Articles in this newsletter focus on our various key advocacy areas, Parent Engagement in Child Safety, Wellbeing, Curriculum and Catholic Community.

CSPV has several projects underway exploring the improvement of parent engagement in literacy and numeracy as well as a focus on child safety. We are specifically exploring how parents can be more engaged in conversations within their school communities and in their local sporting and local groups to ensure they are sharing the responsibility of safety for all children. 

We have also included an article about the importance of engaging families in career conversations to support students as they make their way into senior years at school, to guide and support decision making when it comes to career pathways.

Our Executive Officer, Rachel Saliba and Deputy Chair, Jodie McLeod continued to build important relationships with our key stakeholders at a recent meeting with Archbishop Comensoli to discuss the work of CSPV. Further meetings and events attended were the VicSRC Student Congress where students pitched their ideas for advocacy in education. This was a great opportunity for CSPV to learn what the key issues are for students and how they align with the advocacy work of CSPV.

Our Executive Officer also attended the Parents and School Community Organisations (PaSCO) meeting with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT). This partnership is extremely important for CSPV in understanding the challenges and improvements required for teacher registration, particularly related to child safety. CSPV will now explore several reviews at the request of VIT to assist in the improvement of standards of initial teacher education, professional learning, teaching and conduct related to child safety.

The CSPV parent council 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.

We are currently seeking an administration/marketing officer to join CSPV and support the work of the Executive Officer in managing the operational aspects of the council. Visit the CSPV website for further information about the application process and position description - http://cspv.catholic.edu.au/join-us/.

CSPV is also seeking volunteer delegate members from the Northern Region of Melbourne, along with one delegate from Ballarat and Sandhurst and two delegates from Sale. If you feel you could contribute to the council advocacy areas and represent parent perspective in Catholic Education, please click here or call 03 9267 0458 for further information. Parent/carer contribution to the improvement of education is valuable to the continued development of the organisation and in representing the perspective of parents in Catholic education across Victoria.

Until next time,
Rod Lewis
Chairperson, CSPV.

If you haven't already heard, CSPV along with Victorian Association of Catholic Primary School Principals (VACPSP) and Principals Association of Victorian Catholic Secondary Schools (PAVCSS),  have teamed up with Catholic Schools Guide to bring you a secondary schools showcase day. This is a great opportunity for parents to begin researching various secondary school options as well as witnessing the amazing work of our secondary school students in the area of STEAM.

This FREE EVENT welcomes all families to come along and chat with secondary school Principals and students to build awareness of STEAM and future learning. A panel of experts will discuss the future of innovation in education at 12.30pm-1.30pm.

The Q&A Panel includes:

Catholic schools still remain a first choice for many families

You may have heard the announcement that a Catholic girls’ school in Melbourne has made the difficult decision to close due to a decrease in enrolments. 

There are any number of reasons why enrolments rise and fall in all schools such as changing demographics, cost of living increases, family situations and the interests of students may also be a factor. 

With the announcement of the closure it has highlighted that Catholic schools are more than just buildings where students learn academics each day. They are treasured and revered Catholic communities that are alive and thriving, with many and varied activities, events and learning experiences.

The families have a vested interest not only in their child's education, but in the formation and culture of the community itself. That sense of belonging is one of the unique qualities of a Catholic education and when that is removed, it is like moving to a new city or to the country, where you need to establish new connections, friendships, and find your place in that community. 

CSPV would like to acknowledge that this is a journey for all families and one they now need to adjust to along with their children. As their first educators, the parents now have a role in guiding their children through the transition. Families too need support in how they transition to new school communities, how they fit into an existing community and are welcomed by others. 

The education journey with our children is full of ups and downs, joys and challenges. Hopefully the parents in the community are able to find a sense of calm through this change, to embrace this challenge as a learning opportunity to demonstrate to their children that despite the sudden change in their lives, there is a way to find positives in the experience.

What we have witnessed these past few days has certainly brought many parents in the community together. This demonstrates clearly to schools that parents believe and are invested in community and there is a sense of ownership when it comes to their child's school. It's not ownership in the sense that parents want to take over, it is a sense that they are part of a tribe or part of an environment they can contribute to in some way. They want to be enabled to be part of their child's school journey and this experience demonstrates how strong and widespread this is across our Catholic schools.

CSPV understand there will be support provided for parents to transition their children to new Catholic schools and further information will be available for parents through information sessions run by the school.

If you are a parent considering a Catholic secondary school for your child, we encourage you to come along to the Catholic Leadership Centre in East Melbourne on Sunday 11^th August and speak with Catholic secondary schools from various regions of Melbourne and across Victoria to build a better understanding of what they have to offer your child and family. (Download the flyer in this newsletter).

This week a new report was released by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training and ARACY - Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth. The report, titled "Just say you're proud of me - Parent Engagement and Doing Well at School" explores parent engagement from a student's perspective. The report provides a unique insight into the benefits and challenges of engaging parents in their child's learning journey at secondary level.

The students provided insight into the tensions between asserting their independence while still deeply wanting and needing the support and guidance of their parents in their education and decisions about the future.

Parents of children in secondary schools are often seeking ways to engage with their children's learning but are often placed in the position of overseer, thinking that checking up on their children is supporting them rather than checking in and truly understanding what their role is in supporting their children through the secondary years. 

The Executive report concluded that, "...for most students, support from their parents and families is a key factor in them doing well at school and is an important foundation for their future. Students recognised the vital role that their parents and families play in their lives. Most students we consulted acknowledged that their parents and families care for them and are invested in their success at school in a way that is different to their teachers and friends."

The most interesting insight is the difference between how students view "doing well" at school to their parent's view. Most students believe doing well means doing their best, establishing and maintaining friendships, developing life skills, and doing well in extra-curricular activities.

The students highight that the pressure to "do well" is causing many of them to feel anxious and it is having an impact on their mental health and wellbeing.

Reference: "Please Just Say You're Proud of Me - Perspectives of young people on parent engagement and doing well at school, ARACY." https://www.aracy.org.au/publications-resources/categories?id=6

Creating a life long love of reading for children

CSPV are embarking on a campaign to encourage more fun when reading with children and to engage more parents in reading with their children. In a series of posts in this newsletter and on our social media, we intend to build awareness amongst parents of the importance and benefits of ensuring reading is fun for children and in developing a life long love for reading.

As a child, books provide a sense of wonder, creativity, an opportunity to learn new words, to interact, build vocabulary and to bond together as you share in the excitement of what might happen next, what the story is about and dive into other worlds together.

Reading to our children should be fun. It's a time when we can be a bit goofy, put on funny voices and share in laughter together as you discover the characters, encourage curious questions from your child to build their comprehension and wonderings about the story and its characters.

If you're like me and your children are older but still enjoy reading and you're struggling to find books for their age group, click on the fantastic resource below to subscribe to weekly booklists that are age appropriate and for ideas on what books you might borrow from the library.

The website provides ideas for parents and teachers on creating reading spaces and ideas for encouraging reading for children. 

Most of all we hope you enjoy reading with your kids!

There is much debate about the phonics test the coalition government introduced for Year 1 students. Prior to the election earlier this year, the coalition government pledged $10.8 million for “a Year 1 voluntary phonics health check for parents and teachers to ensure their children are not falling behind”.

What is phonics?

Teaching children the sounds made by individual letter or letter groups (for example, the letter “c” makes a k sound), and teaching children how to merge separate sounds together to make it one word (for example, blending the sounds k, a, t makes CAT). This type of phonics teaching is often referred to as “synthetic phonics”.

In a recent article (source:https://www.theeducatoronline.com/k12/news/year-1-phonics-check-will-it-help-or-hinder-students-literacy/264588), there were varied arguments about the validity of such a test. 

On the one hand, Dr Jennifer Buckingham suggested, “It would be a ‘circuit-breaker’ policy that would demonstrate how well phonics is being taught across the country and in individual schools and supply the impetus to drive improvements in teaching,” Dr Buckingham wrote. She also suggests, “At the student level, the check will provide early identification of students who are struggling and need intervention or further specialist assessment.”

The other side of the argument comes from Principals who believe that this "does not align with current Victorian DET policy regarding how we teach literacy." 

Data has shown recently that Catholic schools are doing well in lifting learning standards of children with additional needs but there is a need to focus on all children and their specific needs, particularly in the middle to upper standards (there is no one size fits all approach). 

Teacher skills in conceptual knowledge, understanding the process of learning, knowing content and knowing the triggers are areas that may need to be improved.

Many Principals are wary of the introduction of the phonics test, asserting that “At the centre of reading and writing is ‘meaning’, which brings a richness and authenticity and demonstrates how teaching is truly a craft. This must be where we put our energy and refuse to be distracted by the purporters of synthetic phonics.”

In the article, David Hornsby (a teacher, principal, university lecturer, author and literacy consultant for 52 years) is disturbed by the current push towards what he calls “robotic, mechanical, joyless, methodologies which are one-size-fits-all recipes for turning kids off learning”.

Another recent article suggested investing in the phonics test would be a waste of time and money, that phonics is already taught to children and that the government would be better investing its millions in initiatives that support an approach to teaching that targets inequality, as well as supporting students at the intermediate benchmark to develop the skills to rise to the high benchmark.
(Source: https://theconversation.com/the-coalitions-10-million-for-year-1-phonics-checks-would-be-wasted-money-116997)

There are many ways teachers are already able to identify needs without introducing another new test to provide information teachers already know. The following tests are some that are already carried out in various capacities across Catholic schools:

• Assessment upon student entry to school
• Transfer statement from early childhood centre or kindergarten
• PAT testing
• Reading recovery intervention
• INSIGHT assessment program; shared cross-sectoral DET platform
• English Online – prep interview to assess reading ability

The challenges may lie in varied teacher ability to identify suitable programs, methods and strategies to suit each child rather than the issue being with the tests themselves. Teachers need to be able to make discerning choices around what children need.

Over 500 Catholic school teachers are currently being trained in and are implementing 'Phonics in Context,' a combined approach in line with the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority recommendations. Teachers in the diocese of Sale area also undertaking further study in Masters of Education at Melbourne University. The investment in further learning of teaching staff in Catholic schools is a positive step towards improvement for students. 

'Phonics in Context,' currently being implemented by many Catholic schools, supports the teaching of phonics alongside reading, comprehension, grammar and writing, focussing on growth and progress to set students up for future literacy challenges.
A focus only on phonics can disadvantage children in not preparing them for more complex literacy expectations as they reach their later years of education.

As the phonics debate continues, perhaps focus and investment is needed to provide teachers with further skills in identifying appropriate reading strategies for the broad range of individual student needs.

Another area of focus must be to encourage more parents, carers and family members to read with their children and keep it fun! Too much focus only on decoding of words means reading can become a chore for children rather than a joy.

In those early years, what is most important is that we see kids learn to love reading, providing an understanding of the stories in context. Engagement in literacy means parents not only reading with their children, but asking questions about the story and sharing in the unique bonding that comes from reading with kids. CSPV will continue to encourage schools to engage parents in the learning journey of their children, beginning with the basics of fun and engaging story telling.

News from ACARA - Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authority

ACARA provides information for parents through a monthly online newsletter. In this month's newlsetter, there is information about NAPLAN and understanding cross curriculum priorities and what they mean.

You can watch ACARA CEO David de Carvalho’s latest vlog post for his new video series, Fanning the flames of wonder, explaining the cross curriculum priority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures. In episode 2, David reflects on the second word in the ACARA organisation’s name – ‘curriculum’.

Read below for an exerpt from the latest newsletter;

This year's NAPLAN results will be sent to schools to distribute to parents in August or September, depending on your state/territory.

So, what should you do with the results?

Your child’s results are a good starting point for you to see what your child knows and has achieved in the areas of reading, writing, spelling, punctuation, grammar and numeracy. You can also see how your child has performed against the national average and the national minimum standards. NAPLAN is unique in that it’s the only test across the nation which gives teachers and schools an indication of how kids are progressing.

CSPV reiterate that NAPLAN is only one test over a specific time in the year with a focus on literacy and numeracy. It is not an indication of a child's progress for the whole year. You will receive a school report to indicate progress and most schools will invite you to attend parent teacher meeting or conversation to share progress. CSPV recommend parents inform their child's teacher if they have any questions about the NAPLAN results. 

A national webinar and Q&A will be held on 22 August 2019 to support the national consultations.

New report highlights disrepancies in Myschool comparisons

Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd (CECV) recently released research demonstrating that the cultural background of a student (as reflected by the main language spoken at home) has an effect on student NAPLAN scores. There are questions remaining around how NAPLAN can be an accurate representation of our student population with so many diverse communities across our expansive country.

This report highlights that there is a major problem with misleading reporting and some might say the actual test itself is not an accurate representation in that it is not considerate of the diversity of children's learning and knowledge across Australia. Case in point; if there is a question about items in a city (eg. a traffic light or tram), how are students able to complete requests related to those items if they have never seen one or had any knowlege of them? Those children are instantly disadvantaged and are therefore not able to present answers that the assessment is seeking.

In the CSPV submission to Naplan in March this year, we explored the misuse or misunderstanding of information contained on the Myschool website and how it can be confusing for parents. Often the information is not able to be deciphered and is considered too complex, even more so now that we understand there are discepancies in the actual reporting itself.

The CECV Report highlights that "..students from East Asian, Mon-Khmer and Southern Asian cultural backgrounds tend to perform better than other students in NAPLAN, even after taking other key factors into account. Conversely, students from African, Indigenous and Polynesian cultural backgrounds tend to perform worse."

According to the report produced by the CECV, the My School website compares a school’s NAPLAN results to the results of other schools using a measure known as the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA), and rates each school based on these comparisons. Users of the website are told that ICSEA values enable ‘fair comparisons’ between schools, because they compare ‘like with like’.

The research shows ICSEA values fail to take into account the cultural background of students in each school. This means that comparisons of school performance in NAPLAN on My School are often invalid. Many comparisons are not ‘like with like’.

Of particular interest to parents of children in Catholic schools is this failing undersells the performance of many Catholic schools in NAPLAN. This is because Catholic schools tend to have a very low share of students from cultural backgrounds who excel in NAPLAN – in particular, students from East Asian and Southern Asian language backgrounds. As a result, on the My School website many Catholic schools with few enrolments of students in East Asian and Southern Asian cultural backgrounds have their NAPLAN results unfairly compared to those of government schools that have many of these students. Not surprisingly, these comparisons are unflattering to our schools. These comparisons are not ‘like with like’ and should not be made.

We recognise that issues related to race and student cultural background are complex and sensitive. However, the simple fact is that, at present, the government is operating a website that unfairly assesses the performance of Catholic schools in NAPLAN. This is not acceptable. We firmly believe that we must always stand up for our schools even if this requires discussion on difficult and sensitive issues.

(Reproduced with permission from Catholic Education Commission Victoria)

CSPV recently met with the Commissioner for Children and Young People to discuss parent engagement in child safety. Many parents would now be aware of the Child Safe Standards and the changes related to compliance implemented by schools. There is much work going on behind the scenes to ensure the safety of children in Catholic organisations, schools and Churches as well as in the broader community.

CSPV is exploring opportunities to broaden awareness amongst parents of their important role as 'protective participants' and advocates for child safety in their schools and the community. The old saying, "it takes a village to raise children" applies now more than ever and parents have a shared role in creating cultures of child safety in their school and community. 

A research report and resource provided in 2018 to every Catholic school in Melbourne explores how parent engagement can support child safety and protective participation. The resource, developed by Catholic Education Melbourne and Australian Catholic University, explores the role of parents.

"Connected, inclusive school communities recognise the interdependence of educators, families, and students in children's learning, wellbeing and safety. They facilitate a school-wide culture where all members of the school community are invited as partners, enriching the growth and wellbeing of their children.

These schools invest time and effort in building positive relationships with families to better support children's engagement, learning and wellbeing. Partnership implies more than 'communicating information from school to home.' It necessitates authentic dialogue and exchange; listening with openness to parents' perspectives, realities and responses through respectful conversations. 

What does this mean for child safety?

Parental engagement for child safety means that schools take deliberate steps to identify multiple ways to meaningfully build trust and work with parents in their community to:

• actively share information and consult about the schools child safety strategies

• invite families into conversations about child safety and the prevention of abuse to gain an insight into their perspectives, concerns and hopes

• shape ongoing improvements to policies and practices.

Creating a shared Child Safety narrative and understanding with parents, supports consistent messaging between home and school as they are better placed to reinforce key protective messages, concepts and behaviours. 

Equipping parents with tools, strategies and resources to confidently have age and developmentally appropriate conversations with their children about safety enables them to respond more effectively when concerns arise or issues are identified or disclosed. 

Questions for schools to reflect and discuss:

• Is there a shared understanding and language for promoting child safety?

• How is student knowlege being utilised as a resource for child safety at school and home?

• Are parents comfortable discussing protective and safety strategies with their children? What resources would support them further?

• How can we explore observations of families related to child safety in our school?

• Has cultural diversity been considered? How does this impact the strategies used to engage in conversations/development of resources for parents?

CSPV will continue to explore these questions and welcome your feedback on these discussion points and further resources your school would find helpful for families to enable engagement in child safety.

(Source: Protective Participation: The Voices of Young People on Safety, Catholic Education Melbourne and Australian Catholic University)

Seasons for Growth programs for children and young people provide support during times of grief, whether it be when they are experiencing a bereavement, family separation, divorce or other losses or changes.

Good Grief is a ‘Not for Profit' organisation, providing a suite of training for professionals working with families using the ‘Seasons for Growth’ *programs – both for Children and Young People as well as ‘Exploring the seasons of grief’, and ‘Seasons for healing’ for Adults. 

Good Grief facilitators train individuals to become ‘Companions’ who then facilitate seminars or small groups around the topic of change, loss and grief.  With many individuals experiencing bereavement, family separation and divorce or other losses, changes in families, diagnosis and family transitions, and our understanding of the impact of these events, there is an essential role to support people. 

Southern Cross University developed the Seasons for Growth program to support children and young people following death, separation, divorce and other loss experiences. Seasons for Growth was adapted to support refugee children, young people in suicide ‘hotspots’ and children involved in natural disasters.

The program has also been adapted for adults experiencing loss, Indigenous people, prisoners, and parents of children in the program. Since 1996, 260,000 children, young people and adults in five countries have taken part in Seasons for Growth. The program has given participants a new start, a chance to transform their experiences of change and loss and to move forward with confidence and hope.

What do all mothers want for their daughters as they approach puberty and the threshold of womanhood?

• That they know that what is happening is normal
• That they are educated and informed well
• That they are supported and affirmed by all around them
• That they are given varied opportunities to ask questions and explore how they feel about their changing bodies

Menarche (a girl’s first period) is a defining moment in this transition and A Celebration Day For Girls honours this unique aspect of being a young woman.
We want our girls to cherish their bodies, feel positive about who they are, and build resilience for the many challenges they will face as they grow to adulthood.
With fun activities, lively discussion, and the sharing of stories and ritual, this will be a significant and memorable day for both mothers and daughters.

Delivered from a Catholic perspective, these one day workshops are available for schools to book or if you have a group of parents who would like to book a workshop, we cater for external groups also.

What you need to be aware of as a parent of teens  

 

As school leavers’ period approaches and many students are attending 18th birthday parties, parents and other adults are reminded that purchasing alcohol for anyone under 18 – including your own children – is illegal.

Victorian school leavers’ season will run from 23 November to 30 November in 2019 and if staff in bottle shops suspect that you are buying alcohol for a minor they are legally obliged to refuse the sale.

Fines for the seller and buyer can exceed $19,000, so the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) reminds buyers to follow the law and don’t blame the bottle shop when they say no.

It is also illegal for minors to be on the premises of a bottle shop without a responsible adult, not even to buy other non-alcoholic products such as chips and soft drinks. So, next time, think twice before you send them in on their own.

The VCGLR’s vision is that Victorians and visitors enjoy safe and responsible liquor environments.

School Leavers and schoolies

Know someone going to school leavers’ week? Encourage them to register where they’re going and find out about safe partying here:

www.goodtimesgreatbreaks.com

www.redfrogs.com.au

www.drinkwise.org.au 

What parents can do to support positive advocacy for healthy eating in schools

by Kylie Johnson (Catholic school parent - Diocese of Sale)

As parents, we all want our children to be healthy, so we do our best to provide them with nutritious meals and snacks to help them grow and develop. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to maintain these efforts when healthy eating is not supported in the school environment.

Did you know that children consume around 30% of their daily energy intake at school? If this intake includes poor food choices, research has shown that a child’s ability to concentrate and learn at school can be negatively impacted. Therefore, it is crucial that schools provide healthy food choices and foster a healthy eating culture.

Some questions you might ask:

Does your child’s school promote health through a whole-school approach to healthy eating such as the Achievement Program, (https://www.achievementprogram.health.vic.gov.au/)?

Do they follow the national guidelines for healthy school canteens?

Is there a policy in place that encourages healthy fundraising and discourages rewarding children with sweets?

Does the school canteen need to be open every day?

Are parents aware of the healthy eating options at the canteen?

If you are able to raise these questions appropriately with your school Principal or at your school board, we may see a continued improvement in more healthy eating in schools. 

Let’s keep prioritising our children’s health and ensure our schools are also on board.

Click on the videos below for more information about the achievement program available for schools:

In 2017 and 2018 CSPV had the pleasure of hosting lecturer, researcher, speaker and author Dr Debbie Pushor throughout Victoria. Debbie has recently launched along with the University of Saskatchwan, a new set of videos designed for professional learning of pre-service and current teaching staff. 

The videos explore topics such as:

• Examining beliefs and assumptions about families

• Learning with and from families

• New ways to share student learning with families

• Co-constructing teaching and learning with families among others.

Careers Education - Why is successful engagement with carers important?

The Career Industry Council of Australia has released an information sheet encouraging schools to ensure they engage parents, guardians and carers in career education planning with their children. Here is an extract from the information sheet:

Parents, guardians and carers still remain the number one influencer of a young persons’ career decision making.

In developing a quality school career education plan, parental engagement in the elements of career advice and information and awareness of various pathways is essential. So how do schools engage successfully with them to make sure they feel empowered in having a positive and informed influence in their child’s career decision making? Unfortunately, there is no one size fits all approach in answering this question, and engagement strategies for each school will be and should be unique, based on the individual school population.

How do parents like to engage?

It is vital to understand your parent population and get to know how they like to engage. They may prefer:

• face to face meeting 
• receiving and reading information online either via direct email or visiting the school website 
• reading a blog
• attending a webinar
• regular articles in newsletters and websites
• using social media i.e. Twitter, Facebook etc.
• offering their services as a guest speaker/employer
• attending career exhibitions / expos
• attending before or after work information/networking sessions
• having an information pack mailed home.

The CSPV website provides resources that can be shared with parents but it is vital that parents, teachers and students work together as a team of three to discuss and plan pathways for careers, well before they reach year 12.

We are witnessing many students either being indecisive about what they want to do, choosing subjects that don't interest them or being unsure of the pathways they want to take or what is available. Often parents are at a loss and don't know how to support them in understanding pathways, often relying on the school with little or no knowledge of what their child is being advised at the school. Working together with parents is much more effective in providing support for each student to ensure they are informed about their choices and are able to make decisions confidently with prior knowledge. 

Occasionally some parents may have high or unrealistic expectations of career pathways for their children without listening to what their interests or passions are.
If schools are to engage parents in conversations and planning for careers, each person needs to feel safe to listen, engage in conversation and, in some cases, compromise depending on the student and their interests for their future. 

The Victorian Department of Education and Training have developed useful materials for schools to encourage engagement of families in careers education:

Engaging Parents in Careers Conversations Resources

EPICC PowerPoint Presentations

• EPiCC Master PowerPoint (pptx - 4.61mb) - This comprehensive PowerPoint has been designed as the foundation, underpinning a variety of ways to use the Framework. The components (activities, information, links etc.) can be incorporated into the following:
• Two hour sample EPiCC workshop (pptx - 3.22mb) - A workshop that is ready to be used, i.e. “off the shelf” to help facilitators get started.
• Customised EPiCC PowerPoints:
• English as an Additional Language (pptx - 4.99mb)
• • Koorie (pptx - 4.6mb)
  • Low SES (pptx - 5.04mb)
  • Disability (pptx - 4.99mb)

EPICC Additional Resources

• Workshop planning template (docx - 35.44kb) - A template to help facilitator’s construct a workshop using the resources available. For a completed sample, please see:EPiCC Sample 2 hour workshop planning template (docx - 39 (docx - 39.21kb)
• Video links (docx - 34.83kb) - A comprehensive list of relevant videos to use or share.
• Glossary (doc - 125kb) - Terms and acronyms used throughout the PowerPoint presentations and notes and a handy reference for parents and staff who are unfamiliar with senior secondary, training and higher education.
• Webpage links (docx - 32.14kb) - A reference list for parents where they can source additional information.

The use of these PowerPoints and other resources is only limited by imagination. Schools and organisations can decide how best to use the resources and are encouraged to come up with other creative ways in which to use EPiCC.

Student voice is loud and clear at the VicSRC Congress 2019

On Thursday 11th July our Executive Officer, Rachel Saliba was invited to join students from VicSRC as they pitched their advocacy campaigns to other students.

Prior to the main part of the day, the students shared their pitch topics with key stakeholders from government, education and other organisations at Melbourne University. There were many and varied topics that the students were demonstrating much passion for, with a few interesting themes arising.

Many of the students discussed their concerns over a lack of consistency, not only in teaching of the curriculum but of schools in general, with some seeking equality and the same opportunities for all students, others seeking recognition of diversity and explicit teaching of the cross curricular priorities including sustainability and the environment and learning about indigenous culture.

Some students were calling for more focus on the teaching of life skills in schools. Great discussions were had with students about how to engage parents in the teaching of lifeskills, both encouraging it in the home but also drawing on parent professional knowledge to facilitate sessions with students - there are many parents who run their own businesses, work in various organisations, have had experience with basic skills such as banking, organising travel and a family, applying for home loans, buying their first car, renting etc. that could be easily utilised to share these skills and experiences with students. Exploring untapped resources such as these could be a good place to start. 

The overall concern of the students seemed to be that despite having so much information at their fingertips, they are seeking to be more informed by adults whom they trust to facilitate teaching that allows for discussion, debate and understanding of various perspectives on issues and major challenges in society, politics and the environment.

The final five advocacy areas chosen for VicSRC to focus on in 2019/20 are:

Politics 101 - Increasing awareness of the political system so students are well informed when it comes to voting in our democracy.
Students are seeking:
1. Consistency and focus on explicit teaching of the curriculum.
2. More PD for teachers and support from key stakeholders to provide a resource pack for teachers
3. Student led workshops to teach students about policy
Some questions were raised around unbiased teaching of political policy and providing both sides of political party policy.

Climate Crisis - Students expressed they feel they are not being heard in their concerns about climate change and there is a lack of education around climate change.
Some of the solutions included:
1. Student led projects
2. Practical goal setting
3. Promoting and educating students about climate change.

Sustainability Education - Students believe there is a lack of education around sustainability and particularly evidence of sustainability in schools.
Students cited a lack of consistency in this as a cross curriculum priority and called for:
1. Professional development for teachers
2. Mandatory reporting to principal and accountability to DET
3. Classes held for a set number of hours per semester including incursions and excursions.
4. School environment sustainability program - sourcing support from external organisations.

Real World Skills - 69% of Victorian parents surveyed by Monash University agree students are not taught life skills at school. Students believe they are not being prepared for real world issues and are seeking the subject to be explicitly taught from Prep-10, possibly similar to the inclusion of wellbeing in schools.
Solutions identified by the students include:
1. Identify methods for real life skills to be implemented in schools
2. Partner with external organisations to educate life skills
3. Linking schools to the organisations who can support lifeskills.

FUNDamental Equity - Fundamental equity for all students
Students are concerned about disparity and differences between schools and how funding is spent on education.
They listed their 3 solutions as:
1. Equal opportunity for all students
2. Statewide census for evidence of what schools are lacking to bridge the gap - state of facilities and teaching it the curriculum
3. Advocate for transparency in budgeting and finance decisions, streamlining budgeting process for more efficient spending.

Overall the experience of hearing from the students provided insight into their interests and passions and how to advocate for change on behalf of students across Victoria.

Here's your opportunity to contribute to improvement in your school

In September this year schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne will be sending, to a selection of parents, a new online school improvement survey. The survey is different to those in previous years and has been developed to ensure schools are learning from school leaders, students, teachers and families, how they can improve in various aspects of school culture, learning and teaching and family engagement.
A more rigorous process will be undertaken by schools to develop a consistent and strategic Annual Action Plan following the survey results.

Key categories in the survey include:

• Family Engagement - how you are enabled by the school to engage in the learning process alongside your child to support their learning - eg. communication of learning that is two-way, learning information sessions, immersive learning opportunities, see-saw posts and opportunities for having conversations about learning with your child and providing feedback about their learning, provided with activities to do together at home (Learning at Home) and encouraged to support your child's learning.

• Barriers to engagement - what is preventing you from being enabled to engage in your child's learning or in events or activities that are run by the school? There are many and varied reasons you're not able to be physically present at school and this is nothing to be ashamed of. Once schools are aware of what is preventing you from attending events or other activities, they are then able to plan for other ways to include you in the learning journey of your child, so your feedback is valuable.

• School climate - this refers to the culture of the school, how welcomed you feel as a family and the overall feel of the school.

• Student Safety - how well the school is managing bullying and other child safety issues. 

• Catholic Identity - how your family views a Catholic education and your engagement in the spiritual journey of your child.

• School Fit - how well your child fits into the school learning environment.

• Communication - how well the school is communicating learning with you including what the children are learning, what type of communication methods are used and how effective the communication is to your child's progress. These questions will provide valuable for feedback about the teacher-parent relationship to help schools understand the gaps and areas for improvement. 

The survey completion will provide your school with key indicators as to where they need to improve and will provide you with the opportunity to contribute as valued members of the school community and in your child's learning journey.

Should you have any questions about the survey, your school Principal will be able to answer any your questions.

Catholic School Parents Victoria are seeking a suitable candidate for the position of Administration and Marketing Support Officer.

Reporting to the Executive Officer of Catholic School Parents Victoria, the Administration and Marketing Officer will work closely with the CSPV Executive Officer to achieve key priorities based on the CSPV strategic plan.

This is a 12-month independent contractor position (12 hrs per week), based either in East Melbourne or is ideal for a home-based business.

Responsibilities include:

• attendance at all CSPV council meetings in the State of Victoria
• general office and administration duties
• maintenance of website, newsletter and social media accounts
• monitoring of marketing and managing membership processes and responsibilities
• documentation and communication duties.

Click on the link below to view the full position description:

Applicants will need to provide:

1. A Cover Letter of application
2. A separate statement addressing the Key Selection Criteria from the job description.
3. A current Curriculum Vitae including contact details of two referees.

Send your application via email: executive@cspv.catholic.edu.au or via post to:
CSPV Executive Officer, PO Box 3, East Melbourne 8002.

Applications close 13th August 2019.

Join Catholic School Parents as a member delegate to build your capacity as a parent/carer leader in Catholic Education