Advocacy and Wellbeing
NTPA is recognised as the collective voice for school leaders throughout the NT at both a Territory and National level. It is a key stakeholder and advisory body to the Department, the Chief Executive and Minister of Education, and influences through strong partnerships, advocacy and representation on committees and groups.
Firstly, we are pleased to be a member of the Occupational Violence and Aggression in Schools Reform Committee which will ensure that a school leader perspective is considered when implementing the report’s 17 recommendations. Communiqué #1 can be found HERE.
Educators play a pivotal role in the learning and development of children. School leaders, teachers and by extension, other school staff are responsible for the safety and wellbeing of children and young people through the provision of a safe, supportive, and engaging learning environment. Although the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 (the WHS Act) provides the legal framework to keep school leaders and teachers safe in their workplace, school staff are experiencing alarmingly high levels of violence and aggression in Northern Territory (NT) government schools, compromising their role and their personal physical and psychological safety. pg 4. Occupational Violence and Aggression in Northern Territory Government Schools Report 2022
Occupational Violence and Aggression in Northern Territory Government Schools Report 2022
NTPA have advocated for action after successive Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Surveys have indicated a worrying trend of increasing levels of offensive behaviour from students (75%) and parents (42%) as reported by school leaders in the NT. Gossip and slander were also found to be high across all states and territories in the 2022 data.
Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey Data 2022
Through advocacy and NTPA’s partnership with the Department, the School Leader Wellbeing Action Plan 2021-2025 was jointly constructed. The implementation of the nine actions is ongoing work.
Action 2.3 Form a taskforce to investigate occupational violence and aggression, which NTPA was a key stakeholder of, has led to the establishment of the Occupational Violence and Aggression in Schools Reform Committee.
The report details 17 recommendations, set out under the following four key priority areas:
Priority Area 1 - Build a leading safety culture (including both physical and psychological safety) by establishing agency commitment through policies, practices, and guidance materials.
Priority Area 2 - Develop an analysis and monitoring capability within the agency for incidents of violence and aggression towards school staff.
Priority Area 3 - Ensure an integrated approach to reducing occupational violence and aggression in schools.
Priority Area 4 – Prevent, mitigate and manage psychological injury resulting from incidents of violence and aggression.
As part of this reform work the Leadership, Culture and Care Division have employed two expert consultants. Gerard Fishpool (an expert WHS consultant) is conducting an audit and seeking principals’ perspectives about our Department’s work, health and safety policies and practices. Dr Jane Richards, a clinical psychologist consultant, is providing one on one support to any school leaders, particularly post critical incidents or events which can lead to psychological harm. This is an area that NTPA have been advocating for improvement in, over many years so we are pleased to see this work progress.
Recruiting and Retaining Staff
NTPA have continued to provide feedback to the Department of the challenges for schools to remain fully staffed during this critical national teacher shortage. Our feedback has reflected that this often leads to school leaders taking on a teaching role which impacts on their time to effectively lead their schools. We know that this can increase the amount of time a school leader spends at work trying to keep on top of their administrative tasks.
With this in mind, we have had raised the prospect of improving HR support for school leaders through a more regionalised approach rather then the centralised DCDD agency with our Minister of Education.
We have also continued to advocate for additional recruitment incentives to attract teachers to Alice Springs who are faced with the wider community challenges.
NTPA are part of many conversations at a national level through our affiliated Associations (ASPA, AGPPA, APPA and AESPA) to provide feedback on The National Teacher Workforce Action Plan 2022.
Celebrating Great Teachers and Leaders
Don’t miss these opportunities to nominate our great teachers and leaders:
- Commonwealth Bank Teaching Awards For more information, visit org.au/awards or contact awards@schoolsplus.org.au. Nominations close on Sunday 7 May.
- NT Education and Care Awards - Nominations open, closing Friday 2 June. To nominate someone or for further information, click here and follow the awards on Facebook.
- Teaching in the Territory Excellence Awards nominations are open. Information on the award categories and nomination requirements are available here
ICAC Committee
NTPA is involved in the Department of Education’s ICAC Program Committee. The ICAC Program Committee oversees the Department of Education’s ICAC Program which was established resulting from the ICAC’s 2021 public statement regarding the improper conduct of a previous school principal. As the NTPA’s committee representative, we ensure principals’ voices are heard on reform projects the department is delivering to address the recommendations in the ICAC’s public statement. Projects range from governance to legislative reform aimed at strengthening the education system in the Northern Territory.
FARMS Manual
NTPA have been a key stakeholder in providing feedback on the Finance and Resources Management for Schools (FARMS) Manual. This resource will provide schools with succinct and accessible requirements for accountable, transparent and targeted financial and resource management. The FARMS Manual clearly states the responsibilities of school bodies and principals. Consultation workshops for principals and business managers on the draft Manual will occur in Weeks 2-4, Term 2. Workshops will include an overview followed by an opportunity to deep dive into sections with colleagues. Feedback on the document will be open to individuals and groups until Friday 19 May. Register for a workshop in your region here.
Parliamentary Inquiries
NTPA have made submissions to the NT Inquiry into Electronic Cigarettes and Personal Vaporisers (Vaping) which is a growing concern in all schools. NTPA also contributed to the Federal Parliamentary Inquiries through ASPA for ‘The national trend of school refusal and related matters’ and ‘The issue of increasing disruption in Australian school classrooms’.
Great to see that the federal government has announced TAKING ACTION ON SMOKING AND VAPING (attach media release) and an 3.5 million project to provide MORE SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS TO MANAGE THE CLASSROOM