EDUCATION SUPPORTSUPPLEMENT TO THE AEU NEWS • JUNE 2014

A E U h e a d o f f i c e 1 1 2 T r e n e r r y C r e s c e n t , A b b o t s f o r d 3 0 6 7 T e l : 0 3 9 4 1 7 2 8 2 2 F a x : 1 3 0 0 6 5 8 0 7 8 W e b : w w w . a e u v i c . a s n . a u

NEWSLETTERCuts to education, cuts to supportThe Coalition has outlined a future where support for disadvantaged students is whittled away.

Erin Aulich vice president, secondary

MAY is budget month in state and federal politics but neither Canberra nor Spring Street delivered

any good news for education support staff.Both state and federal budgets were a big disap-

pointment for the future of education funding in Australia, with cuts that will have a greater impact on the vital support that ES provide in our schools. Our students will be the biggest losers here.

Victoria set the scene on May 6 with a standstill budget that failed to reverse the now more than $600 million the Napthine Government has taken from public education since its election in 2010.

Currently Victorian public schools receive $1,881 less per student than the national average.

Then came the big blow on May 13 with the Federal Government’s announcement of $80 billion

in cuts to education and health and the failure to honour the Gonski agreements beyond 2016–17.

The Federal Government is turning its back on our most disadvantaged students, the overwhelming majority of them supported by our members in public schools.

And yet, amid this savagery, there was one program the Abbott Government deemed worthy of increased support. The National School Chaplaincy Program has attracted an extra $245m and is set to replace the existing School Welfare Program from the start of 2015.

Principals will no longer be able to put this welfare funding toward qualified ES staff such as professional psychologists or qualified counsellors.

Instead, only religious chaplains will be eligible for Commonwealth support.

It’s become all too common for the Coalition

in Canberra and Victoria to claim that additional resources won’t improve student learning and welfare, as if supporters of public education are simply calling for cash to be thrown at our schools with no regard for where it goes.

That has never been the case. As the Gonski Report made clear and our Put Education 1st campaign sets out, our disadvantaged and margin-alised students and their families need specific, targeted support — support often provided by education support staff.

These cuts make our campaigns more important than ever. Please join us at puteducation1st.com.au and tafe4all.org.au — and help us continue the fight for public education in Victoria. It has never been more important that we campaign hard among the electorate to demand that all parties Put Education 1st at the November state election. �

YOU’LL have heard the news that a new perfor-mance and development system is being

introduced for teachers and principals. This was initially intended to cover ES staff for the 2014–15 cycle as well — until the AEU objected.

We put forward the view that plans to change the P&D process for ES staff in the 2014–15 cycle were premature and did not take into account the complexity of the work that you undertake in schools.

That message was received and P&D for ES has been delayed until the 2015–16 cycle. At this point the Government has provided no draft documenta-

tion; however, the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2013 makes clear that the DEECD must consult the AEU before any new process is introduced.

When this consultation occurs, your input will be essential. Members will need to discuss how any new process will be implemented in our schools if it is to provide genuine opportunities for professional development.

The AEU supports a well-resourced performance and development process, so be assured we will advocate for time and resources for ES to allow genuine consultation and familiarisation in any new

process put forward.At this stage, the new guidelines for teachers and

principals have been released and we are beginning to learn how prepared schools are for implementing the changes and transitioning to the new process.

This process will give us further insight into the questions and potential issues that may arise in consultations over the ES guidelines.

Stay tuned for further advice on ES performance and development later in the year. �

— Erin Aulich vice president, secondary

Prepare to be consultedPerformance and development processes in our schools are changing — but not for education support staff.

2 ES newsletter | june 2014

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OHS training and time in lieuES should get time release or time in lieu for completing the government’s mandatory new OHS training program.

LAST year the DEECD began a statewide occupa-

tional health and safety training program which all staff are expected to complete. It’s a valuable program

that the AEU supports, as it will enhance awareness of health and safety in our schools, but there are implications for your workload.

Principals should ensure that staff are given appropriate time to complete the training.

This may mean ES need to be released from duties during their normal working hours or allowed time in lieu (TIL) to complete the modules.

Each module can take 30–40 minutes to complete. Four new modules were released this month with an expectation they will be completed by July 14. This is in addition to the four modules released in 2013 and there are more to come.

This is a significant amount of extra time that staff are expected to find in their already full working week. If not managed well, it has the potential to become a workload issue.

AEU sub-branches should raise the OHS training at their school’s consulta-tion committee and ensure ES are given enough time to complete the modules during working hours. Some schools will allow time during the working day and others will allow TIL.

The AEU advises ES to ensure TIL is approved before it is undertaken and that there is agreement about how it is repaid.

Many schools will already have a TIL policy which should provide guidance; for other schools, this is a great opportunity to develop a policy.

For support and advice, contact your organiser or the MSU on 1800 013 387 or email melbourne@aeuvic.asn.au. �

Read more on the new OHS modules in the Primary and Secondary Newsletters.

Return date for 2015Make sure your school’s time in lieu policy is up to date.Kathryn Lewis ES organiser

IT MAY seem early to discuss 2015 but some conscientious ES members have been seeking clarification of the return date to ensure their time in lieu (TIL)

policies are up to date.Many schools’ policies allow ES to offset TIL against student-free days and

days that teachers are not in attendance — such as the first day of duty for ES in January.

The first day of duty for 2015 for most ES will be Friday, January 23. A full-time ES employee who has worked a full year is entitled to 20 days of

annual leave plus 30 days of additional paid leave per year — making a total of 50 days’ leave.

The 50 days will be used through the school holidays in April, July, September and in December and January and be exhausted on January 22. The days are calculated by counting every working day in the school holidays except public holidays.

It is important to note that this end date may vary for ES staff who have worked less than a full year, had a break in service or changed their time fraction during the year, as they may not have accrued the full 50 days’ leave.

ES staff on contracts that end mid-year will have their accrued leave paid out in the last pay period of the contract. They therefore start accruing leave again from the first day of their new contract and as a consequence will have less than 50 days by December and may run out of leave during January.

This means you’ll have a period of leave without pay at the end of the holidays. Christmas is never a good time to be without money, so check with your business manager in December how much paid leave you have for the summer holiday.

The extra leave in the Schools Agreement should lead to better employment practices – our hope is that schools will end contracts when ES annual leave has been exhausted, on January 22, 2015, rather than in December.

If you’re unsure about leave, call the Membership Services Unit or your organiser on 1800 013 387 or email melbourne@aeuvic.asn.au. �

www.aeuvic.asn.au 3

Kathryn Lewis ES organiser

ON MONDAY April 28 we trialled our first online special schools

meeting. We were unsure how it would work and whether schools would find it useful.

In fact we had 81 members connect from 24 special schools which is a pretty good turnout.

The aim of the meeting was to provide an opportunity for staff in special schools to meet online to discuss their occupational health and safety (OHS) policies and procedures.

A meeting of this scale had never been attempted by the AEU and we are excited by its potential.

The feedback from our evaluation survey was positive with members commenting on how they enjoyed the

interactive and responsive features of the event. Participants could ask questions of the group and receive answers from different schools in attendance.

It was interesting to see how various schools responded to the same issues — each of them effectively, yet in slightly different ways. The sharing of experi-ence and knowledge was beneficial for all involved and the AEU was happy to provide a space in which so many schools could interact at one time.

We still have many things to learn about how we manage this type of meeting effectively. Members’ participa-tion will also improve as they become more familiar with the format and technology. We look forward to our next special schools online meeting on Tuesday June 24. �

Access to new increment at Level 1, Range 1 flowsTHE Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2013 provided a new increment at the top of Level 1, Range 1 —

delivering a salary increase for education support staff who had already reached the top of Range 1.That new increment came into effect on May 1. Other ES in Range 1 will receive this same benefit over the life of

the agreement as they access the extra increment at the top of the scale. This is a significant win for ES employees in Range 1 as we continue to improve pay and conditions one agreement

at a time for ES members.

Why am I still on the same salary point?As we moved to the new scale on May 1, the point at the bottom of the scale dropped off and a new point was added at the top — and all five points in Range 1 were renumbered accordingly.

In 2014, all this happened on the annual increment date for progression. Eligible ES therefore translated and incre-mented on the same day (subject to a satisfactory performance and development review).

So technically, ES at point 1-1-5 before May 1 translated to 1-1-4 and at the same time incremented to the new 1-1-5.

Before May 1: ES 1-1-5: $43,489

From May 1: Translate to ES 1-1-4 and increment to ES 1-1-5 (new top of scale): $45,208

The same is true for ES on lower steps of Range 1 — the renumbering means your grade has the same number but your pay packet has jumped up an increment. Here’s what will happen over three years (read across from left to right):

Before May 1 May 1, 2014 May 1, 2015 May 1, 2016

Translate to: …and increment to:

1-1-5 1-1-4 1-1-5 1-1-5 1-1-5

1-1-4 1-1-3 1-1-4 1-1-5 1-1-5

1-1-3 1-1-2 1-1-3 1-1-4 1-1-5

1-1-2 1-1-1 1-1-2 1-1-3 1-1-4

1-1-1 1-1-1 1-1-1 1-1-2 1-1-3

SPECIAL RESULT from online meeting

4 ES newsletter | june 2014

OUR twilight conferences continue to grow. They provide practical PD and

members find it easy to attend because they run from 4pm to 6pm and are followed by a great dinner.

One on the key features is the opportunity for members to meet ES from others schools. Our members are passionate about their work and enjoy sharing positive stories

and learning from each other. AEU organisers use these events

to meet ES members and gain a better understanding of the issues you face. If you have not yet attended a twilight conference I encourage you to do so — they are worthwhile for the AEU and its members alike.

— Kathryn Lewis ES organiser

TERM 2 17 June Traralgon

TERM 3

22 July Ballarat

2 September Sunshine

16 September Colac

TERM 4

21 October Bairnsdale

11 November Mordialloc

25 November Pakenham

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ES Focus, live and onlineProfessional development for ES.

ES FOCUS is our new initiative for education support members, providing quality workshops online to allow us to reach more members across the

state.We’re running one workshop each term. Our first event, on challenging

behaviour, attracted an amazing 80 schools online, with 20 members joining us live in Abbotsford to hear about ways to tackle attention seeking, defiance and resistance from difficult students.

We’ve just held our second, on building healthy relationships in a world of social networking, cyberbullying, sexting and social media.

The next event will be on August 28, with a fourth on November 30 — put these dates in your diary and keep an eye out for the flyers at the beginning of each term. �

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and attention, and who struggle with motivation. The program explores the reasons why students

misbehave, and provides highly effective and often simple preventative strategies.

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ES NetworksWE NOW have over 15 ES Networks across the state from Mildura to

Warragul, Warrnambool to Wodonga and all points between. The networks are informal gatherings which allow members to discuss day-

to-day issues and ask questions about the new agreement. If you want to know exactly what is happening for ES members then you

need to attend one of our networks — or create one of your own. To find out how, give us a call on 1800 013 387.

Find upcoming meetings at www.aeuvic.asn.au/es_networks. �

ES twilight CONFERENCES

REGIONAL MEETINGSTHE AEU holds meetings in regions across the state. They’re the

best way to get the all the news about AEU campaigns and other developments. Increasing numbers of ES are attending, but it would be great to see more. Find dates at www.aeuvic.asn.au/regional. �

AEU SCHOOL VISITSAEU organisers are happy to visit schools on request to report

on campaigns and issues such as performance and develop-ment. To contact your local organiser, call 1800 013 387 or email melbourne@aeuvic.asn.au. �