Current Issues

In light of upcoming revisions to the Victorian Curriculum F-10, the VCAA has provided a briefing pack for members to access. Click Here: Vic Curr F-10 Revisions Stakeholder Briefings April 2023

Written by A Metro Secondary School Principal I have been monitoring, with interest, the impact of TIL, these are the facts: Time in Lieu began on Monday July 25th and since that time teaching staff have accrued 485 hours of TIL. The acquittal for many of the hours has been completed, however, the time away from students has meant interrupted [...]

Attracting and retaining employees has proved a challenge in the wake of unprecedented levels of employee resignations and an increased desire for hybrid or work-from-home options. Mentorship is crucial to ensuring the success of newcomers: it provides opportunities for emulation, fosters employee relationships, and encourages integration with company values. Mentoring is different from Managing: The most critical element of becoming [...]

As we all know, the role of a school leader is complex and multi-dimensional with effective leaders drawing on multiple sources of information and supports.  The Department offers a range of services to support school leaders with the execution of their roles and responsibilities.  Three such services that we encourage members to access are the Principal Advisory Service, the Principal [...]

Whilst recent commentary and dialogue has focussed on the severe teacher shortages, little mention if any, is being made in relation to the national trend that’s been growing for some time and that is principal shortages. Over the course of many years, there has been a declining trend of senior teachers and assistant principals aspiring to the role of principal [...]

The Annual Report is a legislative obligation that provides a valuable opportunity for the school community to celebrate achievements, reflect on the school’s performance, and understand where and how improvement efforts have enhanced student achievement, engagement and well-being. As you know this is key to building community pride and confidence in the government school system. Each year Performance Division quality [...]

How harmful is social media to teenagers’ mental health? According to one recent research study, social media is no more harmful than television was for young people in the 1990s.  The study looked at more than 430,000 young people aged 10 to 15 in the UK and US. It found no evidence that any link between mental ill health and [...]

Schools face ever growing threats from sophisticated cybercriminals. These bad actors are exploiting any network vulnerabilities including any devices connected to or joining the school network. A good example is the risk posed from Internet of Things devices that often have limited or very basic security controls. Once a cybercriminal gains access to a school’s network they gain lateral movement [...]

I don’t like to sound like a nag, however, I continue to raise concerns with individual members about their well-being. The reported 14-16 hour days in this emergency period are not sustainable and your health will suffer significant damage. Please examine ways to reduce this urgently. • Control your IT use after a set time at night. • You need [...]

For the rest of our lives we will remember what we are going through at present. As you can appreciate, there is no historical precedent for the management of a pandemic in schools and preschools and this is currently being reflected in the policy responses and advice being announced daily. These times are unprecedented as we are at war [...]