NCEC Presentation by ACPPA and CaSPA Presidents: Principal Wellbeing

In September, the National Catholic Education Commission invited ACPPA President Peter Cutrona and CaSPA President Ann Rebgetz to present to the Commission about Principal Wellbeing. Peter and Ann provided some context of the Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing survey data and recommendations from the report. This survey is a longitudinal study conducted by the ACU Institute for Positive Psychology and Education.

Some highlights from their presentation were:

WHAT EMPLOYERS CAN DO:

1. Introduce school leader wellbeing priorities within performance frameworks. Personal health and wellbeing are a component of the AITSL Australian Professional Standard for Principals. Performance frameworks would benefit from inclusion of specific measures that develop, support, and report upon the health and wellbeing of school leaders. Including these in performance frameworks commits both employers and school leaders to take positive steps towards, and provision of resources for, their achievement.
2. Develop supportive cultures of trust with school leaders. The declining data on Trust, combined with low rates of seeking support from employers, indicates more needs to be done to create and sustain trusting cultures. Adopting the previous recommendation would be a valuable start. Providing ongoing opportunities for professional dialogue, both consultative and evaluative, on workload, health, and wellbeing in an environment of collegial support is essential.

WHAT PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS CAN DO:

1.Seek feedback on how best to support members. The dual role of advocacy and support offered by professional associations is important to the wider profession. The low take up of seeking support provides an opportunity for associations to update their services.
2. Continue advocacy with government and employers on the positive recommendations from the Productivity Commission and National Teacher Workforce Action Plan in line with the results of this report.

Recommendations ACPPA and CaSPA want to be part of the solution . To co-create with the NCEC a common approach that supports and reports on the wellbeing of school leaders in the catholic system by:
1. Understanding the models of best practice already occurring across the systems
2. Associations collecting and sharing the primary and secondary Catholic principal data from the Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey.
3. Systems to support and promote the Health and Wellbeing survey with their school leaders.

©Ann Rebgetz and Peter Cutrona

?Ann Rebgetz (CaSPA President), Peter Cutrona (ACPPA President) and Gez Mulvahil (ACPPA Executive Officer) at NCEC Parliament House function