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Updates

Term 3 August 2025 Census

The date for the upcoming 2025 Census for the collection of student and staff data is Friday 1 August 2025.

Essential information for principals and SSSOs can be found at the following link: Census August 2025.

Revised Standards for RTOs, 2025 and Policy Updates

In response to the revised Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2025, CEDoW has reviewed and updated its policies and procedures to ensure continued compliance in the delivery of Vocational Education and Training (VET). The revised Standards come into effect on 1 July 2025.

The VET/RTO Policy and its supporting procedures have been amended to align with the new legislation. These changes largely concern CEDoW as an RTO. The need for structural changes has also been identified, resulting in the development of standalone procedures for School-Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships/Externally Delivered Vocational Education and Training (SBATs/EVET) and Workplace Learning (Work Experience). There is, however, no anticipated change to current practice.

The updated documents will take effect from 1 July 2025, to align with the legislative changes, and can be accessed here:

The VET team will continue to support schools to implement the amended VET/RTO Policy and SBATs/EVET Procedure. The amendments were previously communicated by the RTO Manager through the VET Notices and Secondary Leading Learning Network Meeting.

If you have any questions about the VET/RTO Policy or SBATs/EVET Procedure, please contact Jennifer Callaghan (VET Senior Administrator) at callaghanj01@dow.catholic.edu.au or Christina Desmond (RTO Manager) at desmondc01@dow.catholic.edu.au.

If you have any questions about the Workplace Learning (Work Experience) Procedure, please contact Nicole Grubb (Education Officer - TaPS/VET) at grubbn01@dow.catholic.edu.au or 0497 927 235.

Rescission of People and Culture Policies

To ensure our operational documents are up-to-date and their content remains relevant, the Director, People and Culture has conducted a wide review of People and Culture’s policies and determined that the following policies will be rescinded, effective 3 July 2025:

Document	Contact	Additional information
COVID-19 Vaccination Policy	peopleandcultureenquiries@dow.catholic.edu.au	No longer applicable.
COVID-19 Working Remotely Policy	peopleandcultureenquiries@dow.catholic.edu.au	No longer applicable.
Employee Exchange or Temporary Transfer Policy	psarrise01@dow.catholic.edu.au	Any requests for employee exchange or temporary transfer are to be considered independently by the Team Leader - Employment and Industrial Relations, People and Culture.
Exit Feedback Policy	peopleandcultureenquiries@dow.catholic.edu.au	While this policy will be rescinded, the practice of providing exit feedback will be maintained.
Overseas Teacher Exchange Policy	psarrise01@dow.catholic.edu.au	Any requests for overseas teacher exchange are to be considered independently by the Team Leader - Employment and Industrial Relations, People and Culture.
Renewal Leave for Teaching Staff Policy	peopleandcultureenquiries@dow.catholic.edu.au	Not current.
Supporting Teachers in Global Mission Work Policy	psarrise01@dow.catholic.edu.au	Any requests for global mission work are to be considered independently by the Team Leader - Employment and Industrial Relations, People and Culture.

For further information, please see the relevant contacts.

Sent Forth in Strength and Hope – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday

Attention: Principals, RECs, AEAs and Aboriginal Contacts

6 July 2025 marks Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday and the beginning of NAIDOC Week.

This year’s theme, “Sent Forth in Strength and Hope,” resonates deeply with the Jubilee Year of Hope’s overarching theme, “Pilgrims of Hope.”

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) has prepared a range of liturgical and other resources to support the celebration, which can be accessed HERE.

The journey of hope is beautifully captured in the Dharawal Dreaming story of Wiritjiribin, the First Lyrebird. To learn more about Wiritjiribin and the spirit of hope, explore pages 6-7 in the CEDoW Guidebook for the Celebration of the Year of Jubilee.

Staff Reminder – Sign-In Procedure When Visiting Schools

All staff are reminded that when visiting a school in your capacity as an employee of Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW), you are required to sign in as a CEDoW staff member, not as a visitor.

This applies to all staff, including those visiting from other schools or office-based roles within our system. Whether you are attending a meeting, supporting an event, or providing onsite assistance, it is essential that you sign in upon arrival.

Signing in as a staff member is a compliance requirement and forms part of our commitment to maintaining a safe, secure, and accountable environment for students, staff, and our wider school communities.

To sign in correctly, you will need to select the Staff option and fill in all mandatory fields. This includes your Employee ID, which is available on both ESS and your payslip. Please ensure you have this ready before your visit.

There are two options for signing in via the iPad at a school’s front office:

QR Code via App
It is recommended that you install the Quick Sign In app on your phone if you haven’t already done so. This app enables a quicker and more efficient sign in process. Please ensure you fill in your name, phone number and “CEDoW Employee Number”. Most schools will display a QR code which you can use to download the app if you don’t have it.
Manual Sign-In
Enter your details directly on the screen.

Thank you for your cooperation and for playing your part in keeping our schools safe.

CEDoW Year 1 Phonics Screening Check Registration

The CEDoW Year 1 Phonics Check assesses essential phonic knowledge and word recognition skills that form the foundation of reading proficiency and long-term literacy success. This is a curriculum-aligned, Tier 1 screening assessment that purposefully gathers data to inform future teaching and learning, while also providing insight into the observable strategies and behaviours students use when decoding both real and pseudo-words.

The assessment takes 5-7 minutes and is carried out by classroom teachers with each student individually. All resources will be provided digitally to participating schools at the beginning of Term 3.

The assessment window for 2025 is from Week 4, Monday 11 August 2025 - Week 6, Friday 29 August 2025, Term 3.

Participating schools will be able to access 0.5 day release per class to complete the check using Code F03.

Schools can register via the linked Google form. Registration closes: Friday 4 July 2025.

Please contact Jo Treffone or Lexie Hingston if you have any questions.

2025 NCCD Update: NCCD Lockdown is Coming

Audience: Principals and Leaders of Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD)

Have you clicked the NCCD button yet?

From 4 July 2025, the NCCD Section of the Online Tool will be locked down.

This section will appear as read only for all users from this date, except for Diocesan NCCD Moderators.

The PPSD section will remain open.

If any changes are required after lockdown, please contact one of the system moderators for support: Katie Carroll, Louise Brown, or Rebecca Gibbs.