Uncertainty shrouds future of school camps

THE VICTORIAN Government is being urged to resolve a situation threatening school camps and other extracurricular activities undertaken by State School students.

That follows February’s in-principle deal granting teachers in government schools time in lieu for additional hours worked on extracurricular activities.

As well as camps, school staff will receive time in lieu for extra hours spent running activities such as excursions, and information nights.

While there is broad support for the increased recognition of teachers, concerns have been expressed about the affordability of the initiative for schools and the need for it to be backed by adequate funding.

Waratah Beach Camp owner and director, Pete Gould, is concerned about a possible reduction in business, having noticed uncertainty from schools about how the time in lieu initiative will be supported.

“A lot of the schools we have been dealing with in regard to new bookings for next year are hesitant to sign their paperwork and put their deposits down because they’re waiting to see what the government comes back with in regard to support for it,” Pete said.

He initially raised concerns in March with a post on his business’ Facebook page, supporting school staff but emphasising the need to acknowledge their efforts in a manageable fashion.

“We agree that Victorian teachers do a terrific job supporting children with camps, and (other) extracurricular activities and should get recognition for this, but more needs to be done to make this recognition achievable without the potential destruction of an industry,” the post stated.

Pete told the Sentinel-Times recently that the issue must be resolved for the sake of a wide range of operators as well as students.

“It could be catastrophic for not just us; there are plenty of other extracurricular activities students do outside of school hours that would be affected, so sporting events, musical events, excursions, you name it,” he said.

“It could jeopardise so many aspects of school life.”

He explained that in order for teachers to take the extra time in lieu that will eventuate, relief staff will be required, placing a financial burden on schools.

Leongatha Primary School principal Dot Coghlan said camps are viewed as extremely valuable for students and will definitely continue to run at every year level.

“We will be working hard to make sure those camps proceed,” Dot said.

“At the moment we’re waiting for further clarification from the Education Department.” 

That will spell out how the new arrangements will work and the funding that will be in place.

Dot noted that the new time in lieu arrangements aren’t due to come into operation until next year, and the enterprise bargaining agreement that will guide them is yet to be finalised.

She said that if the level of government funding availability requires an adjusted approach, that may mean shortening camps, or looking at alternative funding options.

The aim is to avoid imposing any extra burden on parents while ensuring students don’t miss out on experiencing school camps.

“We will put our budgets together later this year and that’s when we’ll work out what we can do, how long the camps will be and what they involve,” Dot said.

She is confident a resolution will be found.

“We just have to wait and see what money we have and how we’ll finance those camps,” the principal said.

Now former Education Minister and Deputy Premier James Merlino argued there is no major change to time in lieu arrangements.

“Time in lieu is an existing obligation under Fair Work, so what the new arrangement is doing is making it clear that there is an existing obligation, and in a large part it’s what schools already do,” James said.

Principal Dot said that is the case at Leongatha Primary School for education support staff working at school camps, but not usually for teachers doing so.
“So now they’re saying we give them time in lieu while they are on camp, so as you can imagine, that’s a lot of staff and a lot of hours we will have to negotiate and that could be a day or days off,” Dot said.

The Australian Education Union Victorian Branch confirms a significant increase in time in lieu requirements for teachers for additional hours worked both at school and offsite.

“The proposed Agreement significantly expands time in lieu (TIL) for teachers beyond parent–teacher reporting,” the union states when outlining the proposed Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2022.

“For any structured school activity, such as parent–teacher meetings, camps, excursions, concerts, parent information sessions or after-hours sport, where staff are required to attend, they must be provided with time in lieu for any hours in excess of 38 hours for a full-time teacher (pro-rata for part-time),” the union’s website says.

It states that the new time in lieu entitlement for teachers at camps would apply from 1 January 2023.

Mr Merlino outlined the process that is currently in motion.

“The agreement has been supported by the workforce, so it’s now before the Fair Work Commission for ratification and what the department will do as part of this is provide guidance and support to schools about how to best implement this provision,” Mr Merlino said.

The minister added he is confident camps and excursions will go ahead, stressing the importance of that for students who experienced repeated and sustained lockdowns.