From the President's Desk

November 2023

ACSSO, in partnership with Together for Humanity, delivered the first of three Family Engagement workshops last week. It was an extremely productive, informative and successful day in Orange, NSW, with attendees generously sharing their knowledge with us, and learning new information and strategies along the way. The need for schools to fully engage families is critical at the moment, as research over the last 50 years has shown that not only does an engaged family improve student academic and wellbeing outcomes, it also improves teacher retention – something all governments are striving to achieve right now. We currently have two upcoming sessions planned, in Perth this week and Melbourne next, and registrations are still open. Details on our website. Although aimed primarily at parents and carers, the workshops are extremely suitable for educators, too, (we had parents, teachers and principals in attendance in Orange), and we hope that we will be able to expand this program next year to reach many more communities across the country.

The National School Reform Agreement Reference Panel, of which our CEO Dianne Giblin is a member, has recently sent their final report to the NSRA Expert Panel, and we look forward to seeing its recommendations being included and applied going forward to better address and support the educational requirements of all students in our Government Schools.

Consultations at the national level are, as always, keeping us very busy, with recent topics including the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan, Vaping, building a culturally diverse teacher workforce, and suicide prevention in young people. All-important topics on which to share the parent and family perspectives.

This will be my last newsletter as ACSSO President, as my term as a director comes to an end at our AGM later this month. I would like to take the opportunity to publicly express my gratitude to the wonderful directors with whom I have worked in this capacity over the last three years. And of course, to Peter our Project Officer, and Donna our Administration Officer for their support and extreme professionalism, keeping me on track – not always an easy task! Finally, a huge thank you to Di our CEO, for the countless hours of work she gives to the organisation, the incredible level of expertise she lends to her role, and her unwavering support of myself. I’ve learnt so much from each of these people whilst holding this position, and I feel very honoured to have had this wonderful opportunity. I shan’t be disappearing altogether, rather I’ll be taking a backward step, and my passion for improving educational opportunities for all students in our Government Schools won’t lessen at all. Because, when we get it right for our most vulnerable, we get it right for everyone.

Cheers,

Sharron.