s salary packaging policy before entering into a contract. *Subject to Employer policy. Vehicle for illustration purposes only.

Your Package Includes Finance, Fuel, Insurance,

Servicing, Tyres & Registration

Did you know that as a teacher, you have priority access to salary packaging your next car?

Let the team at Fleet Network show you how to save thousands when buying your next new car. It’s all about getting the most out of your salary and paying less in tax.

It’s worth a call – it’s your salary, after all.

Mention this advert prior to completing your contract and get a bonus Fitbit Charge HR or an iPad Mini when your new

vehicle is delivered!

Journal nov 2015 p9

Documents

Transcript of Journal nov 2015 p9