Filter Content
- A message from the Chair
- Changes to Events in 2020
- Parent Engagement in Learning at Home
- Parent Engagement in Curriculum - Update on NAPLAN, VCE/VCAL
- Parent Engagement in Curriculum - Review of VCAL pathways in secondary schools
- Parent Engagement in Wellbeing - The Fathering Project
- Parent Engagement in Child Safety
- Parent Engagement - resources and updates
- Parent Engagement in Child Safety - Staying safe online while learning at home
- School Funding Update - Direct Measure of Income
- Catholic School Parents Victoria - Membership Opportunities
Welcome to the first edition of our Catholic School Parents Victoria newsletter for 2020. Well what a start to the year we've all had so far!
I would like to begin with reflecting on the challenges of the bushfires with many areas in two of our diocese being impacted. In the diocese of Sale and Sandhurst many communities were under threat as fires approached and destroyed small remote towns. As we know the people in those communities who are reliant on tourism during the peak season have all been impacted in so many ways. On top of that, we are now facing further uncertainty with the Coronavirus impacting our daily lives and the way we interact, our jobs and employment and now our children's education.
As an employee in the health sector, I have been witness to many changes over the past few weeks in how we manage during a crisis situation, how we prioritise and how we stick together during these times.
CSPV have been working closely with CECV and have received information from the Department of Education and Training to provide consistent messaging around the situation with schools and will continue to do so as further information comes to hand. The latest information we have is that school holidays will begin sooner than planned and any further decisions will be made as time goes on.
Whilst there has been no specific announcement around the re-opening of schools after the holidays as yet, be rest assured that the system leaders, our schools and families are now preparing for the potential for learning at home as the coronavirus situation becomes more serious and our State goes into lockdown.
Many families may be concerned about what the impact will be on their children's learning should schools close. CSPV have sought advice from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority on the impact particularly for VCE, VCAL/VET students and we've provided an update in this issue.
Further information will become available for primary and secondary schools about learning at home options and CSPV will provide updates and support in line with what schools are expecting of students and their families.
Many schools are busy preparing packs and online resources for student's to learn at home and there are various resources that will be provided to schools by the State government to support the curriculum and learning at home.
We are encouraging parents to continue to remain in contact with their school who will be able to advise their approach to learning at home and the resources they would like students to use. CSPV may also share articles and resources via our website on various ways you can engage in learning with your children at home.
We encourage schools to be clear in their communication with parents about what the expectations are of students and of parents to engage in their children's learning and to work in partnership with the school. It is a challenging time but it can also be a time for sharing and learning alongside each other.
For further updates, please visit the CSPV website for the latest news:
Since the end of 2019 CSPV have been involved in the ongoing consultations related to the changes in governance for Archdiocese of Melbourne Catholic schools, providing parent perspective during this important change to the governance and management of Catholic schools.
CSPV appointed a parent representative as a member of the governance steering committee and more recently our Executive Officer attended and participated in a forum to discuss various issues related to the changes.
We will continue to keep parents informed of the progress of the changes, particularly of interest to school and parish boards.
Click on the link below to view the latest updates from the various consultations that have taken place across the Archdiocese.
CSPV continue to work in partnership with education leaders and have most recently been involved in collaborating with the Wellbeing Unit at CEM in reviewing the Horizons of Hope Statement related to Families and Schools - partners in learning.
At CSPV we believe in and are committed to the gospel values of respect, honesty, justice, compassion, mercy, hospitality and community. These underpin our operations, relationships and communication strategies.- Northern region of the Archdiocese of Melbourne (1 vacancy)
- Eastern region of the Archdiocese of Melbourne (1 vacancy)
- Diocese of Sale (2 vacancies)
- Diocese of Sandhurst (2 vacancies)
- Diocese of Ballarat (1 vacancy)
Until next time,
Rod Lewis
Chairperson, CSPV.
Parent Engagement workshop for secondary schools
We recently began planning an event for Catholic secondary schools to share in dialogue the role each of us have to engage parents in learning of their children. Ironically as parents we are now being called to engage in our children's learning at home as the recent virus has changed the way we are thinking about work and learning and where it happens.
It was with disappointment that we had to cancel the event due to be facilitated by international guest speaker, Anne T Henderson from the US.
Catholic School Parents Victoria will continue to support parents and schools as we move through these challenges with the understanding that we are in this together. Now more than ever our partnerships are critical to support children and their learning during this time.
We will continue to plan for further events in the future and will keep you informed of further opportunities to learn more about how parent engagement impacts student learning outcomes.
Church Services for Catholics
Liturgy and sacramental guidelines
The Bishops of Victoria have issued new guidelines regarding the celebration of liturgies and sacraments.
Public liturgies, celebrations of Mass, and other gatherings such as funerals, weddings and baptisms have been suspended. Clergy have been encouraged to celebrate Mass privately and the Bishops encourage us all to participate spiritually.
All Catholics in Victoria are dispensed from their Sunday obligation until further notice.
Please find some resources below for Catholic families to continue to engage in mass and prayer:
The role of parents to engage in learning at home
You may have seen the stories coming out of Europe and the US or UK of parents having to home school their children as much of the world is in lockdown to ward of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
As we are now aware, schools in Victoria are now closing to bring forward school holidays with further announcements on when schools will return still to come.
The Victorian Chief Health Officer will advise on whether the transition to flexible learning and support should commence on the first day of Term 2 (Wednesday 15th April) closer to that date. (Source: Dr David Howes, Deputy Secretary, Schools and Regional Services, DET Victoria - 23/3/2020)
In the event that schools do eventually close for longer than the normal holiday period from next week, parents may be requested to assist and support their children's learning at home.
Each individual school will be able to provide you and your family with information about the specific learning that children will be expected to complete. Therefore, it should not be on parents to actually do the work of teachers but to support the work that teachers are providing for children - to engage in learning.
So how does this change your role and how will you manage this along with your own work commitments over the coming weeks?
The following website provides an insight into how to manage this change in your family routine and how to keep things as normal as possible for your children as they adapt to the learning environment that includes both school work and learning at home.
The State government has launched a website of resources called The Learning from Home website as well as another site that includes resources on the FUSE website.
These may be used by your school to deliver learning at home so it is recommended that you support the learning plans of the school before embarking on using other resources.
Another article written by our Executive Officer, Rachel Saliba discusses the various roles we already have the capacity for when it comes to learning at home:
Update to Myschool website
VCAA Report
NAPLAN - what will happen this year?
- Education Ministers throughout Australia met and have now decided that NAPLAN will not proceed in 2020. The NAPLAN test window was scheduled to be held from 12 to 22 May.
- The decision to not proceed with NAPLAN in 2020 also means that the scheduled testing of the NAPLAN Online platform, known as the Coordinated Practice Test (CPT), will not proceed.
GAT – General Achievement Test
VCAA are currently redeveloping the GAT. More information will be made available about this review in our next newsletter.
For further information about the GAT, click on the link below:
Coronovirus - What will the impact be for VCE, VCAL and VET students if schools close?
Following our meeting with VCAA we are advised that at this stage there should be no disruptions to study, however should this change, each school will be equipped to manage their students, their studies, placements and school based assessments.
The VCE allows for considerable flexibility in delivery of learning and the administration of school-based assessments and the VCAA is assisting schools to identify suitable arrangements for their students’ learning and assessment on a case-by-case basis.
Schools will be able to provide advice and accommodate each student and their specific situation. External VCAL/VET providers will also need to have flexible solutions in place for their students.
VET programs are based on and contribute to nationally recognised qualifications, so it is not possible for Victoria to adopt a unilateral approach to how these challenges might be managed in the event of school closures. The DET is working with other jurisdictions on this and will provide updated advice as soon as possible.
CSPV will post further information on the CSPV website and you are encouraged to keep visiting the DET website for further updates - https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/coronavirus.aspx
We encourage parents to remain calm and seek advice from their school in how to work in partnership with them to support children through any disruption to their learning or attendance at school or at their placements.
Follow our Facebook page for further information and updates:
Under our advocacy for Parent Engagement in Curriculum, CSPV has been invited to review the VCAL system in secondary schools in Victoria.
We would like to invite parents to contribute their perspective on VCAL as part of our advocacy work to continue to bring parent perspective to key decision making in education as many of the decision made at government level impact parents and their ability to support their children’s learning.
This area specifically impacts parents and their capacity to understand the system of pathways and opportunities available for students to begin learning industry skills while they are still at school.
Parents are often reliant on the secondary school to guide and support their children to make decisions about careers pathways, with little engagement in the process or the opportunity to support their children with the necessary guidance needed to complete VCAL pathways.
In November 2019 the Victorian Government announced the Review into Vocational and Applied Learning Pathways in Senior Secondary Schooling. The Review will make recommendations to reform vocational and applied learning in senior secondary schooling to improve access to and transitions for students between school, post-secondary education and work.
Terms of reference for this review can be found at: https://engage.vic.gov.au/vcalreview
Catholic School Parents Victoria are seeking parent feedback on the questions posed by the Victorian Government to then provide a response in the form of a submission to government.
In accordance with the CSPV Strategic Plan, our advocacy work includes contributing evidence-based parent perspective to critical education forums.
We invite interested parents to respond to a survey or provide written feedback to CSPV for inclusion of responses in our submission to the Victorian Government Review panel.
The survey can be completed at: https://engage.vic.gov.au/vcalreview/parents-and-carers
Submission of your feedback to CSPV can be completed via: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CSPVParentFeedbackVCAL2020
The deadline for submission of a review of the consultation paper is 17th April 2020. Therefore, we would require your feedback by 5pm Wednesday 10th April 2020.
Connecting fathers and male role models with children
As our lives become busier with more pressures on our time, it is important to make time for each other to continue to build relationships with our children as they grow. At the recent national parent council (CSPA) meeting we learned of a wonderful organisation who are making this possible for many fathers, father figures and children in schools across Australia.
The Fathering Project is an Australian based organisation who are dedicated to ensuring children have positive male role models in their lives. The organisation is also dedicated to supporting men to be the best they can be as they face many challenges of their own.
Research shows that more effective fathering means a generation of kids with happier, healthier futures.
The Fathering Project is working to inspire and equip dads and father figures to be the best parents they can be, for the benefit of kids.
Visit the Fathering Project website for further information about forming a Dad's Group in your school. Other information is available on camps, events and resources to help father's and father figures to support children for a better future.
Community Expectations Group
In early March 2020, CSPV attended the quarterly meeting with the VIT Community Expectations Advisory Committee. The committee consists of the three parent councils from government (Parents Victoria), Catholic (Catholic School Parents Victoria) and independent schools (Victorian Parents Council), the Victorian Student Representatives Council (VicSRC), Commissioner for Children and Young People (CCYP), Victorian Registrations and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) and members of Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT).
These meetings highlight the importance of communication and information sharing with parents and an understanding of the role that VIT has to ensure child safety is priority when it comes to the registration of teachers each year.
CSPV acknowledge VIT for their transparency with parents and for putting children's safety first. CSPV support the work of VIT and value the partnership we have established over many years being involved in consultation with the organisation.
CSPV recently reviewed the Victorian Teaching Profession Code of Conduct and invite you to download our submission via the link below:
Last year Catholic School Parents Australia completed the first stage of a national parent engagement toolkit that contains various resources that may be useful. We invite you to explore the toolkit website and share with parents and staff in your school community.
Online safety kit for families to prepare for learning at home
As many families prepare for the possibility of learning at home in the forseeable future, there are various things that need to be considered. One of those is the need for children to be supervised while working online and remaining safe during this time, especially when the expectations may be that they will be working via the internet and online portals.
The Office of the esafety commissioner has developed an online safety kit for parents and carers to keep children safe online during this time.
Facts about the new method for assessing school funding for Catholic schools
While the topic of school funding may seem a little bland in the everyday lives of families, it’s important to understand the facts when it comes to government funding allocations to Catholic schools in Victoria and across Australia.
We often hear exaggerated stories in the media and from the government school perspective about unfair levels of funding to Catholic and Independent schools. These stories create the impression that somehow Catholic schools receive more funding than government schools. However, the latest data shows that, throughout Australia, Catholic schools receive only 79% of the government funding that government schools receive.
The facts are that the education of children costs money. The hiring of staff, consideration of the diverse needs of students and the extensive programs offered in schools all cost money no matter which school your child attends or which sector. Someone has to fund these expenses. Parents in government schools have school costs fully paid by taxpayers, while parents in Catholic schools do not and have to make financial sacrifices. This is a simple fact.
A very important change is being made to the method the government uses to determine how much government funding Catholic and independent schools should receive. This follows an independent review by the NSRB – National Schools Resourcing Board. The NSRB determined that there should be a new way of measuring the capacity of parents to pay school fees in the Catholic and independent sector. As the assessed capacity of parents to pay school fees increases, the amount of government funding a school receives decreases.
Previously, this assessment was undertaken based on the socio-economic status (SES) of the area in which school families lived. This SES model was investigated by the NSRB, which found it to be an unfair and inaccurate estimate of the capacity of parents to pay fees. The NSRB recommended that this assessment instead be based on the actual incomes of families in each school.
The Government accepted this recommendation and has developed a new measure for schools, known as Direct Measure of Income (DMI) scores. School DMI scores are replacing school SES scores as the main determinant of the government funding they receive. By 2022 all Catholic and independent schools will be funded based on DMI scores following a transition period.
How do DMI scores impact parents of children in Catholic schools?
DMI scores are estimated through a highly sophisticated data-matching process undertaken by the federal education department and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). At the start of the process, schools must provide the names and addresses of parents/guardians for each student to the government. This information is then matched to various data on parent incomes held by the government (Income Tax Returns, Group Certificates, Social Security data) with a family income then estimated for each student. The Government then produces a school DMI score from this data. In essence, DMI scores are a means-test to determine how much funding should be allocated to each individual school dependent on parent income data.
All of the data-matching is undertaken in a highly confidential and secure way by the ABS – similar to the way it handles Census data. The school where your child attends will not have any capacity to access income tax data. The only information that schools will receive from the Government after they submit parental names and addresses is their DMI score. Thus there are no reasons to be concerned about the privacy of your data. It is important for parents to ensure their address information is kept up to date with the school to assist this process. Should you change address, it is critical that you provide that information to the school.
The old SES model of funding was assessed every 5 years as it was based on Census data. The new methodology no longer relies on Census data, so it will now be assessed every 12 months. This results in a more accurate measure of parent capacity to pay school fees and enables the school to determine the fee structure more accurately. While there may be slight variations each year depending on parental income data, the shift in funding each year, either up or down, will be minimal and there will be a rolling 3-year average applied.
This new methodology for determining funding allocation has been a hugely successful reform for Catholic schools. The previous, SES system was shown to over-estimate the capacity of parents in Catholic schools to pay fees, unfairly decreasing the amount of government funding they receive. The new DMI scores will ensure funding allocations are fair and equitable, and result in increased funding for Catholic schools. This also enables Catholic schools to keep their fees as low as possible to provide further choice for families who are seeking a Catholic education for their children.
The new funding model applies to both primary and secondary Catholic schools across Victoria and will provide further financial security for Catholic schools moving forward.
Flexible arrangements to meet other priorities have been established via a Choice and Affordability Fund including:
- Choice and affordability of low fee schools
- Special circumstances
- Strengthening outcomes for students with disability
- Student wellbeing and support
- Transition assistance for some schools
CSPV would like to acknowledge the efforts of the Catholic education sector in Victoria over the past four years in their relentless advocacy and campaigning to ensure SES scores are replaced by DMI scores. The new measure will better reflect family incomes in schools and direct more government funding to schools with more low-income families. This change is critical to ensuring our schools are funded fairly by the federal government. It is also worth acknowledging parents of children in Catholic schools for your ongoing support for Catholic education in choosing to send your child to a Catholic school.
CSPV will continue to monitor the progress of the rollout of the DMI method as Catholic schools see the benefits of years of campaigning for Catholic school funding to remain a significant priority for government and the (number of children) Catholic school children across Australia.
Join our friendly team at Catholic School Parents as a member delegate to contribute as a parent/carer leader in Catholic Education.
There are several opportunities available for parents to connect with CSPV.
We recently sent letters to every Principal to invite them to nominate a parent representative to be a liaison with CSPV so we can provide parents with further opportunity to share their voice and perspective on important issues in education.
Please ask your Principal if they received this invitation and if they have any questions about the role to contact our admin officer Julia - admin@cspv.catholic.edu.au.
CSPV also have many opportunitities to contribute to education forums, focus groups and other committees. We currently have several parents as co-opted members sitting on committees to contribute parent voice to a particular discussion taking place about education. Should you be interested in nominating for a co-opted role, please let our admin officer Julia know - admin@cspv.catholic.edu.au.
The terms of reference or definition of a co-opted member can be found on our website at:http://cspv.catholic.edu.au/join-us/
CSPV are currently seeking member delegates to join our team from the following diocese and regions:
Archdiocese of Melbourne Northern region: 1 member delegate
Archdiocese of Melbourne Eastern region: 1 member delegate
Diocese of Sale: 2 member delegates
Diocese of Ballarat: 1 member delegate
Diocese of Sandhurst: 2 member delegates
To learn more about the work of CSPV, visit our website by clicking the link below and download our strategic plan and advocacy plan.
