An Update From Chris Woolley, Chief Executive Officer EREA Colleges Ltd - Edition Five 8 March 2024

Key Messages

Thank you all for your spirited leadership and support of our schools and centres as they commenced 2024. It is hard to believe that Lent is already upon us and that, before too long, we will be celebrating Easter. 

The Lenten message for 2024 is: Through the desert, God leads us to freedom.  “It is time to act, and in Lent, to act also means to pause. To pause in prayer, in order to receive the word of God, to pause like the Samaritan in the presence of a wounded brother or sister. Love of God and love of neighbour are one love” (Pope Francis, Lenten message 2024).  

Last week, while dealing with a very tragic circumstance, it was heartening to observe the St Patrick’s College, Shorncliffe demonstrate just how important it is to pause, to come together as a Catholic community and to bear witness to the Love of God in support of one another.   Under the leadership of the CLT and dedicated College staff, the students and the community faced this sad time with a sense of togetherness, shared support, belonging and inclusivity, and respect, empathy, and compassion.  It proves that the work of Edmund Rice, and the Gospel story that inspired it, live on strongly in our schools.  I commend the CLT and all St Patrick’s College staff for the way they provided comfort and kindness to the students at a time when it was needed most. 

It is also a reminder of the complex work that occurs in our colleges and centres, each and every day. Next week Principals will be in Adelaide to support EREA to develop its next Charter Renewal and Strategic Directions Document.  A Charter Renewal (last conducted in 2016) seeks to refresh our articulation of the Charism of Edmund Rice for EREA schools in response to the current context and our vision for education. The Mission Strategy (2025-2027) will flow from our mission as a national Catholic educational community serving young people and their families, providing the principles underpinning the governance and practices of EREA governing bodies, including EREA Colleges Ltd. 

I look forward to seeing many of you at this important event and to sharing time together to consider how we can continue to effectively support the important work of our schools and centres. 

All the best and God Bless.   

Chris 

Updates

International Women’s Day 

Today we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) and acknowledge the outstanding contribution women make to the lives of our students, staff and broader EREA community.  IWD means different things to different people, but the global focus on equality and celebration is clear. I am proud to hear of all the different ways in which Colleges are uniting within their communities to lead the formation of a globally united moment for women to come together in hope and action.   

This year the UN Women’s theme for IWD is  Count Her In. The Catholic Church in Australia (through the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference) has released a series of resources in support of IWD. The first resource is a prayer of gratitude for women of our past, present and future, which can be used in a variety of settings.  The second resource is a new video series on Evangelise Plus, featuring five outstanding Catholic leaders discussing women’s leadership. Professor Rose Amal, Dr Trudy Dantis, Sr Melissa Dwyer, Qwayne Guevara and Dr Ursula Stephens share their wisdom gleaned from many years leading in Catholic and secular settings. 

Safeguarding

Safeguarding Conference 

Registrations for the 2024 EREA Colleges Safeguarding Conference can be made here. The Conference will be hosted at St Laurence’s College, South Brisbane on Friday 17 May 2024. The intended audience is all staff who hold additional safeguarding responsibilities.  Colleges/ELCs are encouraged to send as many identified staff as appropriate to their College/ELC whilst attending to the business needs of the College/ELC on the day. Due to the workshop style approach to safeguarding standards session, in person attendance is preferred however, a hybrid option will be made available.  The agenda is attached.

As this is our inaugural event, early registration is greatly appreciated in order to assist with planning.  Registration is at no cost to Colleges/ELCs however Colleges are responsible for any travel or accommodation costs incurred. 

Audits 

EREA Colleges Ltd will progressively audit all Colleges and ELCs with a view to mandatory training and Working with Children/Vulnerable people.  

Training Audits 

Colleges and ELCs are reminded of the training requirements that were communicated by on 15 November 2023 (below). EREA Colleges will undertake an audit on 1 April 2024 to determine training status and would appreciate a focus on training completion ahead of this date.  Training completion data is one of the key data sets that is provided to the Board as evidence that our staff, volunteers and contractors are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities, and broader responsibilities under the Code of Conduct and related policies and procedures.   Colleges are unlikely to be approached for additional information pertaining to this audit unless queries are raised once the training report is run for each College and ELC.  

WWC Audits - QLD 

EREA Colleges Ltd continue to progressively audit the Working With Children/Vulnerable people registers of Colleges and ELCs with an initial focus being on the Queensland legislation specific to working with children clearances.  All Queensland Colleges have now been requested to provide their data sets and many of these audits are completed. Queensland Colleges and ELCs are reminded:

• All individuals must be linked to the organisation before they commence in the role. “No card. No link. No start”. 
• When an individual leaves the organisation, you are required to delink from the BlueCard portal.
  

Risk and Compliance

Policy Update 

The Board approved the following policies on 12 February 2024: 

• Critical Incident Management 
• Cyber Security 
• Health, Safety & Wellbeing 
• Internal Grievance 
• Notifiable Incidents 
• Privacy 
• Whistleblower Protection 
• Workplace Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying 

These policies are now available on each school’s PolicyConnect site and can be found in the “EREA Colleges Ltd Policies” area.  

In continuing the policy transition work, the next group of policies scheduled to go to the Board for approval in April are Child Safeguarding, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, Co-Curricular Volunteers and the Policy, Risk and Compliance Frameworks. 

A session on EREA policies and frameworks, and their implementation, will be held at the upcoming gathering of Risk & Compliance staff on the 16th May. 

School Law Monitor 

The Term 1, 2024 edition has been released.  Please see the link below for your jurisdiction: 

• Queensland 
• ACT 
• Western Australia 
• South Australia 
• Tasmania 

Overseas Excursions for Students 

Post COVID, schools are resuming their overseas excursions and immersions for students.  Just a reminder that there is a form and EREA Risk Assessment in Assurance to facilitate the process for approval by EREA.  Please contact christina.longmire@erea.edu.au for any information or assistance with this process. 

Review – Policy, Training and Reporting Systems for Schools and Early Learning Centres 

The first phase of this project will involve structured conversations with each Principal/Director and key school staff.  The aim of which is in determining our requirements and the operating model regarding our management of policies and associated documents.  More detailed information, including a proposed schedule of dates and times for the conversations, will be forwarded to Principals by Monday 11 March. 

Around the Grounds

It’s been a busy start to the year undertaking visits to various Colleges. Over last month, I have had the pleasure of attending the: 

• Ignatius Park College Opening Mass and New Principal Commissioning Mass for Luke Thomson.  
• St Edmund’s College, Ipswich - Class of 2024 Commissioning Mass.  
• Ash Wednesday Service at St Joseph’s Nudgee College. 
• St Patrick’s College, Shorncliffe Foundation Meeting.  
• Gregory Terrace School Advisory Council Formation Meeting.  
• Ambrose Treacy School Advisory Council Meeting.  

 
In March and April I will be attending School Advisory Council meetings at CBC Adelaide, St Paul’s College Adelaide, as well as Aquinas College and Trinity College in Perth. I look forward to the opportunity to meet the respective School Advisory Council Members and personally acknowledge the significant contributions they make to our Colleges. 

Earlier this month, the Regional Managers and Regional Director of Education facilitated a series of Leaders of Learning Meetings throughout the Colleges network.   These events provide the Leaders of Learning with opportunities to network and share practice and resources as well as hearing from guest presenters.  Heidi Senior, Director of Professional Practice and Partnerships facilitated workshops on implementing EREA Liberating Practice within our schools as a part of these meetings.

Later this month, both the EREA Colleges Board Chair, Pauline Gately, and I will be attending a farewell dinner to honour Ms. Phil Billington's remarkable contribution to Edmund Rice Education Australia from 2018 to 2024.  Phil’s tenure as EREA Council President will conclude in April. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Phil for her outstanding leadership and guidance during her six-year tenure as EREA Council President, particularly managing the complex structural governance reforms of recent years.  I also commend Phil for her more than fifty years of service to education. 

Staffing Updates

Regional Director of Education – WA/SA 

Chris Leadbetter will relocate from Brisbane to Adelaide to commence a secondment as the Regional Director role for SA/WA for the rest of 2024. We look forward to welcoming Chris to the EREA Colleges team. Chris will be based at an office in CBC Adelaide and will operate from a CEWA office when he is in Perth.  

Centre Director – Mary Rice Early Learning Centre  

Following an extensive recruitment process, I am pleased to announce that Mary Irwin will commence as the new Centre Director for Mary Rice Early Learning Centre from 25 March 2024. Mary has a longstanding history in the management of early learning and care facilities and is excited to be part of the Mary Rice ELC team. I take this opportunity to recognise the efforts and contributions of our current Acting Director, Mrs Tricia Sietu, and Acting Assistant Director, Miss Jasmine Akurangi, who have both stepped up into these roles since November 2023. 

Acting Deputy Principal – St Laurence’s College 

Recruitment processes are now finalised at St Laurence’s College to backfill leadership roles whilst Chris Leadbetter takes on a secondment as Regional Director of Education for SA/WA. As mentioned in my previous CEO newsletter, Ben Lowrie will be Acting Principal from Term 2 until the end of 2024. I am pleased to advise that Dr Liam Herbert was successful in securing the Acting Deputy Principal position.  

Acting Deputy Principal – St Edmund’s College Canberra 

Ian Garrity will be taking some well-deserved leave in 2024.  To coincide with these arrangements, St Edmund’s College, Canberra recently undertook a process to fill the Deputy Principal position. I’m happy to inform you that Margaret Maher was successful and has been appointed to this role from 2 April 2024 – 5 July 2024.  

Payroll Officer – EREA Colleges  

The EREA Colleges team in Brisbane will welcome Chelsea Lyall to the Payroll team on 11 March 2024. Chelsea will support Marsha Daskalakis, Penny Croke and Simone Cahill in our Payroll team with processing of pays for all EREA staff in Queensland and ERC Bindoon. 

Acting arrangements at St Paul’s College and Rostrevor College  

Acting appointments at both Colleges were announced earlier in the week to manage leave and some related absences in Terms 2 and 3 of 2024. 

Principal Paul Belton will be on leave from week 1 of Term 2 (29 April 2024) until week 5 of Term 3 (23 August 2024). I am pleased to announce that Mr Josh Foulis has been appointed as Acting Principal of St Paul’s College during this period. Josh brings a wealth of experience to this role having previously acted as Principal for part of 2023 and through his current role as Deputy Principal at St Paul’s College. 

Following an internal Expression of Interest process, Mr Frank Ranaldo, current Deputy Principal of Rostrevor College, has been appointed to the position of Acting Deputy Principal of St Paul’s College, for Terms 2 and 3 2024. This appointment arises from the combination of leave that Paul is undertaking (in which time Josh Foulis will be Acting Principal), and pre-arranged leave that Josh is taking from week 6 until the conclusion of Term 3. 

A process to backfill the Deputy Principal role at Rostrevor College has now commenced. 

Upcoming Events

12-13 March 2024: EREA Principals’ National Charter Strategy Forum in Adelaide 

18 March 2024: EREA Colleges Business Managers Meeting  

Professional Development Opportunities

The 2024 Trauma-Aware Education Conference will be held in Brisbane (31 October – 2 November 2024).  Further details are contained here. 

Colleges Photo Gallery