National Outlook

April 2012

GONSKI REVIEW INTO SCHOOL FUNDING The long awaited Gonski Report was released last term. Positively, the recommendations contained within the Report have recognised the diverse needs of Catholic and Independent Schools and provided a positive framework for the future funding of schools, in particular for the support of special needs students.

Throughout the school funding campaign, IEU members across the country visited MPs, wrote submissions to the Review panel and letters to the editor, calling for:• The development of a resource standard to meet the educational needs of all students;• The indexation of such a resource standard to the actual rising costs of education;• The full funding of special needs students, regardless of their place of enrollment; and

• A reasonable transition period for schools to adjust to any new model.

The Gonski Report acknowledges that these issues need to be addressed. Importantly, the long awaited report accepts the diversity of the school education sector; acknowledges the legitimacy of ongoing funding to the non-government sector and recommends that State and Territory Governments legislate for continuing support of our schools.

Framework for a New Funding Model

The Report provides a national framework for a new funding model. This will require Federal and State agreement for additional funding and support.

A key aspect of the new funding model is the development of a School Resource Standard to ensure that schools are funded on a needs basis. Once developed, Government schools will be fully funded to the standard, while funding to Non-Government schools would be at 20-25 per cent of that standard for high SES(130+) schools and up to 90 per cent for others depending on need. Additional funding to support disadvantage and disability would be provided above the standard in the form of loadings.

Importantly, the Report recognises that there are a number of schools in our sector which are either the only provider of education in the region or do not have the capacity to pay, and therefore recommends that these remote, rural and indigenous schools and special schools be funded at 100 per cent of the school resource standard.

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Issue 1, April 2012

Indexation

IEU members have campaigned strongly to ensure that the Gonski Report would recognise the need for appropriate indexation of school funding, linked to the rising costs of education.

The Gonski Report recommendations have acknowledged this and the proposals require indexation for all our schools to be based on increasing costs of referenced government and non-government schools.

IEU representation

The Gonksi Report provides a framework for school funding. There is still a lot of work to be undertaken in gathering all the data to develop and model the School Resource Standard. However, the IEU is well placed to continue to debate the need for funding as we are represented on the Ministerial Reference Group and is central to the dialogue with other education stakeholders as the options and models are developed and refined.

Lobbying Continues

In reality, the Gonski Report provides us with significant recommendations which, if implemented will deliver great benefits for all schools. What is needed now is commitment from Federal, State and Territory Governments to commit the extra funds necessary.

IEU will continue to place pressure on MPs and Senators. On 9 May IEU representatives will hold a forum at Parliament House on “Education Funding: Progressive Labor Agenda for our Nation’s Children” for Federal Parliamentarians, where our issues will be canvassed.

For more information on the Gonski report and to be part of the campaign, go to www.educationforall.com.au

EDUCATION NEWS

Certification of Highly Accomplished and Lead Teachers

The IEU Education Committee continues to monitor the work of AITSL which is responsible for the development and implementation of nationally consistent teacher registration, national consistency in certification of Highly Accomplished and Lead Teachers and a national approach to the accreditation of initial teacher education programs.

Recently, the IEU Education Committee reviewed the draft set of principles and processes for the certification of Highly Accomplished and Lead Teachers and has provided strong critique. The main points of the certification process include:

• Jurisdictional certifying bodies will be responsible for implementing the process. These will be either registration authorities or employers or both.

• Complex process in stages: Stage one requires annotated evidence of teacher practice, a written statement addressing the standards, observation reports and referee comments. Stage two involves direct assessment of teacher practice on site by external assessors.

• Certification is for five years.

It is apparent that the proposal is to be an expensive process and the draft document does not indicate how the cost of implementing the process will be met. It is unlikely that either teacher registration authorities or employers will be keen to meet the costs. There is little incentive for teachers to undergo this laborious and costly process.

The IEU will be putting these points to AITSL during the consultation process which once again is subject to the very tight time lines set by AITSL.

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

The Fair Work Act 2009 requires Fair Work Australia to conduct a review of all modern awards (including transitional provisions) as soon as practicable after the second anniversary of the Fair Work (safety net provisions) commencement day. As the Fair Work Act commencement day was 1 January 2010, the tribunal has commenced the review of Modern Awards.

The IEU Industrial Committee has been active in developing submissions regarding the better implementation of those Awards which impact on our sector. As well, the committee has been monitoring the applications of the various employing authorities.

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In particular, Independent Schools Council of Australia has made submissions to the Award Review process which seek to revisit and revise substantial matters associated with classifications contained with the Teachers Award and the General Staff Award. The IEU has met with ISCA to explore these matters and to raise our objections. However, the issues will now be placed under the arbitration process of the Award Review.

ORGANISING NEWS

National Officers’ Seminar: 31 May & 1 June 2012 The National Officers’ Seminar “New Challenges in Education: New Organising Opportunities” will be held on 31 May and 1 June 2012 in South Australia.

IEU officers from all branches will come together to listen to guest speakers: John Battams and Cath Bowtell as they provide opinion pieces on the future challenges for union members in our sector.

The following day, Officers will explore the impact of these challenges and identify organising, industrial and communication strategies which will build membership and activism across our branches.

National Conference: 23 & 24 August 2012 Members from the various IEU Branch Committees of Management/Executives will come together nationally on 23 and 24 August in Canberra. This is a first for our Union and will provide opportunities for our Branch members to meet, discuss common issues and focus on some significant policies currently being developed by the various IEU committees.

BACK IN THE ACTU

Following significant discussions with the ACTU, the IEU has made a decision to re-affiliate.

Our union’s re-affiliation is based on an agreed understanding that any education policy matters addressed by the ACTU will consider the interests of both non-government and government schools.

The ACTU has acknowledged, in correspondence, the diverse pattern of school education in Australia and the significant role played by IEU members and the schools in which they work in meeting children’s needs and national goals. In line with the ACTU practice in respect of other industries and affiliates and consistent with ACTU policy, the ACTU recognises that:

•The IEU, in consultation with any other union with members in the sector, will take the lead in developing policy concerning the level of financial support provided by governments to non-government schools and the distribution of such support within the non-government sector;

•The IEU will campaign to increase funding to non-government schools to meet needs identified by the IEU relating to the job security, salaries and working conditions of IEU members; and

•As a matter of principle, ACTU will be supportive of the industrial, organising and campaign activities of the IEU.

Our Union is now actively involved in discussions regarding the formation of a new ACTU Education Policy for consideration at the ACTU May Congress.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Alisi Fusi Wightman Scholarship

In memory of Alisi Fusi Wightman (former Vice President of the Fiji Teachers’ Association), COPE provides a scholarship program for two female union activists. The scholarship focuses on developing and strengthening union and professional skills in order to increase recipients’ knowledge and confidence. Recipients spend one week in Australia meeting with representatives of the IEU and the AEU and then a further week in New Zealand with PPTA and NZEI.

Alisi Fusi Wightman was Vice-President of the Fiji Teachers’ Association and was its only female leader at the time. She had strong values and encouraged women in the teaching profession. As a union leader during the 1970’s and 1980’s, she became a pioneer activist who developed the foundations of COPE.

Tragically she died suddenly in her early 50s in 1989, soon after moving to Tonga with her husband.

The recipients for this round of scholarships are Jane Kora from the Cook Islands’ Teachers Institute and Mere Moci from Fiji Teachers’ Association who have spent a week in the IEU Vic Tas branch during March.

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