A-Z

Lastest Position Papers

DEECD Staff Survey Instrument (Joint VPA/VASSP)
Occupational Health & Safety Requirements (revised)
Performance Pay for Teachers
Principal Support
Staff Referral (revised)
Student Resource Package Funding (revised)
Student Support Services (revised)
Victorian Institute for Teaching (revised)

#Please find below

A.

Alternative Settings
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) aspires for the most suitable learning environment for each student in a Victorian school.

Autism Spectrum Disorder
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) is concerned about the increase in the number of students who exhibit autistic tendencies in government primary schools and the lack of appropriate support for these students to assist in their learning.

BER Cleaning Contracts
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) seeks to ensure that the cleaning funding component in School Resource Packages (SRP) adequately reflect the rising costs and growing needs of schools.

Building the Education Revolution - Primary Schools for the 21st Century
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) is concerned with the process of distribution of Building the Education Revolution (BER) Funds. The short time frame has created undue pressure on PCO's to submit applications for consideration. In addition, the process currently in place relating to BER funds is not uniform and lacking in transparency.

C.

Confidentiality of School Data
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) recognises that school performance data is a valuable tool for informing the development of school improvement initiatives. Equally, inappropriate use of school performance data can be damaging to school communities including principals and staff.

Consultation Process (Joint VPA/VASSP)
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) and the Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals (VASSP), in representing the interests of PCOs, seeks timely, thorough and transparent consultation processes with representatives of the DEECD.

D.

Data Use and Misuse (Joint VPA/VASSP)
The Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals (VASSP) and the Victorian Principals Association (VPA) note the Federal Government is mandating the publication of a variety of school performance data under its “transparency” agenda. This position paper addresses the balance between the community’s right to be informed about school performance and the presentation of school data in a meaningful and constructive way.

DEECD Staff Survey Instrument (Joint VPA/VASSP)
The DEECD staff survey over the years and in particular in 2011 raised a range of issues once again. VASSP/VPA have worked with, and will continue to work with the Data, Evaluations & Outcomes section of the DEECD. We have raised concerns over the questions that are now significantly outdated and even over the relevance of a yearly survey across the whole state, particularly given the current outmoded questions and especially when schools are given little support in the interpretation of the material and no time to use it in a meaningful way with staff.

E.

Early Years Literacy Approach
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) is concerned with the range of early years' literacy models utilised in government schools, creating inconsistencies in pedagogy and learning outcomes.

Educational Provision/Regeneration Policy
As a professional organisation the The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) helps shape education policies and programs in government schools and plays a central role in developing the professional capacities of its members.

EduPay
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) seeks to support schools in the implementation of EduPay across Victoria

English Online Assessment Implementation
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) welcomes the development of a detailed assessment tool to monitor English across the early years P-2. The VPA believes that this tool requires careful implementation with adequate resources and consultation.

Emergency Management Plans
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) strongly recommends that the process is streamlined to ensure accurate and readily accessible information with less time requirements required by schools.

Emergency Procedures Including SMS
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) is concerned that there is consistency in the communication strategy particularly SMS availability across Victorian government schools in emergency situations.

Facilities and Maintenance Provision
The VPA seeks greater clarity with the provision of facilities in Victorian schools, following the BER program. Maintenance issues for other building stock need to be addressed in a more timely manner.

GH.

I.

Instructional Rounds
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA), in representing the interests of PCOs, seeks clarity and consistency in developing the concepts and processes of Instructional Rounds.

IT Support in Schools
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) seeks to ensure that information technologies (IT) support for all government schools is consistent with expectations associated with growing IT infrastructure and 21^st century learning.

JKLM.

NAPLAN
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) is concerned that Federal Government funding based on the number of highly performing students in NAPLAN tests is creating an unhealthy competitive environment between schools that is not benefiting students or the system.

National Partnerships
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) acknowledges that disadvantaged schools need extra funding to improve student learning outcomes. However the VPA believes that the process for distribution of National Partnership funding needs to be transparent and fair. Principals and school communities need to understand how the money is allocated.

Network Continuous Improvement Strategy (Joint VPA/VASSP)
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) note that principal class officers (PCOs) are expected to make an increased contribution to school networks under direction of the regional network leader (RNL). This position paper addresses the balance of responsibilities between PCOs’ schools and the school network.

Occupational Health & Safety Requirements
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) seeks to address this new system management requirement imposed by DEECD. It seeks to outline how the system needs to provide additional and specialised staff to implement this new initiative.

Out of School Hours Care
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) strongly recommends that the state and federal governments provide resourcing support for smaller schools to retain the viability of OSHC programs.

Performance Pay for Teachers
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) is concerned that the proposed Federal Government Performance Pay concept has the potential to create an unhealthy competitive environment, which actively works against teamwork and collaboration in our schools.

Principal Support
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) is concerned about the level of ongoing support for, and professional recognition of, Victorian Government Principal Class Officers.

Principal Wellbeing
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) recognises the excessive workload of Principal Class Officers(PCO) and advocates greater support for them.

Reducing Red Tape in Victorian Schools
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) advocates for self-managed, autonomous schools as an organizational strategy to best deliver world-class, personalized learning for the 21^st Century in Victorian Government Schools. The VPA rejects the consequent workload increases that seems to emanate from a “silo mentality” where various non-school-based stakeholders may attempt to “command and control” through ensuring that everything that principals do as part of their leadership role is captured and enshrined in some sort of documented plan.

Regional Networks (Joint VPA/VASSP)
Regional networks as currently conceived were developed and imposed during the period of the Labor state government. Following the change of government in November, 2010, it is opportune to reconsider their purpose and composition to better meet the needs of primary and secondary school principals.

Regional Network Leaders
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) acknowledges the key role which is being developed by the regional network leaders. The VPA agrees that one of the key elements of this position is to create a culture of collaboration and cooperation within each network of schools.

Relocatable Provision in Schools
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) Members are seeking higher levels of service from the DEECD relocatable program across Victoria.

Rewarding Teacher Excellence
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) supports research into the concept of rewarding teacher excellence with performance based pay. This paper provides the conditions that should be applied to the development of the concept.

School Coaches
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) encourages continual professional growth of school personnel to support the curriculum needs of the school. Principal class officers (PCOs) are best placed to determine the nature of professional development programs in each school.

School Improvement Intervention (Joint VPA/VASSP)
The Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals (VASSP) and the Victorian Principals Association (VPA) note that the Government through the Blueprint has indicated that the DEECD will be implementing programs to support and develop identified underperforming schools. This position paper addresses the balance between the needs of the system to improve systemic performance and the context of the individual school.

School Nursing Program- Full Prep Screening
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) recognises the importance for each child being able to start school life happy and healthy.

Staff Referral
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) recognises the complexity of the state wide system, and the employment conditions existing across Victorian schools. However, this paper challenges the present system for staff referrals and seeks significant changes to the current system.

Student Engagement Guidelines
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) was approached to comment on the Draft Student Engagement Guidelines distributed for comment by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Department in December 2008.

Student Free Days
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) is concerned with DEECD's decision to allocate the majority of student free days at the beginning of the school year and the schedulling of a reporting day at a time when primary schools would be preparing written reports for parents.

Student Resource Package Funding
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) seeks to ensure that adequate funding is apportioned to the Student Resource Packages (SRP) to deliver high quality education throughout Victorian government schools.

Student Support Services
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) considers the role of SSS as essential, therefore increased hours and consistent support according to individual student need is vital for positive student learning outcomes.

T.

Targeted Schools
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) recognises the complexity of the government school system, and the desire for improved school performance across Victoria. Targeting particular schools for intensive levels of systemic intervention is recognised as a potentially useful step in systemic improvement.

Teaching Qualifications
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) aspires for the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) to take a more influential role in setting teacher training standards within teacher training institutes.

U.

Victorian Institute of Teaching
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) seeks to ensure that the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) is a more relevant and supportive organisation that enhances the development of the teaching profession.

WX.

Y.

Your Job Your Say Survey Instrument
The Victorian Principals Association (VPA) is concerned about the DEECD’s apparent decision to discontinue implementation of the ‘Your Job, Your Say’ principal feedback tool.