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Dear Colleagues
We hope you have started the term well feeling refreshed and energised for the weeks ahead. Certainly, the change in weather helps as we experience cooler and drier days to navigate our daily challenges and stresses. Wherever you are, I hope you are able to enjoy the great outdoors; a great way to manage your wellbeing and recharge your energy each day.
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Professional Learning Opportunities
As part of our commitment to support members, NTPA facilitated a Masterclass with Dr Polly McGee on the first day of this term. Polly deepens our understanding of trauma and attachment theory, and the impact of leading trauma in our schools and explains how leaders can create psychologically safe workplaces for all. Polly has trained with Brene Brown and shares her knowledge of how leaders can flourish during times of uncertainty and volatility.
We are currently a negotiating a suitable time to offer this this masterclass in Alice Springs for later in the year. Please keep an eye out for the flyer.
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The Masterclass was a great recap of how trauma presents itself and why ‘us humans’ behave the way we do. Polly was very easy to listen to and it was one of the most valuable PD days I have attended. There were many take aways from the day but I will summarise with this statement; The more we understand (recap our knowledge) about trauma, have awareness that everyone around us is walking with trauma to some degree, and build upon our ability to show up curious in our interactions with each other and our students, the better we will be able, as leaders, to support each other, the teams we lead, our students and their families.
“Knowledge is for the mind, emotion is for the body: We feel how we experience the world.”
Sarah Corry, Principal
NTPA in partnership with BTS Sparks are running a series of online workshops on the topic of Focusing on Personal Resilience. Never before has resilience been so critical for school leaders who are navigating the challenges of staff shortages, critical events and incidents, increasing workload pressures and lack of time to lead teaching and learning.
This course is designed to help provide you with a range of strategies focusing on what you can control and is ideal for any school leader at either a senior teacher or principal level.
We have designed this course to be online to cater for the needs of our remote and geographically dispersed school leaders and are offering four 1 ½ hour sessions to minimise impact on your daily role.
Please register here: https://forms.office.com/r/k4EVcqa2GD
For further details please refer to the flyer below:
National Conferences
The ACEL National Inclusion and Disability Conference is being held in Darwin this year on 30th and 31st May. A great opportunity to attend a national event locally. Explore a diverse array of keynote and concurrent sessions led by renowned education experts from Australia and around the globe.
More information and registration can be found here.
The Australian Primary Principals Conference this year is being held in Christchurch, NZ from September 16th to 18th. This is a great opportunity to connect with colleagues from around Australia and New Zealand and learn from national experts. Further information here.
NTPA Sponsorship: As a NTPA member, you can be supported to attend a National Association Conference to the value of $1000. Please see the attached application form if you are interested in attending a National Association Conference.
Go1 Education Changemakers
NTPA are happy to announce that they have renegotiated member access to the GO1 EC professional learning platform. This provides members with access to an extensive range of professional learning. This can be an affordable option for whole school professional learning through targeted programs and courses aligned to your school’s improvement agenda.
Please keep an eye out for your registration email in the very near future.
Leadership Strategy Programs through ELCC
NTPA have worked closely with ELCC to ensure educational leadership programs are offered to help build capacity of our NT school leaders.
- Experienced principals should have received an email inviting them to participate in the Experienced Principal Executive Coaching and Professional Learning Initiative.
This is a prioritised initiative under the Northern Territory Education Leadership Strategy 2021-2024 and is aimed to support experienced principals (10 years plus years of principalship). The first part of this initiative is the provision of expert school leadership executive coaching services. Educational Leadership, Culture and Care (ELCC) have engaged CC Solutions t/a Growth Coaching NT to deliver the expert school leadership coaching.
- The Flourish Movement Foundations program is for Mid-Career Principals and will be announced soon. This will be provided through a series of workshops and online coaching.
- The ‘Horizon program unlocking your potential as a future school leader" aspirant school leader program is for high performing teachers with aspirations to undertake principalship and school leadership roles to develop their capacity. It is open to 25 teachers from across the NT. The Horizon program consists of: 2x 2-day face to face workshops in Darwin 3x online workshops and Coaching sessions.
Recognising and Acknowledging School Leaders
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Please do not miss the opportunity to recognise and acknowledge an outstanding colleague who is deserving of a Teach in the Territory Leadership Award. School leaders are often committed to nominating and recognising staff within their school, so we are asking you to think about your colleagues and nominate them for their outstanding efforts. Nominations | Teaching in the Territory Awards
Congratulations to our colleagues who are leading On Country Learning Initiatives as part of the additional $40 million in Central Australia. This week Joanne Alford was privileged to have the Prime Minister visit and witness what a difference money can make to leading improvement and engagement. Well done Joanne.
Impact of Staff Shortages Survey
Thank you to those that responded to the Staffing Shortages Survey. This information is used by NTPA to highlight the impact of staff shortages on school leaders, to provide feedback to the Department and to advocate for a solutions focused approach.
Some of the key points identified through the survey include:
- The number of teacher vacancies is equivalent to the number of non-teaching staff vacancies. On average schools have 2 teacher and 2 staff vacancies.
- School leaders teaching load has increased up to 100%. On average, school leaders are teaching an additional 5 hours per week.
- School leaders are covering extra duty and supervision, on average 4 times per week.
- Limited housing in communities is a barrier to employing more teachers.
- Staff shortages has impacted on the wellbeing of all staff, as teachers are covering additional loads, and most schools do not have access to ERT’s.
- On average school leaders are working an additional 15 hours per week, with some working unsustainable hours during the term.
38 respondents to the survey
Respondents felt strongly that attraction and retention strategies for school leaders include:
- Increased salaries and conditions, including an end to the pay freeze
- Reduce workload and administrative burden.
- Support from Corporate Leaders was imperative (knowing someone had your back)
- Formalised mentoring for school leaders
- Support for student and family inappropriate behaviour
NTPA have been members of the Teacher Workload Review Project, along with other stakeholder groups. The Teacher Workload Reduction Plan (WRAP) will be released this weekend at the AEU Conference. On Tuesday 7 May, the plan will be communicated to all staff along with an expressions of interest to invite teachers and school leaders to be part of the working group that will be established to consult, co-design and implement the actions. We look forward to our continuing involvement in this project to ensure the implementation of the WRAP actions.
NTPA are continuing to advocate and influence a review of the current principal pay scales and structures with the Department, OCPE and Minister. Please see attached the Letter to the Minister. Next week we will meet with the new OCPE Commissioner.
If you are a new principal, please seek support from NTPA to understand the difference between being on ongoing principal to an executive contract principal. The attached charts provides general information.
Please reach out if you need any support in any area, as NTPA can provide you with guidance and collegial support.
Take care
Robyn Thorpe
NTPA Consultation and Feedback
- ‘Back on Track and Community Youth Diversion Program’ Evaluation – interview conducted by NOUS Group on behalf of Territory Families.
- ACARA CEO Stephen Gniel meeting to provide feedback on the National Curriculum and Assessment with Catholic Principals’ Association President, Paula Sellars.
- Anti-Discrimination Commissioner presentation on legislative changes to the NT Anti-Discrimination Act 1992. These reforms include the introduction of Positive Duty and Representative Complaints. The commissioner is keen to talk to principals, schools and students in regard to these changes. Please see additional information below.
- Monthly meetings with Deputy CE to raise current issues and hot topics
- Talent Attraction & Recruitment Strategy feedback
- Teacher Workload Review Project meetings
- Education Functional Design Guidelines - Stakeholder Workshops
- Video for the Bureau Business Mangers Business Day on the ‘Gatekeeper to Gateway’ vision.
- Leadership Strategy Programs and Courses
- 2025 School Resourcing reform team, consultation and and feedback
Invisible labour: Principals emotional labour in volatile times- Monash University Research Survey
Australian schools are currently experiencing a crisis in principal recruitment and retention, driven by stress, burnout, and increased workloads. An under recognised but crucial aspect of demands on principals is the key role they play as school leaders in fostering safe and socially connected school communities amongst increasingly diverse student populations. How can principals be better supported to carry out this crucial role?
Emotional labour, which involves managing one's own emotions and those of others, is a crucial aspect of principals' work that demands various 'invisible' skills.
This research study aims to shed light on the emotional labour of government school principals, promote public understanding of their complex role, and initiate conversations for meaningful changes and improvements.
‘I am often reminded of the privilege and price of leadership in the role of a principal. You are working with colleagues to improve the teaching and learning outcomes for the students in your school. However, most of your time is spent dealing with intense critical matters. You are always navigating difficult relationships and very complex matters. All of it takes a toll. There is help available but you are intrinsically responsible and you’re often left exhausted at the end of each year,” said Pitsa Binnion PSM, retired school principal of 15 years.
Take the short survey via this link: Invisible labour: School principals’ emotional labour in volatile times - Monash Education
This week we have included an extract from Simon Breakspear’s E-newsletter:
The idea: Workload mapping
When we get into a new month or term, we tend to have a hazy view of things on the horizon that might be coming at us. What if there was an easier way to manage the peaks and troughs of deadlines, and smooth them out ahead of time?
In our roles, we tend to work in a reactive state as we move towards a short-term horizon. While we have a general sense of what’s coming at us, we usually have only a vague sense of how and when that will land, and what capacity we’ll have to meet it. This means we’re living with a sense of looming apprehension of what’s on the horizon, and not taking any agency around how we’ll manage it. We ask too much of ourselves in a way that’s not sustainable, and often end up having to drop some things that really matter. Enter workload mapping — a practical strategy you can use to avoid this.
At the beginning of a fresh month or term, the idea is to take time to pause, pull out your calendar and assess the upcoming workload demands. Getting four to 10 weeks in front, visually pace through all your future commitments, week by week. Ask yourself for each one, “overall, how demanding is this week? What will it feel like to be me at work that week?”. Then take each week and rate it on a scale of one to four based on the expected workload, with one being low and four being heavy — making a subjective relative judgement.
As you do this exercise, you might notice an understandable spike in apprehension. Use this as a motivator to smooth out those peaks: Think about what could be pushed out or brought forward to balance out periods of lower or higher intensity. Consider raising with your team or a line manager whether something could be taken off you or given to someone else. At minimum, you can plan ahead and design some things in your non-work life to build in rest and rejuvenation to sustain you.
This process can be done individually, but it’s even better done collectively. As a team you can ask yourselves: “Could we step in and take something off a certain person at a certain time to try to smooth out the peaks?” As we understand what each other has got coming up, we’re better able to support each other. By addressing workload challenges early, you can make sure your workload for the term is sustainable, which means better performance, and much less risk of burnout.
Challenge → Have a go at workload mapping. Take the five minutes to future pace your coming month or term, identify the predictable periods of peak intensity and then take action individually — or even better, as a team, to smooth out some of those demands.
Acknowledgement:Dr Simon Breakspear | Speaker. Author. Researcher.
If you would like to learn more, Dr Simon has an 8 minute podcast episode that you can listen to here: https://simonbreakspear.com/podcast-workload-mapping/
The ASPA and APPA Presidents, Andy Mison and Angela Falkenberg attended the last Education Ministers Meeting and presented a case for governments to commit to addressing principal and school leader wellbeing. This resulted in a positive commitment:
Ministers expressed their continued support for principals and school leaders and acknowledged the work already underway across jurisdictions to support their wellbeing. Ministers asked officials to work with stakeholders and provide advice on further actions that could support principals and school leaders. Ministers will continue discussions on principal and school leader wellbeing at the next meeting of EMM.
https://www.aspa.asn.au/ministers-commits-to-principal-wellbeing
Please see the attached Education Ministers Meeting Communique for additional information.
ASPA supports school refusal report's recommendations but urges caution - Education Matters Magazine
AGPPA
The Australian Government Primary Principals Association released the position paper, A Better and Fairer Start for All: A case for funding all government primary schools to their Schooling Resource Standard as soon as possible. The research was undertaken by Pasi Sahlberg (University of Melbourne), Trevor Cobbold (National Convenor of Save our Schools) and Caitlin Senior (University of Melbourne).
The paper says that Australia’s school education is one of the most unequal in the developed world with achievement gaps between children from advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds as much as equivalent of two years of learning by Year 5. The inequitable distribution of government funding is fuelling those gaps wider rather than helping to narrow them.
ASPA
ASPA are pleased to announce that all States and Territories have now joined the Australian Secondary Principals Association. The addition of NSW Secondary Principals Association and the Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals strengthens the unified voice of secondary school leaders across Australia. Please see the attached Secondary Matters article. To view online subscribe using the link below.
Be You in the NT
Would you benefit from an extra pair of hands to help plan for wellbeing, at no additional cost?
Be You, the National mental health and wellbeing initiative for learning communities in Australia, provides wellbeing support to all schools, free of charge. It is a federally funded, evidence-based initiative with an experienced and passionate team of consultants located across Australia.
In a significant endorsement of the initiative, Be You has recently signed a partnership agreement with the NT Department of Education, the first of its kind in Australia. The partnership aims to assist schools to establish wellbeing teams, create wellbeing action plans, and develop suicide postvention plans.
Brian Morgan, Michaela Greening and Isabella Kotlar provide support to NT schools from their base in Darwin.
“In order to best support the full variety of schools across the NT, we agree with the NTPA that it’s more important than ever to focus on the wellbeing of school leaders and their educators,” says Brian Morgan, Be You NT Manager.
“It’s a privilege to work alongside Principals. Their contributions are invaluable in balancing educational, social and cultural priorities. Just as they support so many people, it’s our job to support them.”
Educator Wellbeing in the Spotlight
With the additional challenges of recent years, it’s essential that leadership champion their existing workforce.
For staff to feel supported, motivated and engaged in your school, it’s imperative that leaders actively plan to support their wellbeing. Educators’ wellbeing impacts their outlook, health and capacity to build relationships, which are critical to supporting key student metrics such as attendance, engagement and academic performance.
With these principles in mind, Be You commissioned Monash University to conduct five projects investigating educator wellbeing. The findings highlight the importance of thinking about educator wellbeing as a shared responsibility. By prioritising staff wellbeing, leaders can create a culture of care, autonomy, and trust.
Be You’s Beyond Self-Care: An Educator Wellbeing Guide focuses on the three components that learning communities can address to promote educator wellbeing:
- Collegial relationships: Positive relationships and interactions are essential for building educator wellbeing. For example: the sharing of professional expertise, mentoring, effective conflict management, role modelling of positive mental health and celebrating educator success.
- Workplace culture: Inclusion and belonging nurture wellbeing. All educators should feel free to express themselves and voice their opinions.
- Leadership: Showing appreciation for your staff and celebrating their achievements plays a key role in creating a thriving workplace.
Importantly, these components are all centred around addressing organisational factors in the school environment. For meaningful change to take place, leaders need to implement actionable steps on a system-wide level.
Reach out at any time to your NT Be You Team.
Brian and his team are available to assist school leaders in planning a whole-of-school approach where educators will feel supported, included and able to thrive in their workplace.
Brian Morgan – Be You NT Manager (Servicing Barkly region)
bmorgan@headspace.org.au 0484 269 957
Michaela Greening – Be You NT Clinical Lead (Servicing Top End and East Arnhem)
mgreening@headspace.org.au 0436 450 502
Isabella Kotlar – Be You NT Consultant (Servicing Darwin, Big Rivers and Central)
ikotlar@headspace.org.au 0448 392 330
Remember memberships are for a calendar year so now is is the time to renew or join for 2024. Click on this link to complete the form.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND RESOURCES
Click here for the latest ICP newsletter
Last month, Micahels and his team opened enrollment for the ENVoY Trainers Online Program (ETOP) – "thank you for your incredible support! I’m thrilled to make this training available online and easily accessible to educators."
Watch here for Michael's latest vlog on "5 Ways to identify a dysfunctional team"
The Festival, now in its 11th screening year, aims to inspire the creative and purposeful use of digital media by young people for social good and to build their skills and confidence.
Here are some key details:
- Submission Deadline: 7 July 2024.
- Competition Theme: “Choices”. This year’s theme is designed to encourage storytelling about the impact of choices on our lives and the world around us.
- Film Length: 5 minutes (including credits).
- Screening Date and Venue: 17 August 2024 at Ritz Cinemas, Randwick (and livestreamed for an Australian viewing audience).
- Eligibility: Youth 12 to 24 years.
- Prizes: Prize categories are Best Film in Junior, Intermediate and Senior Age Divisions; People’s Choice; REEL Change (Best Film exploring a need for social change), “Spirit of REELise” (Best Film reflecting teamwork, community heart, personal growth, resilience or courage) and “Best Pocket Film”. Cash prizes are awarded to winning filmmakers.
- Competition Entry Fee: NIL. The Festival competition is free to enter. Finalists (and their crews) are treated to a VIP red carpet experience, cinema screening and After Party but must make their own travel arrangements.
The Festival offers students the opportunity to showcase their work to a wider audience, gain recognition for their talents and potentially win awards. Additionally, it allows them to engage with important societal issues through the medium of film, fostering meaningful conversations and promoting social change.
For more information about the Festival, including submission guidelines and entry requirements, please visit the website at: https://www.reelise.org.au/create-and-influence/. REELise is a registered Australian charity formed to safeguard youth mental health and wellbeing, advance education and advance culture.
Our very own Walungurru School recently received nearly $50,000 worth of brand new goods. Read their story impact here.
See the flyer below for more information on how this proram could beneift your school community.
The Seasons for Life initiative provides:
- Training to nominated school staff (on-line or in person) to deliver the Seasons for Growth program, including supplementary learning specific to a suicide loss.
- Nominated school staff are also trained to deliver an accompanying parent session, including resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
- Your school will also receive support to implement the Seasons for Growth program, including coaching support from a Seasons for Life Coordinator, access to a Community of Practice and a step-by-step school guide.
- All participating schools can also receive an in person, all-staff professional learning session about change, loss and grief and the needs of young people following a suicide related loss.
The initiative is also being evaluated by the University of New England led by Professor Myf Maple and Associate Professor Sarah Wayland.
For more information please visit our website or contact the Seasons for Life Coordinator for the Northern Territory: Klara Jaeger – Seasons for Life Coordinator WA/NT.
Grant applications open until 30 June 2024
For more information please see the flyer below: