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AEDC NSW 2021 Research Symposium (Ref: 175/21)
For educators, school leaders and policy makers the AEDC NSW 2021 Research Symposium is taking place Thursday 12 August 2021.
Event Title: We collected the AEDC data, we have our School’s Preliminary Report – what next?
Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) NSW invites you to their 2021 research Symposium. This symposium will show case how different stakeholders utilise AEDC data and the value of the dataset in informing policy and practice.
We look forward to welcoming you to this forum as we explore the value of AEDC datasets and how we can respond to school level, community level, state level and national data from the 2021 AEDC data collection.
Presenters include representatives from Local Councils, Telethon Kids Institute, Schools, Early Childhood Education Directorate, NSW Department of Education Educational Standards Directorate and UNSW Researchers.
Venue: The event will take place online using Zoom platforms.
Date and time: Thursday 12 August 2021 from 8:30am
Cost: There is no cost to participate in this event.
Target Audience: educators, school leaders and policy makers, researchers and community workers from schools, preschools, childcare centres, government agencies, university researchers and research institutes.
Enrolment: Register your interest to attend this event by 10 August 2021
Please complete the enrolment form using this link: https://nsweducation.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rxTf04l2T0K19vuH-kUmlg
More information is available on the symposium event page and this will be updated to include the agenda at the start of Term 3 2021.
2021 Economics and Business Educators NSW Annual Conference (Ref: 176/21)
The theme of the Conference is “Shifting Ideas: Negotiating the Future for Economics, Business and Law Educators”.
The keynote speakers are Australian economist Phillip Lowe who is the current Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia and Australian entrepreneur Rami Ykmour who is the owner of the restaurant chain Rashays, a food and hospitality business concerned with being part of the community.
The conference program for 2021 provides a variety of workshop opportunities on areas including reviews of the 2020 NESA HSC Economics, Business Studies and Legal Studies examinations, effective teaching and learning strategies for Economics, Business Studies, Legal Studies and Commerce, and content areas for Economics, Business Studies, Legal Studies and Commerce.
Click here for the Conference website.
Schools Plus Smart Giving open round (Ref: 177/21)
Schools Plus grant applications open 12 July
Schools seeking funding for strategic projects that improve student outcomes can now apply for a Smart Giving grant through Schools Plus.
Funding from $20,000 to $60,000 will be available for schools across Australia. For more information on the types of grants available, visit the Schools Plus website.
Both individual schools and clusters of 4-10 schools can apply to receive funding for projects that run for 12 – 18 months. Until Friday 20 August, schools can submit a simple application to receive funding for their strategic project.
Schools Plus is a national not for profit that helps close the education gap. Schools Plus empowers teachers in disadvantaged communities to implement strategic school projects that will help their students succeed. Since 2015, Schools Plus has funded over 1000 school projects around Australia, benefiting more than 300,000 students and 15,000 teachers.
Schools eligible for support through Schools Plus must have a value below 1000 on the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA).
For more information and to apply, visit www.schoolsplus.org.au/for-schools/smart-giving/
Be Inspired Bursary for Regional Teachers (Ref: 178/21)
Be Inspired – Regional Bursary
Are you a regional science educator who wants to celebrate the excitement of science, scientific discovery, and science education?
The Be Inspired bursary was established to provide an opportunity for regional science teachers to attend NSW Science Teachers Association 2021 National Science Week celebrations. These high-profile events recognise science and educational advancements in Australia and celebrate the dedication of science teachers across New South Wales. Supported by Inspiring Australia, the Be Inspired bursaries are providing a unique opportunity for regional science educators to attend these celebrations.
There are FIVE bursaries available up to the value of $1000. These bursaries are to be used to attend ONE of the following NSW Science Teachers Association National Science Week celebrations.
- Aboriginal Astronomy Cruise
- Propelled by Science: A Provocative Talk Fest
- 70’s Dinner Party at the Museum
- Family Fun Day at the Zoo
- Propelled by Science: The Future of Energy
Bursaries will provide funding for event registration, travel costs, accommodation, and/or teacher relief to the value of $1000.
Closing Date: Midnight Sunday 18th July 2021
For more information visit the website.
Deadline extended: Instructional Strategies Systematic Instruction - Short Course Term 3 (Ref: 169/21)
We appreciate how busy the end of term is for school staff, so we extended the deadline for applications in the next short course with Dr Bree Jimenez (University of Texas).
This professional learning short course targets the evidence-based instructional strategy of Systemic Instruction for students with disabilities.
What is Systemic Instruction?
This course will cover a series of systematic instructional strategies such as time delay, choral responding and task analysis that are evidenced based for having highly effective outcomes for students with autism and intellectual disability. Using universal design principles, these strategies will allow all students to better engage with age and stage appropriate curriculum content.
By the end of this course, participants will:
- be proficient in the use of systematic instruction as an instructional strategy to support students
- through one-to-one live coaching, develop the tools to successfully implement response prompting procedures within their classroom
- trial systematic instruction procedures in their classrooms with selected students and collect student data to identify how students are responding to the instructional strategies
AUDIENCE:
Teachers (specialist or otherwise) in both systemic and non-systemic schools, who have direct daily contact in classrooms with a consistent cohort of students
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST:
Sound like a teaching strategy you would like to implement in your classroom?
Learn more HERE and complete a short application to apply.
APPLICATIONS EXTENDED: Wednesday 14 July
Webinar: Transition from paediatric to mainstream health once a child with disability turns 18 (Ref: 179/21)
NSW Health has been working with the Department of Education to produce new transition documents for the school sector, including moving from paediatric to mainstream health once a child with disability turns 18.
Staff in Catholic schools are invited to attend an upcoming webinar that will explore this topic. The webinar would be ideal for staff involved in student support, particularly those who support students with medical and/or mental health needs (e.g. pastoral coordinators, school nurses, school counsellors, speech therapists, OTs etc).
The Webinar will be held via Zoom, on these dates:
- Tuesday 14 September at 9am or
- Thursday 16 September at 2pm
You only need to attend one session.
The webinar is likely to only take an hour, but please block out 90 minutes. This allows for extra question time and an opportunity for you to follow-up with information you will learn about during the webinar.
COVID-19 guidelines for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services (Ref: 180/21)
COVID-19 guidelines for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services
Click here for the latest guidelines for ECEC services.
Read the latest communication to services on the current public health orders including answers to FAQs.
These guidelines are to help early childhood education and care (ECEC) services prepare for, prevent and manage an outbreak of COVID-19.
Children’s Guardian Amendment (Child Safe Scheme) Bill 2021 (NSW) – 10 Child Safe Standards (Ref: 167/21)
The Children’s Guardian Amendment (Child Safe Scheme) Bill 2021 (NSW) (the Bill) has now passed the Legislative Assembly.
The Bill seeks to introduce into law the 10 Child Safe Standards which were recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. To recap, the 10 Child Safe Standards are as follows:
- Child safety is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.
- Children participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
- Families and communities are informed and involved.
- Equity is upheld, and diverse needs are taken in to account.
- People working with children are suitable and supported.
- Processes to respond to complaints of child abuse are child focused.
- Staff are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children safe through continual education and training.
- Physical and online environments minimise the opportunity for abuse to occur.
- Implementation of the Child Safe Standards is continuously reviewed and improved.
- Policies and procedures document how the organisation is child safe.
To prepare for the likely passing of the Bill (which is anticipated to be before the end of the year), it would be prudent for schools to:
– Review their current child safety framework and procedures to ensure the Child Safe Standards are addressed and can be implemented (if they have not already been); and
– Develop a plan to show that there is continuous review and improvement of the framework and procedures, as required by Standard 9.
Click here for more information about the 10 Child Safe Standards.
Modern Slavery eLearning Module – Complimentary Access (Ref: 164/21)
Catholic Schools NSW is participating in the Australian Catholic Anti-slavery Network (ACAN) Modern Slavery Risk Management Program alongside 35 other Catholic organisations from education, health & aged care, dioceses, social services, finance and investment.
Modern slavery is an umbrella term that includes:
- Trafficking in persons
- The worst forms of child labour
- Slavery or slavery-like conditions
- Debt bondage
- Deceptive recruiting for labour or services
- Forced labour
- Servitude
According to the 2018 Global Slavery Index 40.3 million people are enslaved in the world today, with the highest number in the Asia Pacific region. Of those people trapped in slavery in the Asia Pacific region some 70% are women and girls.
The first step of the ACAN Program is to commence engagement with staff to build an understanding of modern slavery risks and impacts. For this purpose, ACAN has produced a series of highly interactive e-learning modules to access professional, factual and engaging training materials.
The first of five modules is now accessible for no cost to all Catholic Schools NSW member schools via this link
ACAN’s modern slavery eLearning modules include:
- Module 1: Modern Slavery 101
- Module 2: Business Relevance
- Module 3: Implementing a Modern Slavery Risk Management Program
- Module 4: Modern Slavery Risk Management for Suppliers
- Module 5: Remedy Pathway
Catholic organisations can access more information about the 2021-2023 ACAN Modern Slavery Risk Management Program including over 30 templates, tools and resources via this link
We strongly encourage schools to think about how modern slavery risks may impact on them and their supply chains (for example, those supply chains relevant to school uniforms, sporting equipment, IT and stationery needs), and reach out to their Diocese education office to find out more about ACAN membership. We can also assist in answering any questions about ACAN or modern slavery more generally via our Legal Hotline on 1800 4Catholic Schools New South Wales (1800 427 679).
Scientia Challenge: Years 7 - 10 (Ref: 181/21)
The UNSW Scientia Challenge Program features a range of workshops taught over three days designed for gifted and talented high school students in Years 7-10.
Developed and led by practising experts, the workshops follow a university-style investigative structure with intellectually-stimulating content.
The program is held at the UNSW Sydney Campus giving students exposure to university life to help reimagine their future study options and provide opportunities to meet potential role models and mentors. The program also offers a space for gifted students to meet like-minded peers with similar interests.
Schools impacted by School Camp Venue Warning - alternative camp venue (Ref: 171/21)
Last week we issued a Memorandum to all NSW Diocesan Directors and Heads of other member school groups advising that the NSW Department of Education has continued to withdraw its approval for a number of school camp venues due to significant health and safety concerns. Details of the specific venues are outlined in the Memorandum.
This warning applies until further notice, meaning that it would be prudent for schools who already have camps booked at these venues to look at making alternative arrangements.
We have been approached by Santa Sabina College which operates an Outdoor Education and Retreat Campus, located at Tallong in the NSW Southern Highlands. This is a multi-use site for retreats and outdoor education programmes for students of Santa Sabina College as well as many other schools from Sydney and Canberra. Santa Sabina College has indicated that schools impacted by the warning may wish to make use of their campus as an alternative arrangement, and they can assist impacted schools by offering their programmes at reduced prices. Please visit https://www.ssc.nsw.edu.au/learning/campuses/tallong/ to find out more and get in touch directly with Santa Sabina College.
If you have any questions more generally about the warning, please contact Catholic Schools New South Wales’s Legal Hotline on 1800 4Catholic Schools New South Wales (1800 427 679).
Assistant Company Secretary (Ref: 163/21)
This position will support the Company Secretary and the Chief Legal and Risk Officer by undertaking all administration activities required to support the work of the Catholic Schools New South Wales Board and its Committees.
The purpose of this role is to ensure the efficient and effective operations of Catholic Schools New South Wales Board meetings and related activities and to deliver high quality support to the board of Catholic Schools New South Wales.
This is a part-time role, three days per week, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and may suit someone returning to the workforce or stepping back from a more senior role. This role is subject to a NSW Working with Children Check.
Please apply with cover letter and resume through the following links:
Human Resources: [email protected]
Teachers’ Guild of New South Wales Awards are open (Ref: 170/21)
The Teachers’ Guild of New South Wales Awards are open to recognise outstanding educators in 2021.
World Teachers’ Day
Honouring teachers with the World Teachers’ Recognition Certificate who have made a wonderful contribution to their school in advancing the education profession.
Click here for nomination form 2021
Click here to view past award winners
Nominations close by 5.00PM, Saturday 25 September 2021
Honorary Fellowship of the Teachers’ Guild of New South Wales
Applying is simple. Perhaps you, yourself, will apply. If you believe you are eligible, please do! But please also forward this to colleagues who deserve this recognition. There are so many of them, and we’d love to be able to recognise them. Existing members, or current non-members, may make an application to the Guild for Honorary Fellowship of the Guild.
Click here to see past recipients
Register here for New Membership
Click here if you are an existing TGNSW Member
You will not regret a moment of your time, invested for your own recognition, or for that of valued colleagues.
Let’s recognise the outstanding and accomplished teachers among us. Applicants need not be current members of the Guild.
For any enquiries please contact the Secretariat: [email protected]