Fix this text
EDUCATION
Fix this textJOURNAL THE NEW SOUTH WALES TEACHERS FEDERATION
Fix this textPP255003 00104
Fix this textVo 1. 85 N 0.12 November 8. 2004
Fix this textFutures Project redundant and dangerous
Fix this textThe Government’s consultation deserves the closest interrogation and scrutiny.
Fix this textby Maree O’Halloran
Fix this textThe Department of Education and Train-
Fix this texting's (DET) Futures Project is not benign
Fix this textand it must not be ignored.
Fix this textThe community consultation process
Fix this textentitled “Excellence and Innovation”
Fix this textis part of the Department’s long-stand-
Fix this texting agenda to deregulate staffing and
Fix this textdevolve responsibility to schools. It is
Fix this texta process designed to give legitimacy
Fix this textand currency to a 4th term election tilt
Fix this textby the State Labor Government based
Fix this texton a school “reform” plan.
Fix this textRecently delivered to public schools
Fix this textand TAFE colleges across the state,
Fix this textthe Department’s consultation docu-
Fix this textment contains issues papers and 58
Fix this textapparently unobjectionable questions
Fix this textfor consideration.
Fix this textHowever, the document has to be
Fix this textconsidered in a political and historical
Fix this textcontext. Federation’s hope was that the
Fix this textconsultation process would be genuine.
Fix this textHowever, media statements by Director-
Fix this textGeneral Andrew Cappie-Wood, when
Fix this textthe document was launched, undermine
Fix this textany such hope.
Fix this textThe Director-General made state-
Fix this textments about:
Fix this text• not ruling out performance pay for
Fix this textteachers
Fix this text• local selection for teachers (deregu-
Fix this textlated staffing)
Fix this text•junior high schools and middle
Fix this textschools.
Fix this textIn the Sunday Telegraph on Octo-
Fix this textber 31, the Premier confirmed that the
Fix this textState Government has plans to further
Fix this textderegulate the staffing system.
Fix this textFor over a decade plans under the
Fix this textguise of “local autonomy” and “school-
Fix this textbased management” have been put for-
Fix this textward to deregulate staffing, employment
Fix this textconditions and pay scales. The Scott
Fix this text“Schools Renewal” report in the early
Fix this text1990 s is the most obvious example as
Fix this textis the latest attempt by the Government
Fix this textto introduce contract employment in
Fix this textschools.
Fix this textThe idea of widespread consultation
Fix this textwith teachers, parents and community
Fix this textmembers appears on the face of it to be
Fix this textsound. Indeed, the Federation and the
Fix this textP&C commissioned the Vinson Inquiry
Fix this textin 2001/2002 for that very purpose.
Fix this textHowever, the Vinson Inquiry was com-
Fix this textpletely independent. The Department’s
Fix this textFutures Project is not.
Fix this textProfessor Vinson and his team pre-
Fix this textpared a well-researched and costed plan
Fix this textfor the future of public education. The
Fix this textDepartment is now ignoring that plan.
Fix this textThe following report from the Man-
Fix this textning River Times on October 26 sums
Fix this textup the cynicism that surrounds DET's
Fix this textproject:
Fix this text"It’s about working together, accord-
Fix this texting the director-general of the Department of
Fix this textEducation and Training, Andrew Cappie-Wood.
Fix this textIt is ‘the most extensive and comprehensive con-
Fix this textsultation process undertaken by the department’,
Fix this textMr Cappie-Wood informs us.
Fix this text"But at what cost does this project come and
Fix this textonly a few short years ago, a similar study was
Fix this textundertaken - and fully funded - by the NSW
Fix this textTeachers Federation and the Federation of Parents
Fix this textand Citizens. From that study, Professor Vinson
Fix this textrecommended far-reaching changes and called
Fix this texton the State Government to inject an extra $3OO
Fix this textmillion per annum into public education.
Fix this text"So most of the hard work has been done, if the
Fix this textdirector-general cares to do his homework.
Fix this text“Now what is needed is the funding."
Fix this textFederation will:
Fix this text□ call for the DET to extend the timeline for
Fix this textthe consultation process to the end of term 1,
Fix this text2005
Fix this text□ call for an independent analysis of all submis-
Fix this textsions
Fix this text□ prepare a central Federation response
Fix this text□ provide advice to schools and TAFE Colleges
Fix this textabout key issues to address
Fix this text□ request Professor Vinson to provide an independ-
Fix this textent submission to the Futures Project.
Fix this textMaree O'Halloran
Fix this textis the President.
Fix this textPlan aims to dismantle staffing system
Fix this textThe Futures Project will be used to
Fix this textincrease managerial prerogative in
Fix this textthe staffing of our schools, writes
Fix this textANGELO GAVRIELATOS.
Fix this textRecent reports and statements attributed to the
Fix this textDirector-General Andrew Cappie-Wood, indicate
Fix this textthat the Department of Education and Training
Fix this text(DET) Futures Project will be used by DET and
Fix this textthe Government to increase managerial prerogative
Fix this textin the staffing of our schools.
Fix this textUnder the guise of flexibility and accountabil-
Fix this textity, DET will seek to pursue a change that will
Fix this textultimately undermine and dismantle our statewide
Fix this textstaffing system.
Fix this textMr Cappie-Wood is quoted as saying, “We want
Fix this textgreater capacity for principals to be able to choose
Fix this texttheir staff." Local selection is the antithesis to a
Fix this textstatewide staffing system.
Fix this textFederation's submission to the Futures Project,
Fix this textand in negotiations on the staffing agreement (due
Fix this textto commence this term) will pursue the maintenance
Fix this textof the statewide staffing system and in particular
Fix this textits centrepiece, a system of transfers which is the
Fix this textessential element in ensuring the appointment of
Fix this textteachers in every school across the state.
Fix this textCritics of the statewide staffing system who
Fix this textadvocate flexibility and local selection too easily
Fix this textdismiss one of the most important principles of
Fix this textpublic education. The right of a student to be
Fix this texttaught by a qualified teacher, in all parts of the
Fix this textstate, must always be a higher priority than a desire
Fix this textby a particular school to locally select a particular
Fix this textteacher. Geographical and socio-economic factors
Fix this textacross the statewide system do not constitute the
Fix this text‘level-playing field’ upon which such misguided
Fix this texttheories of choice are based.
Fix this textThe highest responsibility must be to ensure the
Fix this textright of every child to a quality public education
Fix this textthrough the provision of a qualified teacher.
Fix this textAll members are encouraged to articulate, by
Fix this textway of submission to the Futures Project and other
Fix this textmeans, the importance of ensuring the maintenance
Fix this textof transfer rights for all classroom teachers and
Fix this textpromoted teachers including principals.
Fix this textFederation is aware that teachers continue to feel
Fix this textdisappointed and demoralised by limitations that are
Fix this textplaced on transfers by what are meaningless staffing
Fix this textcodes. The belief that codes are being abused to
Fix this textmanipulate the staffing process continues.
Fix this textWhile Federation was successful in achieving
Fix this texta dramatic decrease in the number of staffing
Fix this textcodes in the last round of negotiations, the need
Fix this textto review codes to ensure the maintenance only
Fix this textof relevant codes as discriminators for schools is
Fix this texta high priority for Federation.
Fix this textThe union will also pursue the importance of
Fix this textbuilding on existing incentives aimed at attract-
Fix this texting and retaining experienced teachers in dif-
Fix this textficult to staff schools. Federation has been able
Fix this textto achieve:
Fix this texta) significant gains in rental subsidies for Teacher
Fix this textHousing Authority rentals in eight and six point
Fix this textschools;
Fix this textb) the introduction of personal leave for teach-
Fix this texters in schools which attract the incentive transfer
Fix this textbenefit; and
Fix this textc) the maintenance and partial extension of
Fix this text▼ continued on page 2
Fix this textFederation seeks extra time
Fix this textfor consultation
Fix this textby Jennifer Leete
Fix this textFederation has written to the Minister to seek extra
Fix this texttime for four major consultations with teachers that
Fix this textare planned to occur during term 4.
Fix this textIn addition, Federation has asked for hard copies
Fix this textof all the consultation papers to be provided for
Fix this texteach teacher.
Fix this textWhile Federation sees the Department of Edu-
Fix this textcation and Training's (DET's) Futures Project as
Fix this textlittle more than an attempt to legitimise a pre-deter-
Fix this textmined tired old right-wing agenda for devolution and
Fix this textderegulation of our system, active input by teachers
Fix this textinto the consultation could be vital if teachers are
Fix this textto defeat the agenda.
Fix this textIn addition, two different but related consulta-
Fix this texttions are occurring which arise from the report and
Fix this textrecommendations of Professor Ken Eltis’s Time
Fix this textto Teach Time to Learn. The first is a Board of
Fix this textStudies document which was sent out to schools
Fix this text▼ continued on page 2
Fix this textIt's easy and takes two shakes of a lamb's tail!
With your Trove account you can:
http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-685738785
N.S.W. Teachers' Federation & New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. (1919). Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation Retrieved June 4, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-685738785
N.S.W. Teachers' Federation and New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation Sydney: The Federation, 1919. Web. 4 June 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-685738785>
N.S.W. Teachers' Federation & New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation. 1919, Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation The Federation, Sydney viewed 4 June 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-685738785
{{Citation
| author1=N.S.W. Teachers' Federation.
| author2=New South Wales Public School Teachers' Federation.
| title=Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation.
| year=1919
| section=volumes.
| issn=0013-1156
| issue=Vol. 85 No. 12 (8 Nov 2004)
| location=Sydney
| publisher=The Federation
| url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-685738785
| id=nla.obj-685738785
| access-date=4 June 2025
| via=Trove
}}
Citations are automatically generated and may require some modification to conform to exact standards.
Select the images you want to download, or the whole document.
You can order a copy of this work from Copies Direct.
Copies Direct supplies reproductions of collection material for a fee. This service is offered by the National Library of Australia
Copyright varies by issue and article
Copyright varies with each issue and article. You may have full rights to copy, or may be able to copy only under some circumstances, for example a portion for research or study. Order a copy where circumstances allow or Contact us for further information.
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply.
For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
Copy and paste one of these options to share this book elsewhere.