2016 Annual Report
Work your way through the report highlights in the illustrations, or download the full PDF from the menu at the top of your screen.
Work your way through the report highlights in the illustrations, or download the full PDF from the menu at the top of your screen.
It is my great pleasure to present the 2016 Annual Report of Catholic Education Melbourne.
The past few years have been a time of substantial growth for our Catholic school community. Over the past 12 months we’ve been working with local community steering committees on three primary school projects that are scheduled to open in 2018. At Wallan, Craigieburn West and Torquay North, we have moved from the planning to the construction phase and all projects are on track to open on time and on budget.
We have also been making steady progress on the rollout of ICON – our Integrated Catholic Online Network. ICON will provide a seamless digital link among all Catholic educational institutions in Victoria – our 492 schools and four diocesan Catholic Education Offices. It will allow us to pool learning resources in unprecedented ways that will foster improved student achievement. ICON will also help to streamline the administrative burden on our schools by providing system-wide solutions to compliance requirements. Eight schools have already joined ICON, with more to follow over the coming months.
But school buildings and computer networking, while essential, are only a means to an end. And 2016 has also been a year of innovation for Catholic Education Melbourne on its core business – pedagogy and student achievement.
We published Horizons of Hope – an Education Framework for the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Horizons of Hope is a pedagogical resource that will guide education in our Catholic schools in the years to come. A ‘Google Plus’ online community was established to facilitate its use throughout the Archdiocese, attracting over 600 members and inspiring teachers with innovative classroom resources and instructional ideas.
Over 100 of our students, teachers and proud parents participated in the 2016 CECV Languages Film Awards. The event featured a series of student-produced two-minute films in a variety of foreign languages, including Spanish, Italian and Indonesian. 2016 saw the creation of 34 science partnerships that linked Catholic schools with universities, zoos and marine research vessels, allowing students to learn about real world science from real world scientists.
This past year saw the first cohort of 50 educational leaders embark on a two-year Master of Education (Student Wellbeing) degree at the Australian Catholic University. This unique program – the first of its kind in Australia – reflects the seriousness with which the Catholic school community takes the issue of child safety and welfare. We also opened a joint program with the Berry Street Institute to strengthen the capacity of teachers and Student Wellbeing leaders in the latest best practice.
We do a good job of providing high-quality education to the children who attend our schools. But what sets us apart are the Catholic faith values that permeate everything we do. This past year we renewed our Religious Education Curriculum Framework – Coming to Know, Worship and Love. Drawing on principles espoused by the Second Vatican Council, this new Framework was developed in collaboration with schools, assisting teachers to present our Catholic faith in an engaging and uplifting manner. This is just a small sample of the initiatives and innovations we have introduced to Catholic Education Melbourne over the past year. And we look forward to taking Catholic Education Melbourne to an even higher level of achievement over the coming year.
Stephen Elder
Executive Director, Catholic Education Melbourne
Catholic Education Melbourne aims to support and lead Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. The organisation is divided into five key units: Catholic Education Services, Enterprise Services, Business Advisory Services, Digital Strategy and Planning and Infrastructure.
Read about Catholic Education Melbourne's Vision, Mission and Values at www.cem.edu.au/about-catholic-education/vision-mission-and-values and download the Strategic Plan at www.cem.edu.au/about-catholic-education/2015–2019-directions.
In each section below, some of the highlights from 2016 have been identified. For the full 2016 annual report, please download the PDF.
Catholic Education Week was held throughout the Archdiocese in March 2016. The year's theme was Be the face of mercy. The Mass of St Patrick for Schools began with a procession of school banners into St Patrick's Cathedral. The procession was led by Holy Rosary School, Kensington, celebrating its centenary, followed by St Bernard's School, Coburg East, and St Benedict's School, Burwood, celebrating their 75th anniversaries, and St Damian's School, Bundoora, celebrating 50 years. It was a joyful celebration with about 3,000 students from over 300 schools in the Archdiocese.
On Tuesday 19 April 2016, approximately 200 people, including graduate teachers, principals, principal association representatives and staff from Catholic Education Melbourne, gathered for the 2016 Graduate Teacher Welcome. This significant event is designed to welcome newly appointed graduate teachers from both primary and secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne and affirm their educational ministry. Archbishop Denis Hart DD celebrated Mass at St John the Evangelist Catholic Church in East Melbourne. Archbishop Hart personally welcomed each graduate teacher at the end of the Mass. Afterwards, graduates and other guests enjoyed each other's company during a high tea in the Catholic Leadership Centre dining hall. Catholic Education Melbourne Executive Director, Stephen Elder, formally welcomed the graduates to Catholic education.
World Teachers Day was celebrated around Australia on 31 October 2016. Teachers at Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne received a special message from students, highlighting the wonderful qualities of their teachers. Thank you to all of our teachers for the work you do in our schools, and a special thank you to the students from Galilee Regional Primary School (South Melbourne), Presentation College Windsor (Windsor) and Salesian College (Chadstone) for their help in the making of the film.
Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv was farewelled from the Archdiocese of Melbourne, as he prepared to take over as the fourth Bishop of Parramatta in June. In addition to serving as Auxiliary Bishop to the Western Region, Bishop Vincent's contribution to our schools as Chair of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd since 2012 has been critical to our success as a sector.
Retiring after 32 years as principal, Trish Taylor, Principal of St Joseph's School in Collingwood, was asked to give the Leaving Principal's Address at the 2016 Archdiocesan Celebration of Principalship on Wednesday 30 November.
I consider it a great honour to be asked to speak to you this evening. I have decided to retire after 32 years of principalship in inner-city Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, in North Richmond and more recently in Collingwood. (Read full story.)
Many schools, teachers and students received awards throughout 2016. Here is a small selection of those.
St Peter's School, Epping, was certified a 5Star ResourceSmart environmental school in 2016. St Peter's is one of only five Catholic schools in Victoria to have current 5Star Leadership Schools status, and one of only 26 schools across all sectors. About 230 Catholic schools have registered as ResourceSmart Schools in Victoria. In 2015 St Peter's School received the ResourceSmart Schools Award for Community Leadership Primary School of the Year and Emma Canning, St Peter's Environment and Sustainability Leader, was a finalist in the ResourceSmart Primary Teacher of the Year Award.
St Louis de Montfort's School, Aspendale, received the Environmental School Award in the United Nations Association of Australia (UNAA) World Environment Day Awards. St Louis de Montfort's won the award for their whole-school program, From Little Things, Big Things Grow. The school was also a finalist in the Environmental Education Award for their community program, Reaching Out. The UNAA recognises innovative and outstanding environmental programs and initiatives from across Australia and the important work of Australian environmental leaders through its pre-eminent national awards.
Sacred Heart College, Geelong, received the VCAL Partner Achievement Award for VCAL Promotion with their partner, Samaritan House, Geelong. Senior VCAL students supported Samaritan House through a number of fundraising and practical activities, going well beyond what was required to achieve all their Personal Development Skills outcomes. A lasting bond has developed between the VCAL students, staff and Samaritan house. Current Intermediate students are keen to continue and strengthen the partnership.
For the third year in a row Antonine College, Pascoe Vale South, was the Victorian state winner of the Read More In May Challenge conducted by Scholastic, Inc. The school retained the perpetual shield for another year and received $500 of books for the library. In addition, 16 students were among the state's most well read, each receiving $100 book vouchers from Scholastic and the Year 6B class had the highest number of reading minutes for Victoria.
St Joseph's College Geelong, Newtown, and Clonard College, Herne Hill, were awarded the national prize for the Anzac Day Schools' Awards. The awards are designed to encourage initiative and creativity in the way that schools commemorate Anzac Day, with an emphasis on inventiveness balanced with tradition.
Christian Williams, a teacher at St Michael's School, Ashburton, made it onto the shortlist for the prestigious $1 million Global Teacher Prize. Christian was ranked in the top 40 out of 8000 entrants from 148 countries. Christian teaches mathematics through experience and activities. His students came up with an idea for a classroom coffee shop and created '56 shots' named after the number of parents who came in to learn about money with their children. The children have learned through trick-shot videos and Skyped with university physics professors about time machines.
Ria Greene was selected to represent the Asia-Pacific region on an international committee planning for the 300th anniversary of the death of St John Baptiste de La Salle in 2019. The committee will meet in Rome in September. Ria has been a leader at two La Salle schools: St John's Regional College, Dandenong, and St Bede's College, Mentone, where she is currently Deputy Principal.
Julie Wynne, Health, Wellbeing and Sustainability teacher at St Louis de Montfort's School in Aspendale, was named joint Victorian Environmental Educator of the Year by Environment Education Victoria (EEV). Julie's initiatives included coordinating a 'Kitchen to Gardens' program teaching students and the community about everything from water treatment ponds and permaculture to solar pumps and cooking.
Ruby Cowan from Star of the Sea College, Brighton, and Christian Santoro from St Bernard's College, Essendon, were state winners of the Premier's Spirit of Anzac Prize for 2016 and participated in a study tour to significant sites in Australia's service history: Lemnos (Greece), Gallipoli and the Western Front.
Forty-six VCE students from 22 Catholic secondary colleges in the Archdiocese of Melbourne had work from 2015 selected for exhibition in the 2016 Victorian Season of Excellence. Three students from Melbourne Catholic colleges exhibited in Top Screen, seven students in Top Class – Dance, one student in Top Class – Music, seven students in Top Class – Drama, five students in Top Class – Theatre Studies, four students in Top Arts and 19 students in Top Designs.
Thomas Dillon of Whitefriars College, Donvale, was the national winner in the 13-17 Years category of the Gifted Awareness Week 2016 Poetry Competition. Entrants were asked to explore the theme, 'What Giftedness Means to Me'. Thomas's poem was titled Amiss.
Year 6 student at Holy Name School, Reservoir, Areeba, received a Prime Minister's medal for the short story she entered in the NAIDOC week 2016 Short Story Competition. Only 25 medals were awarded in this category across Australia. Entrants had to write a fictional story with illustrations and photographs, entitled The Day I Met My Indigenous Role Model. Areeba's role model was Cathy Freeman.
School captain of St Louis de Montfort's School, Aspendale, Mason Dwyer, was named Junior Lord Mayor of Melbourne for 2016 with a long list of official duties including raiding the flag on Melbourne Day, cutting the official birthday cake, skippering the Enterprize for a day with his class and other mayoral duties throughout the year. The judges said of Mason that he was, 'the outstanding candidate from six excellent finalists'.
In addressing the changing needs of our students, teachers, parents, parishes and the community, and the Catholic Education Melbourne community, the Catholic education system is challenged to reflect continuously on its Catholic identity, in particular the ways we articulate our identity and vision and express our distinctiveness as Catholic communities in a pluralistic society.
Theme 1: Enhancing Catholic Identity, Catholic Education Melbourne Strategic Plan 2015–2019.
In 2016, the Catholic Identity Unit held the biennial Catholic Education Melbourne Religious Education Conference. The theme of the conference was Be witnesses of God's Mercy, and over 300 delegates attended. With two international keynote presentations and a selection of 40 workshops, organised in four streams – witness, spirituality, religious leadership, and learning and teaching – our delegates were well catered for.
On the Professional Learning front, principals were offered a number of formation programs designed to support them and on occasion senior leaders too, in normalising and strengthening the Catholic identity of their schools. The following Formation Programs for Principals were offered: three weeks at the Catholic University Leuven, Belgium; four weeks at All Hallows retreat centre, Ireland; and a one-week intensive in Adelaide, Australia.
A major project in 2016 was the renewal of the Religious Education Curriculum Framework, Coming to Know, Worship and Love. The renewed Religious Education Curriculum Framework draws from and incorporates the teachings and principles espoused in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and post-conciliar documents.
The year also represented the first full year of Daily Prayer for schools in the Archdiocese. Daily prayers were provided online to schools via the Catholic Education Victoria Network (CEVN) website for every day of the school year. In addition, a review and update of the materials and accessibility of Culture of Prayer Resources on the CEVN Religious Education Tab was initiated.
Over 775 applications for Accreditation to Teach in a Catholic School and Accreditation to Teach Religious Education in a Catholic School were received, with over 80% of them approved.
Students today are immersed in a globalising world that is marked by rapid scientific and technological growth. As technology advances, we are challenged to collaborate with schools and lead new pedagogical models for learning and teaching, incorporating new technologies in the classroom and providing new learning spaces to meet the needs of students.
Theme 2: Quality Teaching for all Learners, Catholic Education Melbourne Strategic Plan 2015–2019.
The Student Wellbeing Unit is committed to supporting Catholic school communities to create safe, inclusive and welcoming learning environments where all young people are supported to flourish.
In 2016, the work of the Student Wellbeing Unit expanded to encompass the area of Child Safety, a significant development in Victorian legislation which required schools to be compliant by 1 August 2016. Initiatives were focused on cultural change and strategies to build awareness and the capacity of Catholic school communities to meet the specific requirements of Ministerial Order No. 870, gazetted on 7 January 2016, within a framework of student care and wellbeing.
Work throughout the year began with the establishment of the Child Safety Working Party in late 2015 to provide advice and direction on initiatives, policies and practices to enable Catholic school communities to lead the way in the care, wellbeing and protection of children and young people. In August 2016, a significant cross-sectoral project was realised with the development and release of a new protocol PROTECT: Identifying & Responding to All Forms of Abuse in Schools. This protocol reflects a unified commitment between the CECV, DET and ISV to protect the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people.
To complement this work, Catholic Education Melbourne and ACU launched the Graduate Certificate in Education: Safeguarding Children & Young People on 9 August 2016, a unique course, the first of its kind in Australia. It is a key professional learning initiative designed to further equip Catholic school leaders and senior staff with knowledge, skills and understanding of contemporary issues and responses to safeguarding children and young people within Catholic educational settings.
Student Wellbeing initiatives in 2016 included four-day professional learning program Enable, Connect, Grow, Flourish: Four-part series delivered in partnership with Berry Street Childhood Institute; a continued partnership with the Victorian Student Representative Council (VicSRC) to strengthen student voice, statewide networks and opportunities for student leadership and learning; a commitment of almost $650,000 over 2016–2017 to extend funding to support Family–School Partnerships (FSP) clusters to continue leading local action, joint practice and governance to build stronger family and community partnerships to improve student wellbeing and learning outcomes; and the sponsoring of 50 leaders and teachers in the Archdiocese of Melbourne to complete a new, two-year Master of Education (Student Wellbeing) at Australian Catholic University (ACU).
In 2016, Catholic Education Melbourne published the Horizons of Hope – An Education Framework for the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Horizons of Hope is the outcome of more than eighteen months of developmental work involving many teachers, leaders and educators across the Archdiocese, and is a resource that will guide the direction of education in Catholic schools.
The Literacy Team worked to bring about continuous improvement in the literacy outcomes of all students by providing differentiated professional learning programs focused on building the capacity of leaders and teachers. These included:
The Mathematics Team offered an expert teaching program aiming to deepen understanding of how children learn mathematics and how to implement effective programs. It supported collaborative partnerships between schools in the Purposeful Teaching of Mathematics (secondary schools) and Strategic Support Mathematics – Primary programs. A Number Intervention F–4 program continued, recognising the importance of the early years of schooling and the need to provide a solid foundation in arithmetical learning for future success in school. In 2016, Catholic Education Melbourne also supported 22 teachers to study for a Master of Education at Australian Catholic University.
The Languages Team worked on a number of programs for the year, including an ongoing credentialled study in partnership with the University of Melbourne in the Graduate Certificate in Language Education – Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL); the Leading Languages Professional Learning Program, which involved 60 primary school language teachers working to develop strategies for reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in their students; the Developing Autonomous Language Learners program, which aims to assist students to acquire functional classroom competency in the target language within the first semester of study; and the 2016 CECV Languages Film Awards, held on Tuesday 12 July at the Catholic Leadership Centre, where students were invited to create a two-minute long film in a language other than English based around the theme of Imagine and Re-imagine.
The Pathways and Transition Team supported Catholic schools in their commitment to maximising every student's ability to complete Year 12 or its equivalent. This included work to provide funding assistance for access to Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs as part of students' senior secondary certificate [the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL)], and the management of VET Band Funding and VCAL Coordination Funding distribution to Victorian Catholic secondary schools; providing relevant information and updates to support key personnel responsible for the coordination of Pathways and Transition, including the distribution of Supporting Pathways and Transition in Catholic Schools 2016 in booklet and electronic form to all secondary schools, and the production of the CECV Pathways and Transition eBulletin twice a term. The team also advocated for Victorian Catholic secondary schools on matters related to Pathways and Transition, and assisted with the coordination of input into sector, state and federal policies and initiatives.
In 2016, the Science Team developed 34 science partnerships for archdiocesan schools, with students and teachers collaborating with scientists in universities, zoos, and marine research vessels. These partnerships enabled students to learn about science in the 'real world'. It partnered with CADET @ Deakin University to support six Catholic primary schools to undertake a year-long science and engineering challenge to design and race fast cars. The project targeted the development of STEM skills and capabilities of ethical thinking, critical & creative thinking, and collaboration for learning, as well as the technologies for learning and Literacy, Social & Emotional Learning underpinned the inquiry.
The Learning Diversity Unit works to provide quality teaching for learners of every background and ability, through a number of programs. The Students with Disability program aims to improve the learning outcomes of educationally disadvantaged students, particularly in literacy and numeracy, by contributing funding to support the student's teaching and learning program. In 2016, there were a total of 7,017 students eligible to receive funding in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Of the 7,017 eligible students, 57.6% were primary and 42.4% were secondary students. Based on the total student population in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, 4.3% of students received funding.
In 2016, 68 students were provided with equipment that was considered integral to their access and participation at school, funded under the categories of physical disability, chronic health impairment, hearing impairment and vision impairment.
The Gifted Think Tank, a group of principals, middle leaders, teachers and Catholic Education Melbourne staff that meet together to plan and coordinate gifted education provision, continued to be a vital source of inspiration and were instrumental in developing a range of initiatives in the gifted area.
The Visible Learning Collaborative Impact Project was expanded in 2016 with the addition of another 20 primary and five secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. This evidence-based program supports schools to embed practices that are known to have a significant impact on student outcomes. There is a strong focus on building assessment capable learners and to increase the visibility of the learning that is taking place through clear learning intentions, success criteria and the four levels of effective feedback.
A number of events and professional learning activities were held throughout the year for Indigenous Education, including the More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teachers Initiative', also known as MATSITI, which was a project established in 2011 to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people working as teachers in Australian schools. In 2016 the final stage of the MATSITI program saw participants joining with the Koorie Education Workers at a two-day conference where participants had an opportunity to work together on a number of areas.
The annual Watta Watnanda Education & Cultural Day for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Secondary Students was held on Friday 22 July 2016 at the Korin Gamadji Institute at the Richmond Football Club, Punt Road, Richmond. One hundred and sixteen secondary students from the Archdiocese of Melbourne along with staff, parents, Koorie Education Workers and Aboriginal community members were given an opportunity to gather together and live the National NAIDOC theme of Songlines: The living narrative of our nation. The 2016 Year 12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students Graduation dinner was held on Wednesday 16 September at the Catholic Leadership Centre, East Melbourne, in which 105 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students graduated.
In the area of English as an Additional Language (EAL) and New Arrivals (Refugees), several programs were implemented or continued to support teacher capability in ensuring sustainable improvement in the learning outcomes of newly arrived students with EAL. These included Refugee Support Strategies, professional learning for teachers, the Tools to Enhance Assessment Literacy for Teachers of EAL project, and direct support to schools by learning consultants.
There is an increasing need to provide school services more efficiently and effectively. We need to continue developing strategic alliances and stronger partnerships with parents, parishes, local government, business and community services and explore options to co-locate schools with community health centres, kindergartens and activity centres.
Theme 3: Capability to Better Serve and Lead, Catholic Education Melbourne Strategic Plan 2015–2019.
The Integrated Catholic Online Network (ICON) is a collaborative project of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd (CECV) involving Victorian Catholic schools and the four diocesan Catholic Education Offices.
The ICON suite of eAdmin products (eHR/Payroll, eFin and eSis) was rolled out progressively to the following eight primary schools in Term 4, 2016:
School leaders and staff started using the eAdmin applications to process payroll, pay accounts and manage student details.
An ePortal was developed for the rollout of ICON to the first group of schools. The portal provided school staff with single sign-on access to the eAdmin product suite and the school's G Suite for Education account.
There were 81 schools with 32,303 staff and student users in the Catholic Education Victoria (CEV) instance of G Suite for Education. Forty-nine schools in the CEV instance were also provided with access to the cloud-based learning management system Hapara.
Training workshops in Hapara were provided for school leaders. The workshops were held in Term 4 and were attended by more than 220 teachers and staff from 102 schools across Victoria.
Online courses in Google Drive, Chrome, Sites, Forms and Slides have been developed for leaders and teachers in schools. There were 893 registrations in My PL (IPLS) to undertake these courses.
The Industrial Relations (IR) Unit of Catholic Education Melbourne provides dedicated expert workplace relations services that Catholic schools and Catholic Education Offices across the state choose to use and value.
In 2016, the IR Unit prepared for and commenced negotiations for the 2016 Enterprise Agreement. It also supported the Salary and Conditions Board in its review of the conditions of employment for secondary principals, specifically the development of motor vehicle guidelines for employers, and the review and update of the employment contract for secondary principals.
The CECV Guidelines on the Employment of Staff, CECV Guidelines on the Engagement of Volunteers and CECV Guidelines on the Engagement of Contractors in Victorian Catholic Schools were all developed and published by the IR Unit throughout 2016, working to support schools to meet the requirements of the Child Safe Standards and Ministerial Order No. 870 as introduced by the Victorian Government.
Updated Industrial Relations and OHS / WorkCover sections of the new CECV website were launched, providing schools with a fresh, user-friendly website together with updated resource information.
The Unit provided high-level support to schools in the areas of OHS and WorkCover, including 94 OHS school-safety assessments, 15 OHS risk-safety assessments, and 27 training sessions.
Catholic Education Melbourne, through the Information Technology Services Unit, assists Catholic schools in the management of email, bandwidth, internet traffic, security and school networks. The IT Helpdesk provided dedicated IT services to schools and Catholic Education Melbourne staff from 8.00 am until 5.30 pm every day. The ICON and ITS Helpdesks merged at the end of 2016. The ITS business unit provided dedicated IT services to Catholic Education Melbourne staff and schools. This included the operational management and security monitoring of the infrastructure for the Catholic Education Victoria Network (CEVN) website connecting all schools and Victorian Catholic Education Offices.
The ITS Unit provided oversight and maintenance of the CEVN and Catholic Education Melbourne applications including the Catholic Information System (CIS), Online Staffing Records (OSR), the Personnel Record System (PRS) and the Long Service Leave (LSL) calculator, as well as the school Census functions. The Student Attendance System was introduced in 2013 and was extended in 2015 to cover Term 3 as well as Semester 1, 2016. For many schools, this system received automated student attendance data from their systems and stored the aggregated data centrally.
The School Accounting Unit provides assistance to parish priests, school principals, business managers and school administrative personnel with regards to financial and administrative accounting procedures, and government accountability and reporting requirements. A framework of supporting schools to ensure financial viability and promoting best practice is central to the services of the Unit.
School accounting services are provided by:
In 2016, Regional Finance Officers (RFOs) continued to meet on a one-on-one basis with principals with a view to enhancing principals' financial management skills and understanding of key financial information. A new principal induction program was introduced during the year for newly appointed school principals. Attendance at these principal induction sessions was very high. A new School Financial Dashboard report was also rolled out to schools in 2016.
The biennial School Administrative Officers Conference for 2016 was held at the Catholic Leadership Centre (CLC) on 6 and 7 September 2016. There were approximately 235 registrants at the conference from primary schools. Three representatives from Catholic Education Western Australia also attended to gain ideas about the conference and also network with the Melbourne staff. During 2016, seven Melbourne Catholic primary schools transitioned from their previous school finance software packages to the Integrated Catholic Online Network (ICON). At the same time these schools adopted accrual accounting and will report their Annual Financial Statement (AFS) for 2016 on this basis.
The Infrastructure and Capital Funding Unit supports schools to undertake their capital development through a number of initiatives:
The Emergency Management Working Party (EMWP) met five times during 2016 giving all members an opportunity to share information and knowledge in regard to specific incidents and issues throughout the four Dioceses. Throughout 2016 the EMWP has continued to build strong relationships with the Department of Education and Training (DET), Emergency Management Division (EMD) and Emergency Management Victoria (EMV) in statewide planning and implementation of Emergency Management.
The primary responsibility of the Planning Unit is the strategic provision of schooling across the Archdiocese of Melbourne. A large component of this work involves an understanding of demography and the impact of changing trends on school enrolments.
After opening three new primary schools in the Archdiocese in 2015 – St Clare's Catholic Primary School, Truganina; St John the Apostle Catholic Primary School Tarneit; and St Paul the Apostle, Doreen – the Unit worked through the process of supporting the delivery of three new schools in 2018. There was one school closure in 2016, with the specialist setting school Larmenier, Hampton, closing its doors in August.
In 2016, the Planning Unit commissioned an update to the Inner City School Provision Study first prepared in 2014. The original study considered the increased need for provision of Catholic schools in the inner parishes of Melbourne from a study area bounded by Brunswick to the north, Richmond to the east, Balaclava and Elwood/St Kilda to the south, and Braybrook to the west. The updated study used newly released population projections to reaffirm the need for additional school provision in the Inner City and also identify new trends from the updated data.