Queensland Teachers' Journal August 2020
There is no silver bullet for workload reduction, else it would have been fired long since. One reason is that there are six layers of workload creation for Queensland teachers and principals.
The QTU has been developing a new online training course for brand new Union Reps, to bridge the gap for those who have been unable to attend normal face-to-face training during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s AEU Rosemary Richards Scholarship recipient is looking at targeted digital media strategies that build union influence and create safe online spaces for women to engage in union activism.
Not all change is bad, indeed change is a part of life. What is bad is change wrought for the wrong purposes, and when any government undertakes a major change process in the shadow of a pandemic, alarm bells should ring.
In June, the federal government announced significant changes to university course fees, which would see the cost of studying humanities at university double, but “job-relevant” course fees reduced.
This time last year, we were deep in EB balloting and the very concept of a school day full of Zoom meetings and preparing for online learning seemed so remote, it could very well have been science fiction.
Eight-year-old Malia Knox is campaigning to secure equal gender representation in Queensland’s public spaces, and she needs your help.
In the Union’s first ever digital ballot, QTU members voted overwhelmingly to reject the state government’s pay increase deferral and accept the proposed workload measures.
While the state government's workload reduction package does not make up for deferred salary increases, it does provide a mechanism to accelerate the government’s response to workload reduction.
Each year, some QTU members either receive an unwanted required transfer or request a transfer to a specific geographic area and/or region and don’t get it. In both cases there are appeal processes.
School assemblies have recommenced, sport has restarted, and staff meetings are resurfacing. However, now is not the time for complacency.
At a time when authorities are encouraging people to stay home when they are unwell, it is probably timely to talk about sick leave. There are many longstanding myths, and they tend to be contagious!
More than 50 per cent of the members who participated in the QTU’s 2018 Teacher Workload Survey highlighted the positive workload impact of reducing digital communication.
The QTU maintains several committees to provide advice and guidance to the Union on specialised areas. Here we turn the spotlight on the Women Teachers and Girls Education Committee (WTGEC).
Jacaranda Place is a world-class centre providing help and hope to some of Queensland’s most vulnerable young people.
School leaders look back at the impact the pandemic had on their schools.
While the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in never-before-seen challenges and stressors for all teachers, the impact on beginning teachers, especially those in their first years of teaching, cannot be underestimated.
The QTU has been advocating to provide pre-service teachers with a range of alternative ways to meet practicum requirements, and ultimately allow final year students to graduate as scheduled.
With the movement of the 2020 Brisbane Exhibition holiday from a Wednesday to a Friday, it is timely to remind members of the impact on overtime thresholds of the colloquially known “four-fifths rule”.
The commitment and solidarity of QTU members at the TAFE Queensland SkillsTech (TQST) Alexandra Hills Training Centre has helped rescue their campus from the brink of extinction.
The placement of All Trades Queensland (ATQ) into voluntary administration is yet another example of why the current training system needs an overhaul.
The QTU's PD arm QuEST is very excited to announce that we are able to recommence our face-to-face training.
Blue cards are to be more important than ever, as new laws tighten the child protection regime in ways that will have wide-reaching impacts on parents, teachers and school leaders.
Many teachers who are on unpaid parental leave are unaware of their capacity to access paid keeping in touch (KIT) days, even though they have been available for some time.
Annual performance review release time / Masters of Education / working for Catholic Education on leave