Dear Colleagues,

As another term draws to an end we see another cohort complete their senior schooling and take the opportunity to celebrate this. On the national scene education is in the spotlight with quite divergent cases being put forward especially regarding funding. At these times it is critical for Principals to engage with politicians at all levels to present the accurate and compelling reasons to support Catholic Education. We have distributed to the State and Territorial Directors a presentation that explains the current funding arrangements and how this disadvantages our Catholic schools and all non government schools as our communities are subject to a 'capacity to contribute' deduction that government schools are not. This can decrease a community's funding up to eighty percent. These funds then need to be made up with fees from parents and other sources. At present the national Catholic Education Commission is developing some resources for distribution surrounding funding as well as each political parties stance on education for our communities to disseminate. It is most important that we understand and advocate for our fair share of the funding pool.

Catholic Education Leaders gathering

The NCEC  hosted its annual Catholic Education Leaders gathering from 10-12 September in Canberra with a Parliamentary Reception and Forum.

The event included around 80 leaders including NCEC Commissioners, chairs and directors of State and Territory Catholic education authorities and Catholic diocesan systems, representatives of Religious Institute & Ministerial Public Juridic Person school authorities; Catholic School Parents Australia and Catholic School Primary Principals and Secondary Principals Associations.

The forum was an opportunity for Catholic education leaders to focus on the progress of NCEC national priorities - Faith, Excellence and Access. We welcomed the Minister for Education Jason Clare MP, the Shadow Minister for Education Senator Sarah Henderson, Dr Jordana Hunter Education Program Director from the Grattan Institute, Adj Professor Susan Pascoe, Fabian Harding from the Federal Department of Education, Dr Nicholas Marosszeky Senior Data Analyst NCEC, as well as a range of speakers and presenters. 

This was an important opportunity to engage with our Catholic colleagues across the country and to showcase the value and contribution of Catholic education with politicians and policy makers and the first time we have been invited to the forum. 

The Board recently met in Brisbane and we were joined for the first time by AERO. They requested any future topics for research to be tabled so they can relay this to their board. If any of our members have thoughts on national research topics that we could relay to AERO please send them to Michael Egan for tabling at our next Board Meeting.

I hope that you are able to get a break these holidays and enjoy the conclusion of another fruitful Term of learning.

Best wishes

Dr Stephen Kennaugh GAICD
CaSPA President

• CaSPA Board met via Zoom on 19 September to discuss AERO Research priorities for 2025.
• Also on the agenda was preparation for our joint meeting with ACPPA coming up in October. The is a great deal of common ground for joint advocacy with our primary colleagues at the moment.
• Dr Stephen Kennaugh (CaSPA President) attended the Catholic Education Leaders Gathering in Canberra, hosted by NCEC and attended by political leaders from both major parties.
• Dr Stephen Kennaugh and Mick Egan met with researchers from ACU putting the finishing touches to the empowering women project, the report will be released soon.
• Update of comparative data from ACU regarding the 2023 Principal Wellbeing Report. The presentation compared CaSPA Data with the data for all school leaders in Australia. Top 4 concerns for CaSPA Principals were: Sheer Quantity of work, Staff Wellbeing, Teacher shortage and Student wellbeing.
• ACU Survey to continue in 2024 and looking for more acceptance of the data and recommendations from some sections of education in Australia.

Profiles of all the CaSPA Board are available on the CaSPA Website: https://caspa.schoolzineplus.com/current-and-past-board-members

Dr Stephen Kennaugh and Mick Egan attended the initial conference planning meeting on 16 September to prepare for Sydney 2026.

CaSPA Strategic Plan

The CaSPA Board are delighted to once again work with Dr Neil Carrington in developing our next strategic plan. A significant portion of our March Board meeting will be devoted to this.

Join AITSL’s implementation trial to foster cultural responsiveness in schools

The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) is inviting schools to express their interest in taking part in a short implementation trial scheduled for Term 4, 2024 and Term 1, 2025 this year.

The trial will evaluate the impact of AITSL’s Indigenous Cultural Responsiveness Self-Reflection Tool on teacher attitudes, values, and beliefs about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and living cultures – to ultimately improve understanding for all students. Express your school’s interest in the trial below. Please note that school participation in this trial requires permission at the principal level.

https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/cultural-responsiveness/building-a-culturally-responsive-australian-teaching-workforce/join-our-implementation-trial-to-foster-cultural-responsiveness-in-schools

For any inquiries, please contact AITSL via email at indigenouscc@aitsl.edu.au

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Rationale

CaSPA will provide the opportunity for a member or an affiliated State / Territory Catholic Principals’ Association to be involved in Social Action. It is hoped that through involvement in this program the member or association will have the opportunity to engage in prosocial Action that may otherwise not take place. The Social Action gives witness to the tenant of the Catholic Church by supporting those who are in need or marginalised. 

Pope Francis has asked many times during his Papacy to support and work with those at the margins: “Go forth and reach out to all people at the margins of society! Go there and be the Church, with the strength of the Holy Spirit.”

The rationale for the Social Action is that CaSPA and its Corporate Partners are aware of the difficulties individuals or groups face due to ethnicity, remoteness, financial hardship or gender. The project will enhance the Church’s social teaching and provide an opportunity for members who are in need.

Examples of possible projects are: support of Aboriginal education opportunities in remote Australia, support of schools or educational institutions in the South Pacific, support and development of teacher education in Papua New Guinea. The preference is for Australian needs or our near neighbours. 

Criteria

The application for the Social Action Funding needs to address the following guiding principles:

Linked to educational and / or leadership professional learning.

Established Financial Need.

Established Social Need.

Timeframe needed (up to 3 years).

Needs to show benefit to school / community / students.

Cost details ($5K limit).

Preference for local region in or around Australia.

At the conclusion of the Social Action Project, the recipient will provide a detailed written summary to the CaSPA Board. In addition, the recipient will be required to present learnings at the following CaSPA Conference.

Applications need to be made to the local State or Territory Catholic Principal association, which will decide on one proposal to be submitted to the CaSPA Board. A decision will then be made to award one recipient with the CaSPA Social Action Funding. 

The closing date for applications: 16 May 2025

Funding for the Social Action will be funded through the funds provided by the generous CaSPA Partners.

At the July Conference a number of Principals generously agreed to be filmed to give us a snapshot of profiles across the nation. In the coming newsletters we will share links to these.

Let us introduce Michael Lee from St Mary Mackillop College, Canberra

https://vimeo.com/1009078263/5b908b98af

Across the country the various Catholic Education Authorities are starting to generate a number of useful documents that shine a light on the true situation regarding funding and equity in Catholic Schools.

Here are a few links to critical articles:

In February 2024, the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) made a submission to the Productivity Commission’s Philanthropy Inquiry responding to the Productivity Commission’s draft report. NCEC Response

CSNSW:  Data, not drama: new issue brief confirms Australia’s highly equitable school system

Link

 Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA)  Non government schools receive 40 per cent less in government funding according to Productivity Commission data