No. 20-21, 12 July 2021 | DOWNLOAD PDF 

TO: QTU MEMBERS
 

COVID-19 special broadcast; P-12 CARF; TUH Director nominations open

COVID-19 special broadcast

On 8 July, the Director-General released a special broadcast regarding COVID-19, which also included a range of COVID-19 checklists. You can find the special broadcast and checklists on the COVID-19 section of our website. The key points of this special broadcast are below:

• It was clarified that the current COVID-19 restrictions do not apply to the whole of Queensland and only to the identified list of local government areas (LGAs). These restrictions are in place until 16 July.
• The Public Health Direction has been extended to 27 September, meaning that additional day cleaning in schools (focused on high touch points) will continue. The Director-General indicated that he will be discussing internally at the department any permanent change to the cleaning arrangement later this year. The extension of the Public Health Direction will also mean that the current arrangements for vulnerable employees have been extended.
• When it comes to the mask mandate, all adults on school grounds within relevant LGAs are required to wear a face mask when they cannot socially distance, including teachers in staff rooms. However, teachers will not be required to wear a mask while teaching. Unlike in NSW, students will not be required to wear masks at school.
• There is no requirement for schools to use the Check-in Queensland App, as they have a full list of parents and visitors are already required to sign in. The Check-in Queensland App is optional for schools who are hosting other events where members of the general public may be in attendance (such as concerts, musicals, fetes etc).
• The department does not intend to include any additional teachers or other school staff in category 1b for the vaccination rollout, apart from detention centre staff and hospital schools.

Update: The Premier announced this morning that the restrictions, including the mask mandate, would be lifted early. Consequently, masks will not be required indoors from 6am on Friday 16 July.

P-12 CARF

At the 2021 Biennial Conference, Education Minister Grace Grace announced that the Department of Education (DoE) has completed its review and update of the P-12 Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Framework (P-12 CARF) and indicated that it is ready for release. The Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) understands that it will be made available to schools from early Term 3, with implementation to commence from 2022.

The key features identified in the P-12 CARF are divided into the following nine sections:

• P-12 Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Framework (overview)
• Minimum requirements for providing the Australian Curriculum in prep to year 10 from 2021
• A whole school approach to pedagogy
• Preparing students for success in senior secondary
• A whole school approach to differentiated teaching and learning
• Individual curriculum plan for students in prep to year 10
• Assessment in prep to year 10
• Moderation processes in prep to year 10
• Reporting to parents.

The QTU will provide further information to support members following the release of the P-12 CARF.

TUH Director nominations open

The Board of Directors of Queensland Teachers’ Union Health Fund (TUH) invites nominations from QTU members for one Director position on the TUH board.

To be eligible, the nominee must fulfil ALL of the following criteria:

• Is a company member of TUH,
• Is a TUH Health Fund policy holder, and
• Is a member of the Queensland Teachers’ Union of Employees.

The Nominations and Remuneration Committee of the TUH board will consider all applications and make a recommendation to the board, which will in turn make a recommendation to the annual general meeting.

An election of a total of three Directors, including the position above, will be held at the annual general meeting of TUH scheduled for 30 November. Elected Directors will serve for a term of three years. Completed forms must be received by TUH by 4pm on 26 July.​​​​​​

 Authorised by Kate Ruttiman, General Secretary, Queensland Teachers' Union
21 Graham Street, Milton, QLD, Australia, 4064