Federation has won important gains to relieve workload for hospitality teachers and clarify the classroom teaching requirements of career advisers.
At a recent meeting with the Department of Education, Federation outlined a series of concerns that hospitality teachers and careers advisers had raised at their respective Special Interest Group meetings.
Federation had received many complaints associated with the implementation of the co-assessment model for hospitality teachers. Teachers who have met the three-year industry experience requirement have been directed to also complete the Alternative Assessment Strategy for their classes.
This directive involved a duplication of tasks already completed by many students and teachers, compliant with Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) standards.
The re-assessment reports are incredibly long and detailed and many teachers were finding it difficult to undertake this task with year 12 students who have only 23 weeks of school remaining.
Teachers have identified an immense increase in workload to plan and organise lessons in which these extra tasks will be undertaken. Extra time is also required to complete, mark, scan and upload results to the Quality Management System.
The Department agreed to the provision of further teacher-relief funding to support teachers of Year 12 classes in 2018 and further stated in a letter, dated 3 May, to Federation that:
“This funding support is an interim strategy to address the extra work required of those teachers of Year 12 specifically during 2018. Moving into 2019, all hospitality teachers will be provided with consistent assessment packages which will integrate the assessment requirements, in an effort to minimise the workload of teachers, particularly those who do not meet the three-year industry experience requirement to assess specific units of competency.”
Federation also raised an issue that many careers advisers are facing in their schools — the increasing practice where careers advisers are being asked to take an increasing number of timetabled career lessons thus reducing their counselling role with students.
The Department has always maintained that the “final role statement for the Careers Adviser in each school should be developed in consultation with the Principal”. The Department has agreed to reissue the departmental document to principals that states “any teaching allocation should be negotiated between the Principal and the Careers Adviser”.
Careers Advisers and VETiS teachers are encouraged to join their respective Special Interest Groups. Meetings are held once each term at Federation House and there is an email list for members. Contact Mary Fogarty via [email protected] for details.
Mary Fogarty Research/Industrial Officer