Attention! NSW Gonski Bus tour details
10 March 2017
Section: News
Listed here are the Gonski Bus activities planned for your area. Buses will enter NSW from Queensland (the northern bus) and Victoria (the southern bus).
Collective action will achieve gains for gender equity, IWD event hears
8 March 2017
Section: News
Women’s struggles for equality were acknowledged at an International Women’s Day morning tea at Federation’s Surry Hills headquarters this morning. International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge women’s progress towards gender equality in terms of social, political and economic rights that have been achieved through collective action.
Statement of support for early educators taking strike action
8 March 2017
Section: News
The NSW Teachers Federation extends solidarity to United Voice in its campaign to achieve equal pay in the female-dominated childcare sector. Today, more than 1000 early childhood educators are expected to strike from 3.20pm, which represents the time women in Australia effectively start working for free because of the persistent gender pay imbalance.
Early career teachers offered timely advice
6 March 2017
Section: News
Practical strategies to help with student engagement were discussed at today’s Centre for Professional Learning course: Classroom Management through Effective Teaching. “Programming is the key to engaging students,” Jane Sherlock, retired Head Teacher and a course presenter said. “The syllabus is the foundation but you add the engagement and inspiration through your program and your lessons.”
Gonski bus campaign to fight Malcolm Turnbull’s cuts
1 March 2017
Section: News
The AEU’s “I Give a Gonski” Campaign will launch a national bus tour in Adelaide and Brisbane today to highlight the great results Gonski funding is delivering to schools and the threat to students from Malcolm Turnbull’s plan to scrap Gonski after this year. The Adelaide bus will be launched by South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill, and the Brisbane bus by Queensland Education Minister Kate Jones.
Sydney International Women’s Day March and Rally on Saturday 11 March 2017
23 February 2017
Section: News
Unions NSW will be coordinating the 2017 Sydney International Women’s Day March and Rally on Saturday March 11. This year’s theme is “Forwards Not Backwards”, drawing attention to the many ways that gender equality appears to slipping, particularly in the area of health, economics, representation and safety. Date: Saturday March 11Time: 10amLocation: Archibald Fountain, Hyde Park North
International Women’s Day on Wednesday 8 March 2017
22 February 2017
Section: News
International Women’s Day, on March 8, has been a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women for more than 100 years, and is now considered the strongest global call-to-action for accelerating gender parity.
Former public education inquiry head Tony Vinson dies
20 February 2017
Section: News
Chair of the 2002 Independent Inquiry into the Provision of Public Education in NSW, Tony Vinson, died on February 17. “His life’s work whether it be his ground-breaking prison reform or his inquiry into public education has always been underpinned by a commitment to social justice,” Federation President Maurie Mulheron said.
Just a few days left to tell inquiry what’s needed to support students with disabilities
20 February 2017
Section: News
“Every school and every teacher needs to ensure that they have made a submission into the NSW parliament inquiry into students with disability, Guildford West Public School assistant principal and Federation executive member Kathryn Bellach says. “Write a school one together and then encourage every teacher to select a part out of it and use it as the basis for an individual submission — the more the better.”
Closing the Gap education targets in jeopardy without full Gonski dollars
15 February 2017
Section: News
How can the Prime Minister cut schools funding when the target to halve the gap in reading and numeracy for Indigenous students by 2018 is not on track, Federation President Maurie Mulheron asked today. The Closing the Gap: Prime Minister’s Report 2017, published yesterday, states: “The latest data show of the eight areas measured (reading and numeracy for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9), only one (Year 9 numeracy) is on track.”
Workload stresses need to be addressed with adequate resources
15 February 2017
Section: News
Rising stress levels among principals has prompted a renewed call from the Australian Education Union for governments to properly resource schools. The Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey released by Teachers Health Fund reports the main cause of rising stress levels for principals is the “sheer quantity of administrative work” they are required to perform, plus a lack of time to focus on teaching and learning.
PSA staff take strike action over privatisation of public disability services
14 February 2017
Section: News
NSW Disability Services employees will take strike action today to call on the NSW Government to stop the privatisation of public disability services.
Action not just words needed for Indigenous students
14 February 2017
Section: News
The Prime Minister’s sentiments that Indigenous children should be given every opportunity to get the most out of their education are admirable but need to be accompanied by action, Federation President Maurie Mulheron said today. “He needs to support full implementation of the Gonski model at the COAG meeting in April,” Mr Mulheron said.
Teachers affected by pension cuts – how you can speak out
6 February 2017
Section: News
Retired teachers are among those hit by recent changes to the aged pension entitlements. The cuts affect middle Australia — a couple who own their own home now lose eligibility for the full pension if they have around $350,000 in assets. The amount retirees lose tapers away much more steeply than before. A couple who previously received a part-pension of $250 per week now get no pension.
Turnbull’s “Alternative Facts” on schools funding
1 February 2017
Section: News
Malcolm Turnbull today repeated the claim that school funding has increased by 50 per cent in the past decade’ in a speech at the Canberra Press Club. This figure is one that has been ‘pulled out of the air’, according to Federation President Maurie Mulheron, and has not been substantiated with any evidence by either the Prime Minister or his Education Minister, Simon Birmingham.
Fair Work gives green light to TAFE EA
30 January 2017
Section: News
The Fair Work Commission has approved the TAFE Commission of NSW Teachers and Related Employees Enterprise Agreement 2016 that members voted to accept last November. This means members will begin receiving the benefits of the new Enterprise Agreement – including a 2.5 per cent annual pay rise over three years with all current conditions locked in – from February 3, in accordance with Section 54 of the Fair Work Act. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is February 3, 2020.
Call for Baird government’s school funding legacy to continue
19 January 2017
Section: News
The finest way to recognise and acknowledge retiring NSW Premier Mike Baird will be for the successor leadership to continue the state Coalition government’s commitment and full, long-term funding support for Gonski, teacher organisations said in a joint statement today.
Comprehending the world of poetry for your classroom
17 January 2017
Section: News
xHow to create a poetry-loving classroom and meet K-6 syllabus outcomes will be covered in a Centre for Professional Learning course on May 1. The course will explore reading, writing and comprehending poetry, mention a variety of poems to share with students and strategies for developing students’ writing of poetry. How to use poetry in key learning areas other than English will be discussed, plus how to plan a unit of work to teach poetry.
Salaries Increases for 2017
13 January 2017
Section: News
The new salaries and conditions voted for by members on December 8, 2016 under the 2017-2019 Award have now commenced. The 2.5% per year salary increase will start from the first pay period after January 1, 2017 – teachers will receive the increase in their pay for the period January 13 – January, 26 which is the first full pay cycle for 2017. Casual teachers are reminded that their pay cycle is now aligned to that of permanent and temporary teachers.
College collapse shows why TAFE must be properly funded
9 January 2017
Section: News
The dire situation of students caught up in the collapse of another private training college shows why public funding of vocational training must be directed to TAFE rather than shared among unreliable private operators. “The 800 students who had signed up to Australasian College should have had the opportunity and security of admission to TAFE courses that deliver guaranteed programs based on quality teaching that delivers qualifications respected by industry,” acting Federation President Denis Fitzgerald said.