QTU members' newsflash No. 40-20, 11 Sep 2020 | DOWNLOAD PDF

NAPLAN ballot NOW OPEN

Plus, Queensland state election 2020; Showcase Awards for Excellence; legal seminars

The Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) member ballot has now opened, and closes on Thursday 17 September. Every financial member in the QTU’s school membership is eligible to vote. Instructions on how to do this are below.

As always, the ballot is your opportunity to have a direct say in the Union’s decisions, and a large voter turnout gives added strength to the result, publicly and with government.

There is one question in the ballot:

Do you support banning all activities associated with the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) for the remainder of 2020 and the 2021 school year?

A ban on all activities associated with NAPLAN includes ceasing:

• administration of the NAPLAN pen and paper test
• administration of the NAPLAN online test
• participation in NAPLAN training and professional development
• participation in NAPLAN practice testing
• participation in NAPLAN load testing
• participation in NAPLAN item testing
• participation in NAPLAN school readiness testing
• participation in NAPLAN data analysis/meetings outside of school hours.
• any other activity involving NAPLAN in its current form (this includes: timetabling; providing or checking student information for either the department or the QCAA; pre-test sample testing; statistical sampling – please note this is not an exhaustive list)
• any activity including those above associated with other NAP trials.
   

How to vote

The continuing issues caused by restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic mean that this ballot is being conducted electronically; and this week’s member meetings are being conducted by Zoom, as per the previous ballot. However, unlike the previous ballot, this one will be conducted via MyQTU. To be able to vote, you will need to have your QTU membership number and MyQTU password available to login.

Once you have logged in, you will then need to select “MANAGE YOUR MEMBERSHIP”.

Once you have selected “MANAGE YOUR MEMBERSHIP”, a red ballot button will appear at the top left of the page which, once clicked, will take you to the NAPLAN ballot page. 

Once you are on this page, you can place your vote via a drop-down box. Once you have made your selection, you will need to click the submit button underneath.

Please be careful with the accuracy of your vote before submitting it, because once you have submitted your vote, you will be locked out of the ballot. This means you cannot cast another vote, and you also cannot change your vote. Instead, when you select the ballot link, you will be taken to a page that will show your vote.

The result of this ballot will be distributed to all members on Friday 18 September, ahead of the school holidays.

Queensland state election 2020

The QTU has written to political parties in Queensland asking for their responses on 12 issues affecting education and employment conditions, including the future of NAPLAN.

The party responses will be used to provide a comparison chart for the information of QTU members and other voters with an interest in education.

On 22 August, the QTU State Council decided that the Union’s principal involvement in the state election on 31 October would be a comparison of the policies of political parties and performance in government.

The list of issues is not intended to include every educational issue of importance to teachers, principals, students and parents. The list adopted by QTU State Council covers a range of the most significant issues.

The QTU will also monitor and comment on policy announcements by political parties on education and industrial issues in the lead-up to the election. The QTU, together with other unions, is seeking responses on industrial issues through the Queensland Council of Unions.

For the QTU’s general approach to political involvement and election engagement, see here.

Showcase Awards for Excellence

In spite of COVID-19, the Showcase Awards for Excellence have still been held this year, and the winners from 21 finalists in ten categories are due to be announced on Monday 14 September.

Alas, the gala dinner will not be held in 2020, but the awards will be made available in a virtual presentation from 4-5pm on Monday 14 September – a great opportunity in an hour to see great work around the state. The QTU has supported the awards since their inception and sponsors the Showcase Award for Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education, having proposed the award three years ago.

Legal seminars

Due to COVID-19, the legal seminars planned for 2020 were postponed. Instead we are providing the opportunity for all financial QTU members to access the legal seminars online. The legal seminars will be accessible via a webinar for the next three months.   

The webinar is presented by the Union’s lawyers in three parts:

1.  Defamation – consequences and meaning
2. Q & A discussion – criminal and disciplinary proceedings
3. Workcover.

Members can access the webinars on the QTU website. Once registered, you will be able to send questions to Holding Redlich. Holding Redlich will provide the QTU with the names of participants so that the Union can send them a copy of the Teachers and the Law kit and relevant CPD recognition.

The webinar is only accessible to financial QTU members – another reason to join the QTU!

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