What is the role of a head teacher?
By Linda Simon
For more than a year, Federation has been attempting to update the TAFE Promotions Positions agreement.
This is to ensure that it reflects the reality of a head teacher's job today.
When this agreement was first negotiated in 1998, as part of the negotiations from the 1996 award, the intention of the parties was that the award would be reviewed and updated on a continuous basis. The criteria and weightings that were relevant to head teachers in 1998, are not necessarily the ones most critical in 2004.
As part of this review, an extensive survey was undertaken by TAFE and Federation. The issues raised in the survey indicated the immense workload that has fallen more and more onto TAFE head teachers for a number of years, and the desire that head teachers have to once again be able to focus on the role of educational leadership.
Four meetings were held with TAFE head teachers at the end of first semester, in Wollongong, Newcastle, Central Coast and Sydney. At the same time, an issues paper was distributed for other head teachers to respond to. There are some slight variations in responses, but overall head teachers wanted the following:
- a clear job description of their role and an identification of work that should be undertaken by other employees. Special program coordinators have also requested the same;
- a memorandum of understanding with TAFE that identifies the support and resources required by a teaching section to undertake the work;
- resolution of the anomalies in the agreement, so that band 2s are paid old senior head teacher step 2, and band 1s are paid old head teacher step 2 salaries (as per the Federation's Leave Reserve Clause in the award);
- development of a consistent statewide annual review based on an agreed hours report and a consultative process;
- job security so that positions cannot be downgraded at the whim of management, or changes to profile hours over which the teachers/head teachers have no control;
- the lowering of bandwidths, particularly at the top of band 2;
- the updating of criteria and weightings;
- the addressing of workload issues.
These issues must be addressed in these discussions, and have been further highlighted as part of the Industrial Relations Commission decision in relation to promotions positions in Catholic Schools, and Federation's call for a flow-on to promotions positions in all areas.
Linda Simon is TAFE TA Secretary.
For further information
August 2004 contents
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