The dawn of teacher unionism among NSW public school teachers
22 March 2018
Section: News
In the early years of the 20th century, growing numbers of teachers began realising that the only path to salary justice was to organise and fight for the right to appear before an independent tribunal.
Students eagerly await learning time in cultural centre
22 March 2018
Section: News
Briar Road Public School’s Cultural Centre has been a labour of love for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff that is paying off for students at the south Campbelltown school.
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination – Harmony Day
The 21st March takes its rise from the Sharpeville massacre that took place during Apartheid South Africa which occurred on this date in 1960. This saw a military response to a civil rights movement and since that date has been acknowledged as the day that freedom from racial discrimination is maintained as a human right.
Federation’s Stop TAFE Cuts campaign continues
20 March 2018
Section: News
Federation’s Stop TAFE Cuts campaign continued with protests at Padstow and Wyong TAFE. TAFE teachers and community members met with state Opposition Leader Luke Foley at Padstow on the first stop of Labor’s “Schools and Hospitals before Stadiums” campaign.
All About Women, Sydney Opera House on March 4, 2018
19 March 2018
Section: News
The Sydney Opera House’s annual talks and ideas festival “All About Women” is timed to coincide with events in the lead up to International Women’s Day. The 2018 program, Curated by Edwina Throsby (formerly the TEDxSydney Head of Curation and founder and producer of ABC’s Big Ideas) offered talks and discussions, live podcasts and group lessons exploring the ability of food to bring like-minded people together.
2018 Principals’ Conference
9 March 2018
Section: News
Federation’s 2018 Principals’ Conference aimed to help Principals understand and navigate the changing nature of work in schools. In an opening address, President Maurie Mulheron singled out the Department’s Local Schools, Local Decision policy as the primary driver of increased workload in schools.
March for International Women’s Day – Sydney CBD
8 March 2018
Section: News
Join with fellow teachers in the Sydney CBD on Saturday 10 March for an International Women’s Day March.
Resourcing brings results; calls for review of NAPLAN
7 March 2018
Section: News
Improvements in student outcomes are due to additional resourcing won in the Gonski campaign, not because of NAPLAN testing.
Guns don’t belong in schools
6 March 2018
Section: News
Gun violence in schools was raised at the Australian Education Union’s annual federal conference, held recently in Melbourne.
Market-goers share TAFE success stories, fear consequences of funding cuts
6 March 2018
Section: News
Terrific stories about how TAFE can change people’s lives were revealed by locals at the Riverside Markets in Kempsey on Saturday, Federation TAFE Organiser Adam Curlis said.
Tree Levy grants schools green space
2 March 2018
Section: News
The Tree Levy is an annual grants scheme funded by Federation that aims to offset the environmental impact of the union’s activities via a notional levy on the paper used by the union.
Policy gap widening
2 March 2018
Section: News
This year is the 10th since millions of Australians mourned, wept, celebrated and embraced loved ones on the day then-prime minister Kevin Rudd delivered the National Apology to the First Peoples and to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children forcibly removed from their family and community.
Policy core threat to public schools
2 March 2018
Section: News
In the lead up to the March 2019 NSW election, Federation will continue to expose the Department’s Local Schools, Local Decisions policy as the single greatest threat to teacher permanency and high-quality, high-equity public schooling for all students.
Shoring up support for our Beginning Teachers
2 March 2018
Section: News
With the start of the new school year, Federation has received a number of inquiries about the use of beginning teacher support funds in schools.
Funding cut set to bite
2 March 2018
Section: News
This was to be the year of a significant school funding uplift, intended to bring hundreds of NSW public schools closer to the minimum Schooling Resource Standard (SRS).
History Lesson: Teaching in the early days
2 March 2018
Section: News
The earliest teachers in what is now the state of NSW were Aboriginal men and
women. They taught life skills and tribal awareness via ceremony, dance, lore, oral
storytelling and art.
TAFE failed by smart move
2 March 2018
Section: News
The NSW Government’s vocational education policy, Smart and Skilled, continues to fail our communities, TAFE students, teachers and support staff.
There’s nothing casual about teaching
1 March 2018
Section: News
Standards-based remuneration and pre-2004 teachers; Temporary engagement notices; Accreditation and maintenance
Vale Colleen Hood
1 March 2018
Section: News
At Federation’s February Council meeting, General Secretary John Dixon remembered Colleen Hood as a tireless and courageous advocate in the struggle for justice and fairness. A long-time teacher, Federation Life Member and labour movement activist, she died after a short illness on 8 January, aged 75.
Turnbull Government’s political ads rip $10m out of school funding
1 March 2018
Section: News
The Federal Education Department has been caught misleading Australian parents over funding of almost $10 million for an advertising campaign with money that should have gone to schools.
Expert to present NAPLAN report at public lecture
1 March 2018
Section: News
A world leader in assessment theory and practice, Dr Les Perelman, will outline his findings on NAPLAN at a public lecture on Friday, 4 May at 6pm.