Weekes' Weekly News

Dear Sacred Heart Kew Families,

Welcome back everyone. Happy Term Four! I hope that all families enjoyed the school holiday break. We look forward to another exciting, rewarding and fun term ahead together. Speaking of fun, in particular, we’re all counting down the days to our biennial Art Show next Friday 16 October. Only 7 days to go! 

Our Sacred Heart Kew Art Show is always a FABULOUS occasion for our school and community, showcasing the incredibly tablented and creative children we have at our school. Many thanks to our Visual Arts Teacher Nicole Burnes for all her hard work and preparation for what will be a WONDERFUL celebration for our school.

2027 Planning with MACS (Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools) 

As you know, our school is governed by MACS (Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools). As previously mentioned last term, we have been working closely with MACS to budget and plan for 2027 and beyond, as we accommodate the changes that will likely flow from a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA). Our discussions have centred around remaining financially viable as a school and system in the long term. 

Who is MACS and what is its role in our school?

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) is responsible for almost 300 Catholic primary and secondary schools, educating more than 120,000 students across the Archdiocese of Melbourne. As one of the fastest-growing education systems in Victoria, MACS supports schools to provide high-quality learning, strong wellbeing support and faith formation for the growing number of families choosing Catholic education each year.

The role of MACS is to oversee this system of schools, ensuring Catholic education remains strong, sustainable and accessible for generations to come. When MACS was established, it reflected the reality that Catholic education had grown beyond what individual schools could reasonably manage alone. 

Today's schools operate in an increasingly complex environment, requiring expertise in governance, educational improvement, workforce planning, child safety, finance, infrastructure and compliance. A coordinated system enables schools to focus on what matters most: delivering an outstanding education centred on faith and the flourishing of every student. 

EBA (Enterprise Bargaining Agreement) negotiations for Victorian Catholic Schools

Just like the Olympics, Commonwealth Games or World Cup, every 4 years in the life of a school is an interesting time for teachers, staff and school communities, when negotiations occur for a new EBA for staff. 

Back in 2022 (Friday 4 November to be exact), I referred to the negotiations that were happening in the education world at that time, as we awaited a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) for Victorian Catholic Schools. At the time, as a MACS school, we were bracing for the introduction of ‘time in lieu’ and how that would impact our school going forward. 

Almost 4 years later, we once again await a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement for Catholic schools, waiting to see how the recent ‘in-principle agreement’ for Victorian Government schools will impact us with our new agreement. As all MACS schools plan for our 2027 budgets, one thing is already clear. There will be considerable challenges for all Catholic schools over the next four years, due to the different models of funding for our system, compared with the Victorian Government School system. 

At Sacred Heart Kew, in consultation with MACS, we have had to plan for the significant staff wage increases (as MACS provide pay parity with Victorian Government schools), which will profoundly affect many areas of our school. These include: class and year level structures, class sizes, school fees and levies, and the number of staff who work at our school. There will be many changes across MACS schools to accommodate these increasing costs, including here at Sacred Heart Kew. These changes will be communicated to all families in the coming weeks. 

Regardless of the challenges and changes that all MACS schools will face with the new EBA for Victorian Catholic schools, we know that your children will continue to thrive here at Sacred Heart Kew, and we look forward to partnering with you and your family for many years to come. 

It goes without saying (and I know that I write this often) that we want everyone to stay here at Sacred Heart Kew. We would love to see all our children who begin at our school in Prep, graduate from Sacred Heart Kew with their peers in Year Six. In reality, we know that this isn’t always the case, as children and families leave our school for varying reasons, at different ages and stages of their primary school years. 

Thank you to those families who have informed us of their plans for 2027. This has greatly assisted us in our discussions with MACS and budgeting for next year and beyond. This information has led us to make responsible use of our resources and finances available, and ensured that we cater appropriately and sensibly for our school enrolment number (as per the guidelines set out by MACS), in light of significant wage increases from a new EBA. 

As mentioned above, more information will be shared with families in the coming weeks, as we outline the necessary changes to our class and year level structures, class sizes, school fees and levies, so Sacred Heart Kew remains the only place to be, now and in the years ahead. 

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend. 

Kind Regards, 

Ed Weekes 

School Principal