Contents
Principal Reporting - Antisocial and Extremist Behaviour (Ref: 304/23)
As the conflict between Israel and Palestine escalates, the NSW school sector has seen an increase in violence, antisocial and extremist behaviour. Principals are advised that any antisocial and extremist behaviour must be reported to the NSW School Incident Report and Support Hotline (The Hotline). Ph: 1300 495 051
The Hotline is available for all school staff in NSW to report concerns about antisocial and extremist behaviour. It operates 24/7 and will provide advice, consultation and referral to police where required.
Under Part 5A NSW Education Act, schools have a duty to mitigate any risk posed by violent or threatening behaviour. Currently, the education minister has requested daily briefings from the Director of the Hotline.
New NESA Syllabus Support Materials (Ref: 302/23)
New syllabus support materials are now available from the NESA site. These materials include assessment resources, sample scope and sequences, sample units of work and parent guides.
Support materials are now available for the following syllabuses:
An Introduction to RAP and the Standards for Teachers (Ref: 305/23)
Specifically designed to meet the needs of teachers new to the RAP or those desiring a refresher, NESA staff will provide teachers with an understanding of key features and how to use RAP data sets to create teaching and learning goals.
Completing this course will contribute 1 hour of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of the delivery and assessment of the NSW curriculum/EYLF addressing standard descriptors 5.1.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.
This course will be delivered via Teams and is suitable for participating as an individual or as a group.
Date: 15th December 2023
Time: 9:00 – 10:30
Registration: https://csnsw.link/AnIntroductiontoRAP2023HSC
Animals in Schools-School Support Dog Podcast (Ref: 301/23)
All schools in NSW must satisfy the requirements of the Animal Research Act 1985 (NSW) and the Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes. The Animals in Schools website provides advice about specific issues related to the use of animals in schools.
This resource is supported by the Schools Animal Care and Ethics Committee (SACEC) and is an outcome of the collaboration of the three NSW school sectors. A recent addition to the website is a six-part podcast exploring the role and management of school support dogs in schools.
Click the Dogcast to listen and learn. All inquiries regarding the ethical care of animals in schools should be referred to Joanne Hack [email protected]
Webinar: Managing Student Anxiety with Dr Justin Coulson (Ref: 301/23)
Schools have seen increased rates of Generalised Anxiety Disorder diagnosis amongst students. This is also true for a range of other mental health conditions. As such, educators and school leaders are looking for other ways to further support the young people in their care.
Following his popular webinar School Sucks!, which was delivered earlier this year on managing school refusal, CSNSW is pleased to welcome back Dr Justin Coulson who is an expert in this field. Justin will share his thoughts on how schools can support young people, but he will also challenge schools to consider their own context and how they are best placed to support students.
WHEN: Wednesday 22 November
TIME: 10:00am – 11:00am
WHERE: online, via Teams (link to be emailed closer to the date).
To register for this popular webinar, simply click on the following link:
https://learn.csnsw.cloud/p/#/app/course-view/37157712/overview
Fake Invoicing for Using Copyright Materials (Ref: 297/23)
Catholic Schools NSW has become aware that schools may be receiving emails from companies demanding they pay a fine for using an image in a manner that infringes upon the copyright. Generally, these claims relate to images or photos that schools use in their materials (such as in a school newsletter or on the school website). Often schools actually have a licence to use the image (for example, under the Statutory Text and Artistic Works Licence, a Creative Commons licence or other licence or permission) and the company sending the infringement notice may not be aware of this. If you receive a copyright infringement notice, you should follow the process set out below. How do these companies operate? Content creators, such as photographers and artists, can register with a company like Copytrack or Pixsy and authorise them to search the web on their behalf for infringing uses of their material. These companies use software to identify material on the internet that is potentially infringing the rights of those content creators. Without making further enquiries as to whether the user may actually have the right to use that material, the company might send an email demanding payment, advising that it represents the copyright owner and, in some instances, threatening to commence court proceedings if the receiver of the email does not pay the fine. Sometimes, a company may claim to represent a copyright owner who may not actually be the owner of the image or photo that is the subject of the alleged infringement. Examples Below are just some examples of these kinds of companies:
- Hodgkinson Global
- Copytrack
- Pixsy
- Picrights
- Lapixa
- Emedialaw
What can I do if I receive a letter or email alleging infringement? 1. Remove the material The school should take the material down immediately while the issue is being resolved (for example, remove the image or photo from the school website or take down the school newsletter that contains the image). The school should record the date and time the material was taken down. The school should also consider where else the material has been used by the school and take steps to immediately cease those uses. 2. Contact the National Copyright Unit.3. Don’t respond to the email and contact the National Copyright Unit immediately with:
- a copy of the email;
- details about the image/photo that is the subject of the infringement claim;
- the date and time at which the material was taken down (from the website, etc.); and
- any other relevant information. If you know the basis on which the school used the material, you can include that (for example, that the image was used with permission from the copyright owner, under a licence like Creative Commons, or under an education exception or the Statutory Text and Artistic Works Licence).
4. The NCU will assess all the relevant facts and information and advise on the next steps.Important Schools, departments and administering bodies should not panic if they receive an email or letter alleging copyright infringement. The NCU will provide advice and guidance on how to respond. Additional informationThe purpose of this update is to provide a summary and general overview. It is not intended to be comprehensive, nor does it constitute legal advice. If you need to know how the law applies in a particular situation, please seek specific advice from the NCU. For information about our National Copyright Webinar Series and Copyright for Educators (C4E) course, please visit the Smartcopying website.
Sun Safety Resources – Sun and UV at School (Ref: 300/23)
With the warmer months upon us, it’s timely to remind students of the dangers of UV rays and the importance of sun safety.
Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, and statistics show that melanoma is the most common cancer affecting young Australians aged 15 – 24 years. The good news is that skin cancer is highly preventable.
The new Sun and UV at School skin cancer resources will assist primary and secondary school students in making healthy, safe, and proactive choices regarding sun protection to reduce their risk of skin cancer.
Click on the following link to access teaching and learning materials, as well as other general resources:
Applications Open: eSafety’s Youth Council (Ref: 299/23)
The eSafety Youth Council is a great opportunity for young people to share their voices with industry leaders and government to help us understand what a safer online world could look like, ensuring it resonates with and protects younger generations.
Young people can apply via the eSafety website.
Applications close on 1 December 2023.
Conditional Provision of ATARs to School Principals (Ref: 295/23)
After many years of negotiation, the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) is now in the process of providing school principals with the details of how to access the ATARs of their 2023 Year 12 students on School Hub. ATARs will be uploaded to School Hub by 10 am on 14 December 2023 and will be available to students from 9 am on that day.
2023 is the first time that principals will have access to student ATARs. However, the access is subject to the following conditions:
- the students must be UAC applicants who have agreed to the terms and conditions of their application, which include UAC releasing these details to their school;
- the school principal must, at all times, protect the confidentiality and security of the information provided, including meeting the requirements of section 18A of the Education Act 1990 (NSW) around publication of school results.
Principals will be able to access the available ATARs in the same way that they now access student UAC application course preference and offer details: by logging in to School Hub and agreeing to the terms and conditions of using student data.
If principals have any questions about School Hub, they should email [email protected] or contact the UAC Customer Service team.
Please note: CSNSW will continue to provide its ATAR estimation service to schools.
Announcement of Participating Schools for the 2024 – 2027 National Student Wellbeing Program (Ref: 296/23)
The NSWP, which is a Commonwealth Government-funded initiative, aims to improve the wellbeing of young people through the provision of chaplains or wellbeing officers in schools. This program will support vulnerable young people and aims at improving their mental health and wellbeing.
Through a robust, needs-based methodology, CSNSW prioritised schools for participation based on an assessment of applications against the core criteria and common conditions, as outlined in the NSWP Guidelines. The needs-based lens CSNSW applied to all applications included ICSEA data, Indigenous student population, school attendance rate and level, wellbeing needs and the school’s readiness to participate in the Program. Finally, we considered a school’s previous participation in the Program and assessed whether there were areas of unmet need in communities that had not yet benefited from the Program.
This new program will see 142 systemic and non-systemic Catholic schools across all 11 dioceses in NSW participate. This is an increase in participating schools from previous years, and it is pleasing to have all dioceses in NSW represented in the program.
The list of schools participating in the program can be accessed here.
CSNSW’s Submission on the Draft Stage 6 English, Mathematics and History Syllabuses (Ref: 293/23)
CSNSW will be making submissions to NESA on behalf of the Sector on the draft Stage 6 English Mathematics and History syllabuses that are currently available for consultation. Subject matter experts from Dioceses and RI/MPJ schools are invited to complete a survey or participate in an online forum to help form the basis of these submissions.
Please complete the Expression of Interest Form if you would like to receive a survey or register for an online forum. Please click on the link and complete and submit the form by Monday, 20 November, and a survey or meeting link will be sent to you on reception.
Online Forums are scheduled for
- English: Wednesday 29 November 9.00-10.00 am
- Mathematics: Wednesday 29 November 10.30-11.30 am
- Ancient History: Friday 1 December 1-1.25 pm
- Modern History: Friday 1 December 1.30 -2.00 pm
Have Your Say Submissions
The syllabus for each course has been placed on the CSNSW Reform Hub, and teachers of these courses are encouraged to voice their professional opinion on the future of the Stage 6 curriculum via the Have Your Say Surveys, which can be accessed via this link https://csnsw.link/NESA-HaveyoursayS6
The consultation period will remain open till 18 December.
Please contact Joanne Hack at [email protected] if you have questions regarding any aspect of the Curriculum Reform.
The Australian Early Development Census Data Collection (Ref: 291/23)
The next Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) data collection will occur in Term 2, 2024, across all NSW schools.
Kindergarten teachers complete a checklist for each child in their class – it takes about 20 minutes per child. The Australian Government provides schools with teacher relief funds to support this process.
Principals will receive an email from the AEDC before the end of the year that includes important information on the data collection process.
The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is a nationwide triennial census that measures how children have developed by the time they start school. The AEDC aims to highlight what is working well and what needs to be improved or developed to support children and families. It measures five developmental domains:
- Physical health and wellbeing
- Social competencies
- Emotional maturity
- Language and cognitive skills
- Communication skills and general knowledge
Value of the data
The AEDC:
- Delivers essential information about the development of children in the community.
- Provides the opportunity to think about the social and environmental factors that influence child development.
- Moves the focus of effort from the individual to the community to make a bigger difference.
- Provides an opportunity to “shift the curve” or future of a whole population.
More information is available on the AEDC website.
Please contact Angela Cain ([email protected]) with any questions.