Kaya
I would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest WAPPA members:
Peter Howse, Cowaramup Primary School
Michaela Wright, Armadale Primary School
Ammie Wood, Fairview Primary School
Louise Bennier, Ballajura Primary School
Keryn Williamson, Mindarie Primary School
Michelle Brown, School of Special Educational Needs: Sensory
Kerry Fullarton, Noranda Primary School
We look forward to providing you with the Support, Advocacy, Leadership Development and Connection, that WAPPA is renowned for. Likewise, we welcome your voice to the ongoing discussion around primary education and school leadership, through the numerous avenues provided to our members.
Federal Budget
Yesterday’s budget announcement, unfortunately, did not deliver a great deal for Government schools, outside of the recurrent funding to supplement existing agreements. WAPPA continues to work with the national body, AGPPA, to advocate for a minimum 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard to be allocated to government schools. Leading in to the federal election, AGPPA National Council recently met with Education representatives from both the Greens and Labor Parties, to discuss their funding and policy perspectives. Both parties have indicated, if elected they are keen to work closely with AGPPA, to address resourcing inequities.
Whilst pleasing to see this year’s budget highlights increases in funding to areas that will impact positively on our work, such as regional development and mental health, WAPPA continues to advocate for a funding model and resourcing, that allows the highest quality of education and support to be delivered, in the most influential years of children’s social, emotional and academic development; Primary school.
WAPPA Support
I have met with a number of Collegial Groups, in person and online, to share information and participate in Q&A sessions regarding the new Principal Selection Process, Health and Wellbeing, and WAPPA's PL. I am still met with comments from Deputies advising they didn’t realise they could contact us for support. WAPPA is here for all members and we are proud of our track record in providing confidential support, timely and useful information, and relevant follow ups as needed.
I have also taken part in a number of meetings supporting and advocating for members at a regional or central level, and participated in multiple media opportunities to comment on health, wellbeing and workload, not just relating to Covid. Whilst I appreciate each school always has contextually specific issues, I always take opportunities to be the voice for our profession and ensure members and the community are hearing strong messages regarding leadership, challenges and celebrations in our system.
The Support Line will be open during the holidays
Awards & Grants
As WAPPA moves forward in reviewing some of our core business activities, in relation to members’ needs and feedback, we felt that our annual Awards & Grants needed a refresh. The issuing of Awards & Grants is crucial to the ongoing research, action learning, professional growth and sharing of information, that benefits WAPPA members and education as a whole.
This year the Board has voted not to run the program, simply because the workload demands on school leaders has been quite extreme. We would much rather members have an opportunity to enjoy holidays and come into the new Term somewhat refreshed, ready to tackle NAPLAN and any uncertainty Term 2 might continue to provide.
We plan to revitalise Awards & Grants in 2023. As always, we welcome your input and will seek member feedback as the year progresses.
Professional Learning
Last week saw the finale of our Issues and Insights series, a collaboration with ACEL, to bring members four extremely engaging and respected speakers. The hard work of our team hasn’t stopped and we are still endeavouring to organise a range of online and F2F options for our members. The coming weeks will see a number of events offered, including an Aspirant event during the holidays and the start of the ISL program.