Since joining CSPV I have been involved in many changes in a very short time. Late in 2018 we completed a strategic planning review of the organisation which was endorsed at our CSPV AGM in November where I was also elected as new Chair. In my new role our Executive Officer, Rachel Saliba and I have been busy meeting with the various Diocesan Directors and school system representatives across Victoria to present our new 5-year strategic plan. The plan includes new Vision and Mission statements:

Catholic School Parents Victoria Vision:
Parents* of children throughout Victorian Catholic education, engaged as valued partners in supporting children's learning, providing leadership and shared decision making alongside educators.
(*Parent includes natural, adopted or foster parents, guardians or care givers of young people attending Catholic Schools.)

Catholic School Parents Victoria Mission:
To empower parent perspective and leadership in Catholic education through partnerships, communication and advocacy.

There are several changes to the CSPV advocacy campaigns this year with the development of a new strategic advocacy plan.

CSPV Advocacy is now delivered under two pillars of Parent Engagement and Parent Leadership. Under each of these will be the various campaigns CSPV will be working on over the next five years including:

Parent Engagement in:
• Curriculum
• Child Safety
• Wellbeing
• Catholic Community

Parent Leadership in:
• Parent Engagement
• School Funding
• National Issues (CSPA)

The new strategic plan will be available on our website soon along with a new CSPV prospectus. Visit www.cspv.catholic.edu.au for further information about CSPV.

Parent perspective is enabled through CSPV participation in various events and forums, providing feedback and writing submissions including the following CSPV have already been involved in this year:

• Naplan Reporting Review
• VCE Studies Review
• Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA) Parent Engagement Project
• Catholic Education Melbourne Parents as Partners Policy Review
• National Catholic Education Commission - NCEC 2020 Conference Organising Committee

With the upcoming NCEC 2020 Conference being held in Melbourne from 6 – 9 September next year, we are excited to be invited to participate in various organising committees to provide parent perspective across four established key streams of Catholic Identity, Leadership and Governance, Communication and Community Engagement and School Improvement.  

There is no doubt the past few weeks have been some of the most challenging in the lives of many Catholic families throughout the country, and indeed the world with the conviction of one of the highest ranked members of the Catholic Clergy. It is times like these that we may be tested in our beliefs in God and in the Church. In this newsletter, we reflect in an article, our own experiences as parents of children in Catholic schools when our sense of who we are as Catholics is challenged, we explore the culture of child safety in our schools to protect children from harm and what our role is as families to ensure all children are safe, not only in our schools but in the broader community.

CSPV are deeply committed to parent engagement in child safety advocacy in various ways including the implementation of the child safe standards and policies that are now legally mandated in Victoria. Victorian Catholic schools are not only legally obligated to implement the 7 child safe standards, they strive to create a whole school culture of child safety that includes student voice in being aware of their own personal safety.

Learning to trust others is an essential life skill as is understanding when something is not right, to have the courage to speak up and develop protective and preventive behaviours. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, families and friends whose courageous actions will ensure children will be more protected from harm.

The recent Plenary Listening and Dialogue phase of the Plenary 2020 resulted in over 68,000 Australians contributing their thoughts and feelings about the future of the Catholic Church. Reformation by one definition is “The action or process of reforming an institution or practice”. Listening to the people and where Catholic identity now fits in the contemporary world is critical in the reformation of the Catholic Church.

With the Listening and Dialogue phase now complete, the National Centre for Pastoral Research will continue the deep listening process, conducting a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the submissions received and, using best-practice research methods, will identify key themes that have emerged. Further information can be found at http://plenarycouncil.catholic.org.au/frequently-asked-questions/

Catholic School Parents Victoria is made up of a team of current parents of children who attend Catholic schools in Victoria and our council members are all volunteers who are passionate about education and advocating for issues that impact parents and children.

If you feel you could contribute by joining CSPV and representing parent perspective in Catholic education across various advocacy areas, visit the CSPV website where you will find further information (http://cspv.catholic.edu.au/join-us/www.cspv.catholic.edu.au/joinus) along with a prospectus for download or you may call 03 9267 0458.

CSPV are currently seeking members in the Eastern and Northern regions of Melbourne and the diocese of Sale, Sandhurst and Ballarat. We would value your contribution to the development of CSPV in providing parent perspective in Catholic education at a diocesan and State level.

Until next time,
Rod Lewis
Chairperson, CSPV.

Following consultation with the priests and many involved in Catholic Education in the Diocese of Ballarat, Bishop Paul Bird recently announced a new approach to the governance of parish primary and secondary schools in the Ballarat diocese.

The new model for school governance emerged from a long-term project undertaken by a governance working party of the Ballarat Diocesan Schools Advisory Council (BDSAC). The working party, which commenced in 2012, has developed a model of school governance that will provide consistency and professionalism of governance for parish schools. It will also enable the continued pastoral ministry of priests in parish schools, without them being employers of staff. This latter point was one of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

A new company has been established called Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited (DOBCEL), and a board of directors has been appointed to govern parish schools where no priest is available for active governance and those parish schools where the parish priest elects (on behalf of the parish) to transfer responsibility for governance to the company.

CSPV would like to congratulate all board members on their respective appointments, particularly Tracey O'Neill, a previous Chair of Catholic School Parents Victoria and parent of children in the diocese of Ballarat, to the position of inaugural chair of the DOBCEL board. We would like to wish Tracey, the board members and working parties all the best for their important work on their journey ahead. CSPV look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the new board.

Parent Engagement in Catholic Community - Awakenings curriculum

Are you aware of how Religious Education is taught at your child's school?
The Diocese of Ballarat has developed a video and brochure for parents of children in Ballarat diocesan schools to build understanding of the RE Curriculum. This enables your engagement in Catholic Community and in the education of your child.

The new Awakenings curriculum in the Diocese of Ballarat provides materials and resources to support deep learning and enquiry in Religious Education. It responds to the current landscape in which families live and in which Catholic schools operate. Watch the video below to see how parents can enrich their child's religious education journey.

The Plenary 2020 listening and dialogue sessions have been an opportunity to come together for reflection, to participate in conversation about what it means to be a Catholic in modern times. What is it that we, as Catholic school parents, are being called to do? Our first and most important role is in being leaders in our homes, to show our children the way and demonstrate what sort of people we want to be as families who follow the example of Jesus.

It’s not often as busy families we have the opportunity to stop, reflect, think and wonder what our thoughts are and what the future holds, particularly during this time of change, of rebirth and of reformation in the Church. During this time of change in the Church, we may wonder, who will be the future leaders of our community?

Archbishop Comensoli stated in a Pentecostal letter written during 2018, “We want to find hope, but struggle to see it before us. We call for reform, but do not seek conversion. We desire change, so long as others are doing the changing. Are these not the fears and wounds that are holding us back in our upper rooms? Are they not what makes us – and our life in the Church – old and tired, angry or indifferent?"

It may be an instant reaction to feel anger and frustration when we hear of the failures of many leaders in our world and more recently of those in the Church. Leaders who, as children ourselves were encouraged to trust, to listen to and to admire. But our judgement or anger in others can also be a reflection on how we place value on these emotions during these times instead of what we can learn from these experiences. Anger is not encouraging hope in our youth that there are still leaders to admire and that they too can aspire to become future leaders. 

In a recent article by John Warhurst in Eureka online news discussing the reaction of Catholics to the recent conviction of Cardinal George Pell, he states "The reaction of regular church-going Catholics and the broader Catholic community is harder to capture. Anger and outrage at betrayal, even grief and trauma, was frequent. What they seemed to have in common was devastation for the church and guilt by association by being branded a Catholic in a hurtful way. This association may be extended to the tens of thousands of non-Catholic parents and students in Catholic schools and the many thousands of non-Catholic staff of Catholic agencies, including hospitals, welfare services, aged care and international aid and development."

As parents of children in Catholic schools, no matter what our beliefs, we may recognise ourselves in this statement. A sense of shame, of questioning our belief in the Church and in the educational institutions in which we choose to educate our children when so many children have been betrayed. How we discuss these most recent events and revelations with our children is deeply personal. But as leaders in our homes and communities, we are challenged to recognise what is most important in our understanding of faith and what it means for our every day lives.

As a Catholic there is a deep sense that an education in faith is hugely beneficial for our children in their growth as people who are encouraged to serve others less fortunate than themselves. There is a knowing and an understanding that the majority of people who are educated and live as Christians are genuinely good people with good intentions. 

Faith gives us a sense of optimism that things will be better, that the dark times will fade and that there is hope. These words we hear often can be translated to provide us and our children with the strength to continue as proud Catholics or in being educated in a Catholic school.

As parents of children in Catholic schools we are very capable of leading positive change in the Church and in our communities, but most of all within our families. Parents are the first leaders in the education of their children. Pope Francis continues to emphasise the importance of families in setting an example. He states, “Truly Christian families are known by their fidelity, their patience, their openness to life, and their respect for the elderly…..the secret to this is the presence of Jesus in the family.”

Our leadership begins in the home where we have every opportunity to be the examples to our children of what it means to be ‘growing young in Christ’.

As one famous leader Nelson Mandela stated, “a leader is a shepherd. He stays behind the flock letting the most nimble go ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.” 

It is with this realization that we are called as leaders, alongside educators, to guide our children on their road ahead. Many children are beginning their learning journey as first-time students, others are starting a new year level with new classmates and some are completing their final year of school. Taking the time to pause and share in conversation as a family about how this new journey is unfolding for each of us, provides the opportunity for reflection. Every day we are called to be leaders in our homes, in our schools and in our broader communities to lead the next generation to ‘grow young in Christ.’

As Catholic communities each year we celebrate St Patrick's Day. This day is more than shamrocks and Irish pubs, dressing in green and sharing a pint of guiness. It has a signifance for many Catholics around Australia and throughout the world.

Last Friday over 300 schools paraded proudly into St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne to celebrate a Saint who has a proud history in this country. On the Friday evening Archbishop Comensoli delivered an oration that called people to follow the work of St Patrick in "re-planting our city with the seeds of the Gospel, re-discovering a knowledge, language and pedagogy that can transform lives. It is a proposal to make the move away from the institutional centre and relocate ourselves among our local neighbourhoods of grace."

The full oration talks us through the history of St Patrick and how he helped to transform and strengthen the communities of Ireland.

Catholic School Parents Victoria recently launched a Facebook page to continue to build connection with our main stakeholders, parents of children in Catholic schools. The facebook page will keep parents up to date with the work of CSPV and topical issues in education. Please visit the link, like and share with your friends to continue to build awareness of Catholic education across Victoria.

CSPV Executive were recently provided with an update on funding for Catholic schools from Catholic Education Melbourne. The news for Catholic schools in the lead up to the Federal election is very positive due to the persistence of our Catholic Education leaders. CSPV acknowledge the work of the National Catholic Education Commission and the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria in securing ongoing funding from both the Liberal and Labor parties no matter who wins the election.

In the lead up to the State election in 2018 there were still some uncertainties around capital funding for Catholic schools. However it was announced late in 2018 that the State Government election promises included a positive pledge of $400 million over the next four years for capital works for non-government schools.

This equates to an average $100million a year with about $70million+ estimate to be received annually by Victorian Catholic schools. Previously the funding was $30million between 2015-2018.

Victorian Catholic schools will now receive the highest funded State government capital support of any other state or territory throughout Australia.

Federal Funding for Catholic schools

Federal funding has now been secured for Catholic schools throughout Australia following an ongoing campaign to ensure Catholic schools remain an affordable option for families. 

The Prime Minister and Education Minister announced late 2018 the following:

A new fund to temporarily address unresolved issues from 2020 ($1.2 billion for non-government sector)

• Predominantly to keep fees low in Parish Primary schools and support small regional schools
• Nationally Catholic sector expects around $718 million which is then distributed in each State or Territory.
• Allocation by state/territory is to be decided by the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC). 

There will be a new method for calculating parent capacity to pay for education which will be based on Parental Income Tax data. The tax data held by the taxation office will be matched with parent address details. No other information will be required to be provided to school. Catholic schools are transitioning to this new model with the option to select the Personal Income Tax (PIT) measure or existing SES methodology between 2020 and 2023.

Since the Education Maintenance Allowance was introduced, Health Care Cards funding has been provided to support the accessibility of low income families to attend Catholic schools.

• This may also be used to support low income families not on Health Card Cards
• The funding also supports all fees and standard levies and charges

This funding is not provided as an addition to school staffing and resources but includes additional resourcing for for HCC students.

NCCD Funding for students with diverse learning needs

CSPV invited the NCEC representative for NCCD funding and Manager of Learning Diversity at Catholic Education Melbourne, Judy Connell to speak at our final meeting for 2018. The presentation provided a broader insight to council members of the intricacies and challenges of the NCCD funding for children with diverse needs. 

The legislation introduced by previous Education Minister Simon Birmingham now means that all schools and approved authorities must participate in NCCD annually (collected at census).

Interpretations of the model will become part of regular teaching practice with quality differentiated teaching an expectation – there are three adjustment levels that funding is based on:

-Supplementary Adjustments

-Substantial Adjustments

-Extensive Adjustments

NCCD consultants have been working with growth schools to help them understand the system and anticipated adjustments.

Categories of disability are:

• Physical
• Cognitive - any child who learns differently
• Sensory - hearing or vision loss
• Social/Emotional - mental health issues/trauma/anxiety

Schools need to determine need and be flexible to changes. This includes regular consultation with families which is essential for NCCD funding assessment due to the nature of assessing need at certain times. It is also critical for parents to communicate changes with the school to enable the school to determine funding need.

Further information provided during the presentation included:

• Schools must have sufficient and adequate documented written evidence of adjustments having been provided over the minimum of 10 week period
• The information will not identify individual students
• Students with Disability (SWD) - in specialist settings are funded at a much higher rate than in mainstream schools
• Catholic schools are already providing support children with disability.
  NCCD recognises all the things that teachers do and fund accordingly.

Therapy and equipment is funded by the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) with extra contingency funds as the NCCD funding will not cover all necessary requirements for some schools. 

If you or someone you know has further questions about the NCCD, click on the link below or speak with your school Principal.

Many parents are concerned with how their children can make quality friendships in primary school. Research has found a positive link between high-quality friendships and better academic results. They also experience less stress from peer exclusion.

Social competence influences the formation of friendships and children need support to develop social skills. 

Parents can support their children by implementing some simple strategies including encouraging extra curricular activities, organising play dates with peers and discussing strategies for making friends at school. Teachers also support students to make and maintain positive friendships through teaching interpersonal skills, such as providing opportunities for play and discussing friendship issues.

In this article, 'Making Friends in Primary School Can Be Tricky,' Dr Natasha Wardman discusses ways parents can support friendship formation for children.

Click here to read the full article

Did you know that learning not only happens in the classrooom, it's also happening in the playground too. Recess and lunch time provides children with many learning opportunties but also a break from academic learning that also assists the brain to reset for the rest of the day.

Regular breaks throughout the day, inlcuding brain breaks and longer recess breaks, can boost brain function and develop social skills. This short video highlights some of the research indicating why recess is crucial to children's development. 

For many students and parents transitioning to university is an exciting phase, however for some it can also be an anxious time. In the following article, 'Five top tips to succeed in your first year of university,' Maria Chisari discusses strategies to help students have a successful first year university experience. 

1) Find support services - all universities offer a range of support services including counselling, mental health, peer mentoring groups and learning workshops. Students are encouraged to find out about the range of services offered. 

2) Manage your time well - students can draw up a semester plan to help manage study workloads.

3) Keep up-to-date with readings - good assignments are informed by evidence that is supported by readings and research.

4) Avoid plagiarism - remember to reference reading sources correctly.

5) Enjoy university life - students must take responsibility for their own learning, but speak to lecturers and tutors if they have any concerns.

Click the following link to read the full article.

The eSafety Commisioner is responsible for promoting online safety for all Australians.

The Office co-ordinates and leads the online safety efforts of government, industry and the not-for profit community, providing:

• a complaints service for young Australians who experience serious cyberbullying
• identifying and removing illegal online content
• tackling image-based abuse.

The Office also aims to educate all Australians about online safety including young people, women, teachers, parents, seniors and community groups;
endeavouring to empower all Australians to explore the online world—safely.

The website provides a number of resources including iParent, where you can learn about the digital environment and how to help your child have safe and enjoyable online experiences. Some staying safe tools include digital legacy, esecurity, online basics, balancing time online and online gaming. Online risks and online safeguards are also explored. 

Written by Jeff Wilde, Community Engagement Coordinator, CatholicCare

Family Week is the combination of fun activities and fundraising events that are undertaken by schools and parishes across Greater Melbourne, Geelong and Gippsland. It is celebrated each year with the aim of strengthening families and communities, and this year it will run from 15 to 21 May to coincide with National Families Week.

Parents, schools and parishes are encouraged to partner with CatholicCare to participate in Family Week activities that are relevant and suitable for each respective community.

Who are CatholicCare and what do they do?

Relationships are at the heart of CatholicCare’s mission. Where relationships within a family are fractured, CatholicCare, in a spirit of hope, works to rebuild connections, nourish resilience and improve communication. Thus CatholicCare has a significant role in “equip[ing] our young people with the knowledge, skills, hope and optimism to live meaningful lives and shape and enrich the world around them.” (From the vision statement of Catholic Education Melbourne)

Following broad consultation including with Catholic School Parents Victoria, CatholicCare’s theme for Family Week 2019 is Building Connections in the Spirit of Hope. This year’s resources focus on the dynamic concept of Hope – how it can be celebrated and strengthened within families, within school communities, and how CatholicCare programs contribute to the wellbeing and provision of hope for families of all backgrounds. 

Catholic schools work in many different ways to nourish and support families. The resources from CatholicCare are a focus and a stimulus to that work. The resources for Primary and Secondary classes, and for families, will be available for download on the CatholicCare website from late March. Please feel free to connect with the CatholicCare Team to discuss your needs and ideas on how you and your family could participate in Family Week.

Families supported by CatholicCare are often facing complex issues and difficult times. If your family and school partake in the Family Week activities, you may be invited by your school to extend a helping hand by donating to support CatholicCare’s work with families. Furthermore, for a family member or friend in need, you may be the vital link in connecting them to CatholicCare services.

More information on these services is available at www.ccam.org.au/services or by contacting (03) 9287 5555.

Genuine hope is built on vulnerability and love, rather than self-defence and indifference; on a joy that seeks new opportunities, rather than a fear that constantly sees new threats; on a strong community base rather than individualism; on building bridges not walls.

In this spirit, you are invited to be involved in Family Week 2019.