On Wednesday we held our second Faith in the Future Virtual Symposium with keynote speaker Dr Lyn Sharratt providing a thought-provoking presentation on the work of teachers and leaders in lifting learning standards for all students.

This was followed by an engaging panel discussion of student and school leaders moderated by Geraldine Doogue AO (see story below).

It was terrific to hear from our school leaders and students on how they are applying this work in their classrooms and schools. 

Lyn spoke about the importance of system alignment, and I would add sector alignment, so we are all responsible and accountable at every level of Catholic education for supporting each student to reach and exceed their potential. 

Today we celebrate World Teachers’ Day and recognise the contribution and work of our 65,000 teachers and leaders in Catholic schools throughout Australia.

The theme, “Teachers at the heart of education recovery”, recognises the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges it has brought for students and families.

Our teachers and staff, too, have had greater demands from the disruption to schooling and working remotely in many instances.

Through all of this, the focus of our 1,755 schools has been to stay connected with students and families, and to support their communities through the expression of our faith, through pastoral care and practical support.

Families, now more than ever, clearly value the benefits of quality teaching. 

At the national level, we have been working with states, territories and dioceses, and representing the interests of Catholic schools to government to support our schools in the best way we can.

This year, as we celebrate our bicentenary of Catholic education in Australia, we have recognised the enormous contribution of clergy, religious and lay women and men in the establishment and growth of Catholic schools over two centuries.

It seems the resilience and determination of these early educators has been passed on, as we have seen reflected in the extraordinary response by our staff over the past two years.  

To our teachers and leaders, I offer my sincere thanks for all your work, your commitment to our shared mission, and your passion and dedication for teaching and learning.

Happy World Teachers’ Day. 

Jacinta Collins
National Catholic education executive director

The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) hosted the second annual Faith in the Future Virtual Symposium on Wednesday 27 October with a keynote presentation by international educational expert Dr Lyn Sharratt (pictured below) focusing on educational improvement.

The symposium, founded last year, is held to mark World Teachers' Day celebrated in Australia on Friday 29 October, and is the final national event for the celebration of the Bicentenary of Catholic education in Australia.

Dr Sharratt’s keynote address titled,‘This is the WORK!’, explored the need for alignment, focus and resolve by teachers and leaders to ensure every student can meet and exceed their potential.

"It starts with system alignment from a diocese perspective through to the school and into the classroom so that each teacher and leader knows the big picture and the smaller picture of who the students are in their care," Lyn said. 

With Michael Fullan Lyn has researched what it takes to improve both system and school improvement and has identified 14 parameters that need to work together for system alignment (see below).

“These areas aren’t new to you, but what might be is that they all need to work together for system alignment,” Lyn said. “And there are three of those parameters that are non-negotiable – shared beliefs and understandings, shared responsibility and accountability… and a case management approach where we put ‘faces on the data’ and know how to teach each student."

“Our shared responsibility is to own all the faces in our care. If everyone is responsible for every face and even cares about the faces of students down the road as much as they do about the faces in their own school then accountability will follow naturally.”

In looking towards 'future sustain-ability', Lyn says teachers and leaders must:

• Stay the course with relentless consistency
• Measure your impact: individually and as a team
• Use student work as evidence of growth
• Scrutinise student data to make wise decisions
• Use the five questions to determine ‘precision in practice’
• Integrate the 14 parameters everywhere

A panel discussion moderated by renowned Australian broadcaster Geraldine Doogue AO unpacked the keynote address and explored Lyn Sharratt's work as it is being applied in schools.

The student and school leader panellists from across Australia were Year 11 students Hayley O'Connor and Wasim Farah from St Andrew’s College, Marayong; principal Ros Oates from Our Lady of the River Primary, Berri; principal Patricia Hales from St Joseph’s College, Lochinvar and principal David Adam-Jones from St Therese’s Primary, Bentley Park.

In 'putting faces on the data' student Wasim said, “the first thing we must do is inculcate a sense of self awareness in who we are as students and educators”. He said this sense of self-awareness was made palpable by his college principal around each student setting high expectations for themselves.

Fellow student Hayley agreed saying they were encouraged by their teachers and leaders to “reach for the stars and try as hard as we can, because at the end of the day as a student that’s the most important thing that we should be able to do”.

Ros Oates said Lyn’s work and the Clarity Learning Suite is a handbook that leaders can use to get effective learning happening in classrooms.

Ros said it helped create a sense of ‘systemness’ in her diocese and when she walks into another Catholic school in South Australia they are “all talking the same language”. The work has had a profound impact on her as a rural principal because she is “inline and walking with knowledgeable others” in the work.

In making the difference for students principal Patricia Hales said it is the “sharp focus” that Lyn speaks about and not trying to do everything, but “narrowing it down to say what are those strategic goals we are looking at, and what data are we drawing on to establish a goal that we know is going to have a positive outcome for all our students”.

Principal David Adam-Jones said, in the Catholic context, clarity is about kinship.

“Kinship is about a bond…and the important relationship with the child and the relationship with the teacher in the context of the Catholic school,” he said. “And we do that really well."

In response to Geraldine’s question, "has learning become an adventure?" Hayley said, “I feel like learning is an adventure, but I do feel like the HSC in itself has become a bit outdated and I don’t want to say it’s ruining the adventure… but it needs to be updated… because we are really changing the way we are learning, but we are not changing the way we are being assessed.”

National Catholic Education executive director Jacinta Collins said the symposium is an opportunity for school leaders and staff to engage in a broader professional discussion.

"Catholic education serves one in five students and we recognise the work of our leaders and staff who are committed to lifting learning standards for over 777,000 students across 1,755 schools in Australia,” Ms Collins said.

“Over the past two years our school communities have responded extraordinarily to the additional demands of remote learning and teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As we continue to face an unpredictable future, opportunities like the Virtual Symposium and our national conference to be held next September in Melbourne, will provide additional professional opportunities for educators and leaders to share their expertise and experiences in our collective work of improving learning for students,” she said.

Watch the recordings

Above: A snapshot from the Diocesan Directors Forum

Catholic education directors from state and territory Catholic education commissions and dioceses, and education leaders across Australia, came together on 25 October for the Diocesan Directors Forum. 

Due to travel restrictions the scheduled meeting in Canberra was moved to an online gathering. 

The day was facilitated by Brisbane Catholic Education executive director Pam Betts, who also spoke about the recent assembly of the Plenary Council and the need to focus on leadership formation for current and emerging leaders across the Church including education. 

National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) executive director Jacinta Collins said the forum is an opportunity for Catholic education leaders to contribute to a national conversation by capturing and sharing best practice and supporting a strategic and collaborative approach to the mission of Catholic schools in Australia. 

Presenting with NCEC's senior data analyst Nicola Taylor, Jacinta spoke about the national priorities for Catholic education and highlighted some of the challenges and opportunities.

"While we have funding certainty with the current 10-year agreement, one of the challenges is the need to review the Capacity to Contribute model to ensure the contribution expected from parents is fair and allows for affordable choice for families going forward," Jacinta said.

"We also have the opportunity to focus more heavily on lifting student learning standards for all students and to support this work at class, school and system level through data and research, sharing best practice and collaborative leadership."

NCEC chair Nicholas Moore referred to Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge's recent speech for the Centre for Independent Studies saying there had been a 60 per cent increase in school funding over the past two decades, while learning standards have been declining.

In his speech, the Minister identified three areas to lift learning standards:

1. What students are taught - delivering an effective curriculum
2. How students are taught - a focus on quality teaching
3. The environment in which students are taught - behaviour and discipline

Nicholas said the task for Catholic education was to ensure the focus was on lifting standards for all students. 

NCEC deputy director Sally Egan's presentation focused on Catholic education's national strategic priority of supporting the continual improvement of educational outcomes for all students, and provided insights and evidence of how schools and systems can lead successful school improvement as they focus on the learning, teaching and leadership in their school communities. 

"Lifting academic growth for every student is driven by factors such as improving expectations, access to consistent delivery of the curriculum and adapting pedagogy to student need," Sally said.

"We know that schools need to focus on evidence informed practice to improve outcomes for all students, while being supported by the strength of the system and sector."

Above: St Bernards Primary, Upper Mt Gravatt. Source: Brisbane Catholic Education.

The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) held the first of two professional learning workshops on enrolment for over 100 leaders and education office staff on 18 October. 

The professional learning series followed the release of the Enrolment Toolkit which was developed to support Catholic schools and systems with enrolment strategies, processes and promotion. 

The first workshop was presented by Mareez Fernando (Catholic Education, Canberra & Goulburn), Uby Faddoul (Catholic Education South Australia) and NCEC staff Sally Egan, Nicola Taylor and Annette Loughlin-Smith.

The workshop explored the value of Catholic schools, developing a successful enrolment strategy, enrolment trends and forecasting and identifying opportunities and barriers to enrolment using a range of case studies and data.

NCEC's deputy director Sally Egan said the feedback from the first workshop was positive. 

"The response from participants who attended the workshop has been very positive," Sally said. "By sharing what's working successfully across dioceses and schools we can provide a more strategic and sustainable focus for Catholic school enrolments in the future." 

The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) is hosting its second professional learning enrolment workshop for educators and leaders across Catholic schools and education offices.

An enrolment toolkit resource has also been created for staff. 

Catholics are invited to join local consultations about their experience of synodality within the Church as part of a two-year journey towards the next international Synod of Bishops, set for October 2023.

Dioceses across the world hosted local Synod celebrations on Sunday 17 October, a week after Pope Francis officially opened the global process for the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

The Synod theme is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission”.

The local launches also marked the commencement of a period of diocesan consultations to help the Synod’s preparation. Ten areas of synodality are being explored with questions in each area across those themes of communion, participation and mission. Catholics are invited to pray with, reflect upon and respond, and to help develop a process of communal spiritual discernment.

A new online portal has been set up to receive submissions across the various questions the Synod’s preparatory document poses. Those submissions will initially be considered at the diocesan level, and then be used to develop a national report.

All Catholics in Australia are invited to participate in the Synod of Bishops process. The process of prayer and reflection is designed for group discernment, but an individual guide has also been created for those unable to join a communal process.

Find out more and access the resources via the website.

Photo: Pexels

New research by mental health organisation ReachOut shows a significant increase in the severity of study stress for young Australians this year, with approximately one third of students reporting that study stress is currently having a major impact on their mental and emotional wellbeing, up from 18 per cent in December 2020*.

The survey, conducted in September, found the number of young people reporting poor mental health or wellbeing as a result of study stress has doubled from 25 per cent in previous years to 56 per cent this year. 

The survey also showed some of the impacts that study stress is having on the lives of students in 2021, compared to December 2020, with the added pressures of COVID-19 restrictions, including:

• 68 per cent of students were unable to focus, up from 33 per cent 
• 57 per cent were having trouble sleeping, up from 32 per cent 
• 39 per cent reported poor nutrition, up from 18 per cent 
• 32 per cent reported that they had experienced issues with their family, up from 16 per cent 

When asked about studying and navigating the challenges of COVID-19 restrictions, 40 per cent said it’s been difficult to learn content needed for exams, one in five said they didn’t have an appropriate place to study and 23 per cent said their plans for study or work after school have changed.

Despite the increased impact of study stress on young people, fewer young people are getting support for study stress. In 2019, 85 per cent accessed support from family, friends or professional services, while in 2021 this had dropped to 78 per cent.

*National surveys of over 1000 young people (aged 14-25) across Australia conducted in September 2021 and December 2020 by ReachOut.

Read more

Last year, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) undertook the Review to Reduce Red Tape for Teachers and School Leaders, which was presented to Education Ministers in December 2020.

In response, AITSL has developed a toolkit for the Australian school context called Reducing Red Tape - Shifting the Balance. It includes tools and resources that aim to support schools to identify workload issues and implement solutions to reduce the burden of compliance and administrative tasks on teacher and leader time.

Catholic Education Western Australia and Catholic Schools NSW are featured case studies on the AITSL website highlighting the work they have been doing to reduce the administrative and reporting burden for teachers and leaders.

Spotlight on early childhood educators

AITSL has also released their latest Spotlight report, Celebrating Early Childhood Educators.

The Spotlight examines the critical role of early childhood teachers and the benefits of investing in early childhood education. It shows that children who receive quality early childhood education are up to eight months ahead of their peers in learning on entry to school, with these benefits persisting into adolescence. It also looks at the specialist expertise of early childhood teachers and the various pathways into the profession.

Download the Spotlight report

Catholic College joins innovative eSports program

Thomas Carr College, Tarneit is part of a team to deliver Australia’s first dedicated eSports entrepreneurial program.

The aim of the program is to fill a gap in the technology job market through building essential 21st century skills in students, including critical and creative thinking, communication, collaboration and entrepreneurialism.

Most of these skills are crucial to empowering students to become effective contributors to the globalised world after secondary school and many are not directly taught in standard classroom practices.

Thomas Carr College’s head of learning: science, health and physical education, Stephen Manitta, said "eSports is a rapidly growing industry providing a magnitude of career opportunities, including information technology, journalism, business, economics, law, engineering, cybersecurity and many more".

The eSports entrepreneurial collaboration with BIG Esports and Wyndham Tech School has enabled the college to draw meaningful links with STEM education, eSports and information technology in an innovative learning style that ensures maximum student engagement.

The 20 Year 9 students from Thomas Carr College are the first trial group for this program and have designed potential logos for the school’s eSports team and are working towards gaining sponsorships, building PCs, and organising and potentially running an eSports event. Students are creating their own in-depth portfolio of their learning, complete with links to the Victorian Curriculum.

Source: MACS website

Read more via the Australian Financial Review

Above L-R: CESA director Dr Neil McGoran, Minister for Child Protection The Hon Rachel Sanderson MP, Michael Lincoln and Amanda Cescato (CESA), St Francis de Sales College, Mount Barker principal Gavin McGlaughlin and CESA deputy director John Mula.

Catholic Education SA wins Child Protection Award

Catholic Education South Australia (CESA) has been named among the winners at the 2021 South Australian Child Protection Awards.

One of four finalists for the 'Improving education and learning outcomes for children and young people in care' award, CESA has taken out the award for its "generous scholarship program" that provides scholarships to 200 children and young people across the state to attend Catholic primary and secondary schools.

The awards, delivered by the Department for Child Protection in partnership with the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect celebrate the achievements of those who provide vital support to vulnerable children and young people and inspire others to support children and young people in care.

The Catholic Schools Scholarship Program is a collaboration between CESA and the Marshall Liberal Government that aims to remove financial barriers so that young people in care have the opportunity to not only attend school, but to thrive in a positive learning environment.

First announced in June 2020, the program currently has 192 new students enrolled or due to start in Catholic schools next year, with each recipient receiving full tuition, uniforms, textbooks, excursion and extracurricular activities, that will continue each year until the child or young person completes their schooling.

The awards were presented at a breakfast on 8 September during National Child Protection Week (5-11 September).

Source: CESA website

ACEL NSW awards for Parramatta diocese

Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta's (CEDP) Jarara Indigenous Education Unit has won the ACEL NSW Leadership Award and St Agnes Catholic High School, Rooty Hill teacher Olivia Phillips has taken out the Mary Armstrong Award for Early Career Leadership.

As reported in Catholic Outlook, Learning support and information and software technology teacher Olivia Phillips has transformed the learning experience of vulnerable students at St Agnes Catholic High School.

Meritorious Service Award to CEWA director Glennda Scully

The WA Council has awarded a Meritorious Service Award to Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) director of finance, Glennda Scully FCA.

PRE-ORDERS CLOSE ON FRIDAY 5 NOVEMBER

From Humble Beginnings: Commemorating 200 years of Catholic education in Australia features a history of the oldest existing Catholic school in each Australian diocese. The commemorative book is full colour and includes historical and contemporary images of the schools. It is available in paperback and hardcover versions and would make a great addition to school libraries or as a bicentenary memento.

Above: Our Lady of Lourdes Primary, Seven Hills. Source: Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta

God of Love, Thank you for every teacher who notices a child’s special gift. Thank you for teachers who are listeners and gentle guides. Thank you for teachers who expect much and love enough to demand more. Thank you for the special teacher each one of us remembers.

God of Mercy, Sustain teachers who give everything they have. Strengthen teachers who assume the blame for so many problems beyond their control. Help exhausted teachers rest. 

God of Strength, Encourage teacher to care and inspire them to nourish. Motivate teachers to keep on learning for the fun of it and to make learning enjoyable for children.

We wonder at teachers who know how to quiet a class of five year olds or help fourth graders be empathetic. We admire teachers who enjoy middle school writers, or teach physics or math of history. Bless the people who are expected to accomplish these miracles and who know how to comfort children when miracles don’t happen.

God of Justice, help and support teachers in their special calling, wherever they teach and whatever obstacles they must face. We pray these things in the name of our great teacher, Jesus Christ.

Amen 

– Prayer from the National Catholic Education Association