The Commission held its March meeting last week and was briefed on the initial enrolment data for 2022. There are now 158,747 students enrolled in Queensland Catholic schools. Commission members also received a briefing on the Year 12 outcomes for 2021.

Commission members were also updated on some of the policy reforms and initiatives emerging from the Quality Initial Teacher Education Review and a number of associated programs. 

Several of the recommendations of the review have specific implications for Catholic School Authorities and their interactions with Higher Education Institutions that provide initial teacher education. However, any Government decision on accepting and implementing the recommendations will likely depend on the outcome of the forthcoming Federal election.

The Commission also endorsed the continued rotation of Queensland Catholic Education Week (CEW) launch events around the dioceses. The launch this year will be in Toowoomba and I look forward to returning to the Cairns diocese for CEW in 2023.

Similar updates were provided this week to the Term 1 meeting of RI/PJP principals, including information on 2021 Year 12 outcomes, advice in relation to the upcoming federal election and a summary of Non Government Reform Support Fund activities.

Yesterday I met with the Minister for Education Grace Grace for our regular Term 1 meeting.

I had an opportunity to raise communication with schools during the recent flood event with her, in particular, the importance of briefing the non-government sector prior to making public announcements impacting all schools. The importance of timely decision making and communication was also emphasised.

COVID continues to be a focus for the government and the Minister confirmed that the Queensland Government is having ongoing discussions with the Chief Health Officer with respect to COVID directions impacting on schools. Minister Grace also expressed concern about the relatively low vaccination rates for 5 – 11-year-old children outside the Brisbane area.

In a significant decision, the Minister advised that she will be commissioning a review of the Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act and associated regulations this year. It is likely that the review will be led by an independent reviewer with the draft terms of reference to be finalised in the near future for consultation with key stakeholders. We look forward to participating actively in this important review.

With the federal election looming, political advocacy is important to ensure that the Catholic education sector remains appropriately funded and widely consulted in policy formation.

Today QCEC’s Political Advisory Committee discussed a range of political advocacy strategies to ensure the sector is heard in policy and funding debates.  The Committee benefits from the insight of two former MPs, Kate Jones and Rob Cavalucci, who assist in guiding this strategy work.

The Committee was also updated on the strategies and supporting materials being developed by the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) as it leads the federal election advocacy effort on behalf of the sector.

Materials to support advocacy at the CSA and school level are due to be released by NCEC shortly.

Last week QCEC launched a new publication SpiritEd! aimed at highlighting the work of the Catholic sector to MPs and other stakeholders.  To subscribe please email your request to QCEC Communications.

The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) has launched a webpage to support Queensland schools to transition to the new NAPLAN timeline in 2023.

The decision by Education Ministers to bring NAPLAN forward to Term 1 is supported by all states and territories and the federal minister and is aimed at assisting teachers and families better support students in their learning.

Other changes as outlined in Circular 2022/023 include the addition of opt-in NAP assessments in Science, Civics and Citizenship, and Digital Literacy for Years 6 and 10.

The QCEC National Online Assessment Taskforce will continue to provide support to Catholic School Authorities in the lead up to the NAPLAN changes as further information is provided by QCAA and the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority.

Read more about the changes in the Education Ministers Meeting Communique here or visit the new QCAA NAPLAN 2023 webpage here.

More than 200 people registered to attend the QCEC Student and Staff Wellbeing Forum last Friday, with a special welcome from Education Minister Grace Grace to highlight the importance of wellbeing in schools across Queensland.

The full-day event showcased contemporary research and practice about wellbeing with eight guest speakers presenting on topics including wellbeing in a Catholic context, teacher resilience and recommendations for educators supporting young people with mental illness.

Participant feedback has been very positive, and I would like to congratulate QCEC Education Officer Dr Shannon O'Gorman who developed the event program and QCEC staff members who put in a huge effort to ensure the hybrid event, with both in person and online participants, ran smoothly and was such a success.

This is the first time QCEC has held a hybrid forum which facilitated the participation of over 200 people from Catholic schools and Diocesan offices across the State. View an event gallery below.

I attended the Queensland Workforce Summit on 11 March at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The invitation-only event, hosted by the Queensland Premier, addressed current and future workforce challenges in Queensland and how they can be overcome to encourage future growth across Queensland businesses, communities and regions.

Of particular interest to our sector was a workshop session on improving school to work experiences.  This session highlighted successful partnerships between schools and industry that go hand in hand with quality career advice, work experience and work readiness.

I was delighted to be invited by Minister Farmer to be one of the panel members asked to identify key ideas and themes emerging from the day.

Congratulations to Catholic School Parents Queensland (CSPQ) who were finally able to mark their 60 years of service to Catholic education and parents in Queensland after COVID delayed celebrations originally planned for last year.

The evening was a wonderful celebration of the vital contribution families have made to Catholic education over six decades and continue to make today.

CSPQ also contributes to the work of the Commission in numerous ways, particularly through CSPQ’s Executive Director Carmel Nash OAM who is our Deputy Chair and sits on a range of QCEC committees.  

View the CSPQ 60^th anniversary photo gallery below.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Robyn Anderson for her contribution to Catholic education and to QCEC, particularly through the Workplace Relations Committee.

Robyn has announced her intention to retire as Principal of Lourdes Hill College at the end of Term 1, 2023.

While we will farewell Robyn more fully at that time, we wish her all the best as she brings her term at Lourdes Hill College to a close.

Image: Robyn Anderson (source - Lourdes Hill College website)

After a successful inaugural session held in Term 1, QCEC is pleased to be able to offer a #HATCHAT and #LEADFEED session for aspiring highly accomplished and lead teachers again in Term 2.

This one-hour online session will be held on Tuesday 7 June 2022 at 3.30pm. Registrations are now open via this registration link.

Queensland Catholic school communities are encouraged to nominate now for the Spirit of Catholic Education (SOCE) Awards.

The SOCE Awards, including the Aunty Joan Hendriks Spirit of Catholic Education Reconciliation Award, are presented annually as part of Catholic Education Week (CEW) celebrations in Term 3.

The awards aim to recognise those who are making an outstanding contribution within their Catholic education community. See what the awards mean to our recipients in the video below.

Nominate an outstanding member of your Catholic education community here.

NABERS Rating Tool for Schools
As outlined in Circular 2022/026 NABERS will work with sector specific stakeholders to develop a rating tool (in this case Catholic School Authorities directly). Schools that participate will receive a pilot rating for their buildings with NABERS looking for as many schools as possible to participate. An Information Session has been arranged with the Department to discuss this initiative in more detail. The Information Session will be conducted via Zoom on the 8 April 2022 at 1:00PM. Register here.


Senior Assessment and Tertiary Entrance (External Assessment)
The final Senior Assessment and Tertiary Entrance event (External Assessment) will be held on 14 June from 9-11am. This online opportunity will feature a presentation from the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority on external assessment processes and learnings from the first years running external assessment in Queensland. The event will also feature masterclasses, which give teachers the opportunity to share their learnings from marking external assessment pieces to assist with the preparation of students and teachers. To register click here.


Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher Certification
Teachers who intend to apply for Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HAT & LT) Certification in 2022 and 2023 are encouraged to attend in-depth workshops that are being hosted by QCEC and trained diocesan facilitators. The online workshops are being hosted in each diocese and look at the certification process in greater depth, building on the understandings gained in the introductory sessions. To find out more about the in-depth sessions or to register click here.


NCCD Events
QCEC is delivering a range of Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) events throughout 2022. These activities include NCCD training, leading practice, cross-school moderation and reflection and planning workshops. This activity is supported by funding from the Australian Non-Government Reform Support Fund.

World Teachers’ Day will be celebrated in Queensland on Friday 28 October 2022. More information about this year’s theme will be available soon.

Missed a Circular? Below is a list of Circulars that have been issued recently. Use your login to access them.   

2022 Circulars

018     QCEC 2022 Term 1 Levies
019     Announcement LHC Principal Retirement
020     Student Background Data (SBD) Collection – Key dates
021     First Nations Australian Advisory Group Nominations
022     NCEC Federal Election Briefing Notes
023     National Assessment Program (NAP) Improvements
024     Deductible Gift Recipient