17 April 2018

Newsletter Articles

Introduction

After a brief hiatus, the Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA) Newsletter is back on line with a new and refreshing focus around key happenings within our national, peak parent body for parents/carers with children in Catholic schools across Australia. From 2018, the CSPA Newsletter will be published three times a year in April, August and December.

Some key happenings

Changes to membership

The recent AGM saw the departure of Tony O’Byrne as the inaugural Chair and the welcoming of new Chair Karl Rodrigues. CSPA is indeed blessed to have two such talented people at the helm across its early years – more is said about each later in this Newsletter.

Since the latter part of 2017, there have been several changes in CSPA membership which has seen the departure of Tim Smith (ACT), Leah Bullivant (SA), Dennis Torpy (Vic) and Neisha Licitra (NSW) and the welcoming of Christine Wanjura (ACT), Jlse Sanderson (SA), Tracy Connors (Vic) and Narelle Burke (NSW). Interestingly, the graphic below illustrates the comparisons in Catholic school enrolments across the country. CSPA members bring their rich perspectives of their state/diocesan/school P&F organisations to CSPA Council.

Political presence at the 2018 February meeting of council

The February meeting of council was attended by both the Hon David Coleman MP (representing Minister Birmingham) and the Shadow Minister for Education and Training, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP.

The Hon David Coleman shared greetings from the Minister who he would be working with in Canberra the following week. He shared that he was very active in visiting all schools in his electorate, many of which are Catholic Schools, and shared that common issues often raised by parent bodies included: pick-up and drop-off, funding including the need for clarity, the need to respect religious freedom, the importance of Catholic system in being treated as a system, and funding based around student needs. CSPA raised concern around adequate funding for low SES Catholic schools that found themselves in areas of high SES and the ability of the Catholic system to be able to distribute funds on a student needs basis.

Three members of CSPA attended the National Labor Schools Forum in late 2017 and this was the precursor to the host of the forum, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, addressing CSPA at our 2018 February council meeting. The Shadow Minister announced a review of TAFE systems in Australia and indicated a want to have universities and TAFEs to work more closely together – to break down the silos, and spoke of: the restoration of a further $17 billion in school funding; teachers needing to be engaged in lifting education standards as would be achieved through the setting up and workings of the Research Education Institute; the importance of parent engagement in student education and the need for parents-teachers-principals to work together around student education. In conclusion, the Hon Ms Plibersek indicated she is keen to continue dialogue with CSPA.

2018 Council Members

At our February CSPA AGM, membership of council was identified for 2018 – members include: Mr Karl Rodrigues (Chair, Sydney), Ms Rachel Saliba and Ms Tracy Connors (Vic), Mr Greg Boon and Mr Brendan McManus (Tas), Mrs Carmel Nash (Deputy Chair) and Mr Wayne Crase (Qld), Ms Siobhan Allen (Executive Member) and Mr Joe Monterosso (WA), Ms Linda McNeil (Executive Member) and Ms Narelle Burke (NSW), Mr Paul Compton and Ms Christine Wanjura (ACT), Ms Kylie Ind and Ms Jlse Sanderson (SA) and Mr John O’Brien (Executive Officer).

The Hon David Coleman MP, representing Minister Birmingham, addresses CSPA Council earlier in 2018.

A final Word from departing Chair Tony O’Byrne

Tony O’Byrne

Tony O’Byrne was fondly farewelled and presented with gifts by CSPA foundation executive member and CSPA Deputy Chair Carmel Nash during Tony’s final CSPA Council dinner in late February. Tony leaves a rich legacy as the inaugural CSPA Chair through his contribution to CSPA, and he was commended for serving CSPA extraordinarily well through his wise counsel, unflappable demeanour, depth of experiential knowledge, engaging manner and educational acumen. Tracey O’Neill, a foundation CSPA executive member stated in a farewell note, Tony’s ability to listen to us as parents, reflect on school practice and then passionately recount that to politicians, NCEC, the Church and all stakeholders for the good of parents and students is something that I was always impressed by and that I am grateful for. CSPA members expressed their appreciation of Tony’s socially engaging manner and his ability to hit upon the right tone within any forum.

At his final meeting, Tony noted the need for CSPA to be vigilant around maintaining the hard earned corporate knowledge as the number of foundation members move on from CSPA. In this regard, it was very pleasing that Ms Danielle Cronin, a member of the first CSPA Executive, was able to attend the dinner – Danielle also moved a vote of thanks to Tony and reminisced about some of the early days of CSPA.

In Tony’s final CSPA Chair’s report, he stated: “It is with some sadness that I present this my final report as Chair of CSPA Council. From the launch of CSPA in October 2013 till now I have greatly appreciated the privilege of being in this role. I am indeed deeply thankful for the opportunity but even more so for coming to know and appreciate the commitment of council members to Catholic education and to the central place of parent engagement in this great enterprise”.

CSPA Chair in Profile

Mr Karl Rodrigues

Outgoing CSPA Chair, Tony O’Byrne was delighted to welcome his successor Karl Rodrigues at the recent AGM in Sydney. “Karl brings a refreshing new skill set to CSPA, and this will work well at this critical time in our history”, Mr O’Byrne said, “and all Karl’s family have strong links with Catholic education with all five children attending Catholic schools, with his two youngest still at school.”

Karl is the Deputy Director for CSIRO Energy and is responsible for the Business Unit strategy, science investment and operations. In his role, he focusses on delivering science impact, leadership and direction to the Business Unit and ensures that CSIRO Energy’s science and innovation reputation is enhanced in the Australian innovation system.

Before Deputy Director, Karl held senior management roles across CSIRO including Executive Manager, Licensing and Investment Management within CSIRO IP & Licensing and was responsible for managing CSIRO’s spin-out initiatives from inception through to exit, including managing the CRC Engagement Office and the Australian Growth Partnership program.

Karl has over 25 years of experience in innovation, venture investment, research, development and commercialisation of technology. Prior to CSIRO, Karl managed Intel Capital ANZ where he invested in several Australian and New Zealand companies. He was one of the founding directors on the Australia New Zealand America Technology Network (ANZA TechNet), which supports Australian and New Zealand companies seeking to expand into the US.

Karl holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Computing Science from the University of Technology in Sydney, an MBA with Distinction from Griffith University in Queensland and is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Karl is passionate about innovation and start-ups and is an Adjunct Lecturer in Entrepreneurial Finance and Financing Innovation in the MBA programs for the Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM) and the Sydney Business School (Sydney University).

After a recent meeting of the CSPA Executive Karl stated:

“I’m very pleased to join such a professional and passionate team pursuing and advocating on the many critical topics of significant interest to catholic school parents across the country. It is so vital to have a national voice in these times of change”.

“Tony O’Byrne led the council with intelligence, dignity and candour and I’m quite humbled to be stepping into such impressive shoes. With the help of the council, I have faith that we will continue the fabulous and influential work so important to our children and yourselves as parents”.

“The executive is bringing me up to speed quickly in regards to some of the more pressing activities as well as, graciously and patiently, settling me into the council proper and I look forward to engaging with members and the various education agencies in the coming months and years. Over the coming months, I also look forward to meeting Ray Collins (NCEC), Cameron Wood (ACSRF) and Hugh Easton from Catholic Church Insurance (CCI), who I understand has just come on board as a new sponsor”.

2017 Report of the CSPA Executive Officer

2017 proved to be the busiest year to date for Catholic School Parents Australia and this was borne out in the report from the Executive Officer, John O’Brien - his report made mention of such topics as: the continued evolving status of CSPA as a national, peak parent body; CSPA’s journey towards independence; further development and refinement of the CSPA Strategic Plan 2017 - 2020; 2020 Plenary Council and CSPA formation; CSPA’s substantial contribution to national forums, events and submissions to government; incorporation; succession planning and maintaining corporate knowledge; thanks and farewell to CSPA’s inaugural Chair; continued roll-out of the CSPA Parent Engagement Project; matters financial and more accurate and appropriate payments to the Qld P & F Federation; and the role of the Executive Officer.

Tony O’Byrne and John O’Brien meet with the Hon Tanya Plibersek who later addressed CSPA Council at the February CSPA Council meeting.

CSPA Submissions and Statements

Over the latter part of 2017 and early 2018, representatives of Catholic School Parents Australia have been very active in advocating on behalf of parents by providing feedback and perspective to government on a number of vital issues. Key submissions have been made to government – some of these are discussed below and a copy of each is made available through this newsletter.

The school funding debate continues and a key concern of CSPA (which was outlined in our submission and addressed when CSPA representatives appeared before representatives of the National School Resourcing Board) is adequate funding for those schools which it can be argued are inaccurately prescribed a higher SES rating while many of their students come from low SES families. CSPA believes that currently the new funding model does not adequately address this circumstance and as a result does not pass the fairness-equity test for these schools. CSPA is keen to dialogue with the key parties of government to ensure that the voice of all parents with children in Catholic schools around Australia is heard. In saying this, it is noted that CSPA is keen for funding to be fair and equitable in providing adequately for student needs no matter which education sector they are in.

Please refer to the various submissions which are discussed in more detail below.

Review of SES (Socio Economic Status)

In relation to the Federal Government’s Quality Schools, Quality Outcomes education reforms, CSPA’s advocacy has taken the form of a submission to the Rural and Regional Education Reform, Review of SES (Socio Economic Status), a further follow-up submission regarding the review of SES, and subsequently Carmel Nash (CSPA Deputy Chair) and John O’Brien (CSPA Executive Officer) appearing at a hearing with representatives from the National School Resourcing Board (Professor Denise Bradley, Mr Bill Daniels and Dr Alison Taylor) regarding the review of SES. CSPA representatives explained how it seems that some very clear anomalies in the use of SES exist and gave examples of this. The representatives also described how CSPA is cautious around commenting as different Catholic education jurisdictions can be affected in different ways and how varying weightings in the calculation of funding impacts very differently across the states and territories. Clear themes raised were around fairness and equity of the current funding model, the complexity inherent in key funding factors, and the questionable implication of some parents’ capacity to pay if they are to exercise their optional right for their children to attend a Catholic school.

All submissions in relation to the review of SES are still embargoed by government.

Independent Review into Regional, Rural and Remote Education

The Discussion Paper - Independent Review into Regional, Rural and Remote Education clearly outlined the generally lower education achievement of students from regional/rural/remote settings. CSPA shared a parent perspective around a number of proposed actions that could be introduced or reinvigorated if the goals as outlined in the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians were to be better met for students in these regional/rural/remote contexts.

By way of introduction, Catholic School Parents Australia’s submission endorsed the submissions of other key Catholic agencies including the National Catholic Education Commission, various State, ACT & NT Catholic education commissions and national Catholic primary and secondary principal associations. The CSPA submission was outlined under the headers of:

1. Parent engagement;
2. Student characteristics;
3. Attraction and retention of quality staff; and
4. Information Communication and Technology.

Optimising Stem Industry-School Partnerships: Inspiring Australia’s Next Generation

The focus of CSPA’s response to the STEM Issues Paper was from a parent perspective. In referring to the Note from the Chair (Alan Finkel) in the paper (p. 4), CSPA strongly recommended that, like teachers, parents need to be included as central around the work of this important forum. The 2016 LSAC (Longitudinal Study of Australian Children) report (referred to in the Issues Paper on page 42) noted how 88% (29%, 12%) of 14-15 year old boys and 86% (32%, 12%) of 14-15 year old girls talk to their parents about their future plans – career aspirations. As the bracketed percentages represent teachers and career counsellors respectively, the strategic role that parents play around career aspirations of their children in an overwhelmingly majority of families is very clear.

The recently completed report of the (Nov 2017) National Career Education Strategy Working Group (of which CSPA’s Executive Officer was a member), also referred to in the STEM Issues Paper, noted that, Research has found parents and other family members have the most significant influence on school students’ career aspirations, and on their subject choices. They tend to shape students’ ideas, raise or lower their ambitions and push them in certain directions. The more engaged parents are with their children’s future educational aspirations and with their school, the better the educational outcomes for the young people (p. 13).

Subsequently, on 19 February, John O’Brien also attended a panel consultation with Dr Alan Finkel around the current STEM agenda.

Diagram from page 8 of the Report of the National Career Education Strategy Working Group showing stakeholder roles in student-centred career education with Parents/Carers/Families given central prominence.

Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools

Below is an extract from CSPA’s submission.

Greater equity in education both within and between all sectors of Australian education needs to be pursued by governments with an energetic passion and informed understanding to get it right. We need to adopt Fullan’s moral imperative to drive the changes to education that promote equity and excellence to attain the principled goal that All young Australians become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, active and informed citizens (Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (2008).

Parents are the first and most important on-going educators of their children and it is proposed that a national commitment to parent engagement promoted at all levels of government and across all sectors of schooling could be a key to raising the performance of students as well as the status of the profession. Parent engagement is a very cost efficient intervention as noted by the Education Minister, and this submission refers to research which, for example, found that schools with strong parent engagement were over four times more likely to improve student reading and ten times more likely to improve student gains in Maths. This submission also refers to research which concludes that the implementation of effective parent engagement strategies has been shown to deliver: higher student grades and test scores, lower drop-out rates, and a greater likelihood of students transitioning to post-secondary education.

Position Paper – Catholic Schools as Child Safe Communities

Currently, a group of CSPA members commenced working on the drafting of a Position Paper – Catholic Schools as Child Safe Communities. CSPA has been richly informed via input from Francis Sullivan on three occasions in his role as CEO of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council - these guest presentations, together with his weekly updates, have kept CSPA well informed around the functioning, findings and hoped for outcomes from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. CSPA is keen to develop a position statement from a parents’ perspective around givens and expectations of all Catholic schools in functioning as child safe communities. A second draft of the position paper will be tabled at CSPA’s May meeting of council in Sydney at which Ms Kate Eversteyn will be a guest presenter and thought provoker around this vital topic - Kate is the Director of Safeguarding at Catholic Professional Standards Limited.

The 2020 Plenary Council

CSPA Executive (and soon CSPA Council) has been working with Ms Lana Turvey-Collins (2020 Plenary Facilitator) to determine ways in which members of CSPA might play a role around discerning and presenting the voice of families with children in Catholic schools. Through a focussed process, underpinned by open-listening and dialogue, CSPA will discern some of the joys, sorrows, hopes, dreams, fears and hurts towards informing the future role and relevance of the Catholic Church in Australia. It is planned that the activities undertaken in association with the 2020 Plenary Council will contribute significantly to the formation of CSPA councillors.

The last Plenary Council was in 1937 – this was sought by the Vatican and a consequence of this event was the formation of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC). CSPA sees the 2020 Plenary Council as a critically vital process around the future of the Catholic Church in Australia and CSPA is keen to play a proactive role in assisting around giving voice to the parents/carers with children and young people in Catholic schools across the country.

The NCEC, ACPPA, CaSPA and CSPA Alliance and Forum

Across 2017, the forum made up of representatives from the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC), the Australian Catholic Primary Principals’ Association (ACPPA), Catholic Secondary Principals Australia (CaSPA) and Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA) was reignited and this forum has provided a very useful and influential platform of key Catholic education agencies across Australia. This alliance facilitates a cross-fertilisation of ideas and enables a fast tracking of action buoyed by a unified voice within Catholic education. The next meeting of NCEC-ACPPA-CaSPA-CSPA is on the first of May at Thomas Carr College in Tarneit (Vic).

The National Catholic Education Commission

Catholic School Parents Australia is most appreciative of the on-going support of the Bishops Commission for Catholic Education through collaboration with the National Catholic Education Commission.

Catholic Schools Guide

Many new relationships are regularly forged with CSPA and an example of this has been that with the Catholic Schools Guide. The 2018 focus is on Parents as First Educators in the Global Village and CSPA’s contribution is on the role of parents around this theme. Now, more so than ever, it takes the whole global village to educate the child, and with great pride and responsibility parents are ‘the first and most important educators of their own’ (Pope John Paul II, 1994).

Strategic Plan (2017 – 2020)

The CSPA Strategic Plan was finalised across 2017 and Focus Group Champions take a leadership role in the key areas of: Governance and Sustainability, Engagement and Partnership, Catholic Identity, and Representation and Advocacy. Driven by the core values of Integrity, Respect, Faith and Inclusivity, CSPA supports and celebrates the holistic education (cognitive, social, physical, ethical and spiritual) offered to students in Catholic schools. Focus Area Champions Carmel Nash, Rachel Saliba, Wayne Crase and Joe Monterosso have been leading a process within their groups towards identifying 2017 Achievements and Strategic Goals for 2018 – these will be ratified by CSPA Council at their May meeting.

CSPA cross and core values of Integrity, Respect, Faith and Inclusivity.

Council Meeting Dates

Dates of 2018 CSPA Council Meetings are:

1. February 23/24: Sydney (included AGM)
2. May 19/20: Sydney
3. August 25/26 : Sydney
4. October 27/28: Adelaide/Sydney

CSPA Parent Engagement Project nearing completion

[*This project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training through the Grants and Awards Programme 2015-16 to 2018-19].

All data gathering for the national, cross-sectoral research project* is now completed. Principal surveys, principal interviews and parent focus group interviews have concluded and data analyses are well underway. CSPA’s partnership with the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) and the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) has worked effectively. Across the second half of 2018, evidence from this project, together with other international research findings, will inform the generation of Parent Engagement Tool Kits which will outline contemporary parent engagement strategies for principals, teachers and parents. CSPA has grown through this process, now with a team of trained and experienced interviewers – much has been learned. In time, many will be thanked for the roles they have played with this project, and continue to play.

Speaking of Parent Engagement, from June 8 – 10, the Qld Catholic P&F Federation is conducting their State Conference in Townsville and the two international keynote speakers are Ms Jenni Brassington and Dr Karen Mapp – see below for further details including registration.

Qld Catholic School Parent Conference

Dr. Karen Mapp, Senior Lecturer in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Jenni Brasington, Senior Director of Family and Community Engagement for Scholastic Education will summarize the current family engagement research and highlight proven practices for creating an environment that fosters effective and authentic home school partnerships. Conference attendees will:

• Define family engagement and distinguish the difference between “involvement” and “engagement”;
• Explore the core beliefs of family engagement;
• Evaluate current practices and categorize family engagement strategies and initiatives;
• Align family engagement strategies and practices to school and student learning goals; and
• Retool an upcoming family engagement event that builds the capacity of families to support learning at home.

Conference Registration

To register for the Qld Catholic School Parent Conference in Townsville go to:

Word from a Sponsor

Australian Catholic Superannuation & Retirement Fund

CSPA is appreciative of the on-going support of the Australian Catholic Superannuation & Retirement Fund which has offices in Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, Port Macquarie, Sydney and Townsville. Please refer to the hyperlinks below for some current options to consider.

ACSRF - Your Superannuation Partner

Schoolzine

Schoolzine is proud to be a digital partner and supporter of CSPA - Parent Engagement.

Schoolzine has been an industry leader in digital school communications for 10 years. They are dedicated to customer service, product development and understanding the school landscape that keeps them at the top of the industry. Schoolzine’s Parent Engagement Platform consists of 3 packages, an eNewsletter, Mobile App and Website offering. Purchased separately or together, they guarantee each package will make engaging with parents easy and even enjoyable for a school of any size. Schoolzine addresses the need for media-rich, interactive content that engages parents.