Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA) sincerely thanks the 6,286 Australian Catholic school parents and carers who completed the survey on student wellbeing and learning.  An additional 705 completed part of the survey.  The number of survey completions is way above the initial target and the quality of responses to the optional survey items provides rich evidence to inform reporting.  The survey data have been cleaned of any privacy details and the analysis of this substantial bank of evidence is underway in preparation for reporting to the federal government and the Catholic education community.

Parent/carer forums were also offered to approximately 1200 parents/carers who completed surveys and volunteered their contact details for further comment.  This resulted in thirty-four parent/carer forums being offered and subsequently twenty-one forums being conducted.  The types of forums offered to parents/carers in separate primary and secondary groupings included families who:  had a child with disability; were a First Nations family; were an English second language family; had a child in a remote school; had a child in a rural school; had a child in a school majorly impacted by COVID in 2022; had a child in boarding school; or a child in a school anywhere in Australia – to cater for those who wished to participate and did not fit into the aforementioned groups.  Because of time differences, three additional forums were offered to Western Australia parents/carers.  CSPA sincerely thanks those parents/carers who, as well as completing a survey, also contributed through a forum.

CSPA has partnered with the (Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth) ARACY for every step of the evidence gathering process and this continues for the analysis and subsequent writing of the major report.  In addition to the work with ARACY, separate reports will also be prepared for each diocese across Australia.  It is noted that these reports will be particularly rich in detail in the Archdiocese of Perth and the Diocese of Cairns which had 966 and 907 survey completions respectively.  Reports will be disseminated through CSPA members, Catholic Education Directors and the Religious Institute and Ministerial PJP School Authorities Australia.  The national report will be posted on the CSPA website.

CSPA would also like to thank Catholic education directors, school principals, parent bodies and national agencies such as NCEC and the principal associations for assisting in disseminating the survey information to parents/carers.  Thanks to members of CSPA who assisted with the development of the survey and its dissemination to parents via social media, and special thanks to those CSPA members who have majorly contributed to the conducting of the forums.  Special mention to Sarah Rose (Catholic School Parents Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn) who set up the forum selection process as well as facilitating a number of forums.

A national report will be available later in 2022 and diocesan reports by early 2023.  CSPA acknowledges the Australian Government for the funding provided to complete this work.

The third meeting of CSPA Council was scheduled in Melbourne for the weekend (3 & 4 September) prior to the National Catholic Education Conference to reduce travel costs for those attending both events.  Once again, it was pleasing to be able to meet in person.  Siobhan Allen gave special welcome to Mr Rossi Mangano, a new councilor representing Catholic School Parents Queensland, and observers Ms Sandra Hallsworth and Ms Charlotte Geeves (Tasmanian Catholic Schools Parents Council).

The whole of Saturday’s agenda was given over to the review of CSPA’s Strategic Plan, which resulted from a question as to whether the current plan was fit for purpose.  The review was facilitated by Brendan Spillane who introduced the day using a prayer from Richard Rohr.  Brendan was well received by participants, especially through his interweaving of rich experiential knowledge and wisdom throughout the day.

Brendan used research and homegrown ideas to prepare for our work on the strategic plan – some of these included: the need for all to be rowing in the same direction; the importance of establishing a vision (Brendan used his work with the NZ olympic cycling team and their vision of 3820 as an example); the need to be hard on issues but not hard on each other; the need for CSPA to be visible and available; that we are now in the Attention Age – in this Age of Disruption (Kaufer & Scharmer, 2013) we cannot assume connection; the need to lift our eyes and find space to dream; the fact that we do have goals but our phones give us other unsolicited goals (Williams, 2018); and how our focus has been stolen (Hari, 2022) and paying attention and thinking deeply are now challenges more than ever.

Brendan also shared some guiding thoughts such as: the need to deliver our strategic plan based on volunteers; the need to be careful of over setting goals and under delivering; noting that having more than three priorities might mean having none; the need to find our deep well within each focus area; the need for many voices in and one voice out; and the need to continue the hope of the original strategic plan.

After a general introduction Brendan led a process in relation to the strategic plan with participants working in small groups on the vision, mission, values, focus areas and then finally on the working plan.  Each component was workshopped in groups of four followed by the whole group coming together for feedback.  Using this feedback, CSPA Council is now working in small groups to bring a draft of the 2023 – 2025 CSPA Strategic Plan and 2023 Working Plan to the November meeting of CSPA council.

Siobhan Allen (CSPA Deputy Chair) led a vote of thanks to Brendan Spillane.

On the Saturday evening, Fr Michael Twigg OMI celebrated Mass, after which dinner was shared at the Oakwood Premier Hotel.  During the dinner, Siobhan Allen thanked Dr Pep Turner for her work with CSPA and presented her with a gift as the Melbourne meeting was likely to be her last with CSPA.

CSPA Council members assembled for a photo after Mass.

Additional items to the usual agenda included:

• Discussion of CSPA in relation to the National Boarding Association;
• Follow up regarding CSPA’s invitation to attend government roundtables;
• The meeting of the CSPA Sponsorship Committee;
• Financial planning for 2023;
• Adding a co-opted person statement to the CSPA Constitution; and
• CSPA’s relationship with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Commission.

The final meeting for 2022 will be virtual on 5 November.

Snapshot of sharing from CSPA Members

Following are some stories shared by CSPA Members.

Catholic School Parents South Australia

Term 3 has been a busy quarter for CSPSA. The Executive Officer was pleased to attend the NCEC conference to be immersed in all aspects of education. The EO was able to connect with CSPA National members, having only connect online to date. The personal connections were worthwhile and long lasting – with a range of advice given as the new SA branch becomes established.

On September 20, we hosted our First Parent Engagement Evening for parents and carers of children in South Australian Catholic schools.  We were thrilled to have 370 register for the evening, with 130 in person and another 240 onscreen.

The featured speaker was Madhavi Nawana Parker of Positive Minds Australia and she presented on Anxiety and Worry in Children & Teenagers.

Many children experience some degree of anxiety and worry and the presentation was designed to help parents and carers learn to respond in a way that doesn’t further inflame the situation and reduce destructive thinking patterns and improve resilience and wellbeing.

We were very pleased with the evening and look forward to planning our next parent engagement event – Get off that Computer now! A presentation on screen time presented by Mark Le Messurier  (Trish Jarvis – CSPSA Executive Officer).

Tasmanian Catholic Schools Parents Council

The Acting President of the Tasmanian Catholic Schools Parents Council, Dr Perpetua (Pep) Turner, was awarded a Catholic Education Commission Tasmania (CECT) ‘Exemplary Contribution to Catholic Education’ Award at the recent CECT 2022 Award Presentations in Hobart.  The following is an extract of the covering words said in regards to Pep’s award at the presentation:

Dr Perpetua (Pep) Turner is an Ecologist and mother of four children in Catholic education, is regularly involved in the Bellerive-Lindisfarne Catholic Parish, and volunteers in a variety of different positions with Catholic schools’ Parents and Friends Associations. She works with commitment to improving Catholic education. Her children have attended Corpus Christi Catholic School, St Virgil’s College, and Guilford Young College, and she understands the value of Catholic education.

Anyone who has worked alongside Pep, knows that she has a high level of personal integrity and strong family values. Her volunteering is a massive aspect of her faith, and she has assisted many different committees and groups to help foster growth throughout Catholic education in Tasmania. She is always willing to share her expertise and wisdom with parents and staff and uses her wealth of experience in governance to ensure that funding and support is being used effectively. Her voluntary roles within Catholic education extend to being the first female Chair of the School Board at Corpus Christi Catholic School, the Deputy Chair of the Catholic Education Commission Tasmania (CECT), President of the Tasmanian Catholic Schools Parents Council, and a representative for Tasmanian parents on Catholic School Parents Australia.

Pep has been able to create change and improvement herself by sharing questions, concerns, and suggestions from parents directly to the Archbishop of Hobart and to the Executive Director of Catholic Education Tasmania. Leadership is a massive aspect of her role, and she has positively influenced many people who have been involved with the work she has done. She said, “I try to demonstrate leadership by doing things that you can actually achieve and then maintain a positive outlook and find solutions to problems that come up rather than say, okay that’s too hard.”

Congratulations on your Exemplary Contribution to Catholic Education Award, Pep!

The image below shows Dr Pep Turner receiving her award from CECT Commissioner Elaine Doran, Executive Director of Catholic Education Tasmania - Dr Gerard Gaskin, Dr Pep Turner and CECT Commissioner Michael McKenna.

Catholic School Parents Queensland

Recently Catholic School Parents Queensland (CSPQ) hosted the final of their successful parent engagement days across the state. This was held in the Diocese of Rockhampton.

Parents, carers, principals, teachers and Catholic Education Staff came together to hear from renowned psychologist, speaker and author Andrew Fuller.

 Participants spent a full day listening and sharing with Andrew as he provided fascinating and valuable insights around children & tricky behaviours, building blocks for children’s mental health and how to keep children motivated to learn and do well in school.

Participants also attended an important session with Chris Borrell from The Fathering Project.  Parents and school leadership were invited to consider introducing The Fathering Project into their school communities where they can learn more about how to better engage dads with their children’s learning.  Mr Borrell shared that the Fathering Project supports schools to set up Dad’s groups in the school and provides mentors and resources to support this work.

There was also discussion on parent engagement in the local school and also the Rockhampton Diocesan Parent Council.

Upon closure of the day participants were buzzing that they had a full day of rich information, conversation & connection.

Catholic School Parents Victoria

Catholic School Parents Victoria continue to connect with parents to support them to engage in their children’s learning and wellbeing.

Our three pillars are partnerships, advocacy and communication

Partnerships Update

SchoolTV, Lifesaving Victoria, Catholic diocese, Victorian Assessment and Curriculum Authority (VCAA), The Allannah and Madeleine Foundation and Daniel Morcombe Foundation are a few key partners we connect with to support parents to engage in learning and wellbeing. Through sharing information and providing resources, we are building the capacity of parents to be engaged and to actively participate in their children’s learning.

Some of the activities we’ve provided are:

- Webinar for Catholic school parents to inform and share information about the new Victorian Senior Secondary Certificate changes that will begin in 2023.

- Sharing resources from SchoolTV to enable and strengthen parent capacity to support the wellbeing of their children

- Sharing resources from Allannah and Madeleine and Daniel Morcombe Foundations strengthen parent capacity to guide and support the safety of their children

Advocacy Update

This November in the State of Victoria we will have an important election. CSPV are working alongside CECV to determine what each party is planning to offer and how it will impact Catholic education. CSPV are also working through priorities that may impact Catholic school families, particularly when it comes to ongoing funding and upgrades to our many older Catholic primary schools

In August, Chair Matthew Williams and Executive Officer Rachel Saliba met with the Chief of Staff Chief of Staff Office of the Hon Natalie Hutchins MP, Robert Larocca MP, and discussed the priorities for Catholic school families and the acknowledgement of them as a major part of education system in the state of Victoria, with almost half a million parents who are taxpayers in the State of Victoria.

We will continue to inform parents of the pledges from each party and how they may impact Catholic school families.

Communication Update

In July in line with our new marketing and communications plan, CSPV launched a new suite of communication material including a new online newsletter CSPV Parent Connect and CSPV Connect flyers for schools to include in newsletters as well as new social media posts to share, inform and inspire parents to stay on the journey with their children.

The response has been positive and we are endeavoring to continue to keep parents informed and provide opportunities for feedback and participation in webinars and other forums so parent voice is heard and acted on.

 Find out more through CSPV Connect for September – click on the links below.

Catholic School Parents Western Australia

As the end of a very busy Term 3 drew near, Catholic School Parents WA (CSPWA) embarked on its first ever Parent Pilgrimage on Sunday September 18.

We often hear about the importance of looking after ourselves first in order to better look after the others in our lives. Although all school terms are busy and have their challenges, Term 3 in WA is a busy one with Book Week, Science Week, the Performing Arts Festival, School Sports Carnivals in addition to all the ex-curricular activities our children and young people engage in. Many of these activities depend heavily on the involvement of parents - who doesn’t love Book Week and the creation of all those wonderful costumes!!!

Keeping this in mind, the idea of a pilgrimage was put forward as an opportunity to renew in a spiritual way. The experience of the ancient faith tradition of pilgrimage provides a wonderful way to recharge the batteries and have some time to encounter God, ourselves, others and nature.

The Camino Salvado is a pilgrimage which runs from Subiaco in West Perth to the monastery town of New Norcia, approximately 160 kms north east of Perth. New Norcia was founded in 1846 by Dom Rosendo Salvado, a pioneering monk from Santiago in Spain. The pilgrimage follows in the footsteps of Dom Salvado and provides an inspirational way to connect with country.

The pilgrimage organised by CSPWA walked the first section of the Camino Salvado from St Joseph’s Church, Subiaco at the head of the trail to Bardon Park in East Perth, a walk of approximately 10 kms. The pilgrims were blessed with a beautiful day and were guided ably by Ms Mandy Connor, Director of Teaching and Learning at Catholic Education Western Australia. Mandy is an avid Camino walker and her enthusiasm for this tradition had a positive effect on all who took part. On a relatively short walk through the lovely city of Perth, Mandy pointed out many of the connections to our Catholic faith, including the pro cathedral of St John the Evangelist on our way to St Mary’s Cathedral in Victoria Square.

As the group stopped and restarted at the various landmarks relevant to our faith, it was lovely to fall into step with someone different each time. Although all participants live in Perth, they encountered beautiful pathways and tracks they had not walked before. God’s wonderful creation was certainly in evidence as they walked along the Swan River on a beautiful spring day with pilgrims sometimes chatting and sometimes walking in silence.

Although the group was not a big one, they look forward to continuing the Camino Salvado next year, moving on to the next section of the track. CSPWA also look forward to encouraging more parents to join in this unique experience and taking the opportunity to meet some new people while celebrating God’s creation and reflecting on the journey of our lives.

Council of Catholic School Parents NSW

Below is a statement from the new Executive Director of the Council of Council School Parents NSW/ACT (CCSP) - Catherine Garrett-Jones.

I began my career as a teacher of science and biology in 1988 moving out of the classroom and into a role in Family Engagement in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Schools Office in 2012. During this time, I worked with the diocesan peak parent body and developed a new model for parent and carer engagement that has, as a focus, an emphasis on authentic parent and carer engagement in learning.

Our schools and their families have worked through unprecedented times in recent years that have only emphasised the importance of deep communication between our families and schools.

Plenty of research exists to highlight the importance of the partnership between families and their school and the critical impact this has on their child’s learning.

I have always considered the partnership a little like “jumping into a canoe together” with each of us paddling to reach our common destination - the same one we all share, best outcomes for our children. At times, parents and carers may find paddling difficult, but that’s ok, as a caring community, we have their back, offering compassionate and understanding support. At other times, teachers and schools may find the padding a bit challenging, that is when our families can do so much to help schools, build them up, affirm them and encourage them with their empathetic communication.

I am looking forward to continuing to strengthen the collaborative and forward-thinking Council, helping to shape an approach that is reflective of the needs of parents and carers across NSW and the ACT.

I am excited about the opportunity to build the capacity of our parents and carers to engage more deeply in their child’s learning. I am equally enthusiastic about supporting schools to develop and build their ability to engage with families to ensure meaningful connections that contribute to strong partnerships, enhancing learning for our children and young people.

Romans 12:4-5

“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually members one of another”.

2022 Roger O’Sullivan Memorial Award for Family, School and Community Partnerships for Learning.

CCSP would like to acknowledge, thank and congratulate the school communities for their effort and commitment to building partnerships between home and school to enhance the learning outcomes of students.

Congratulations St Joseph's Primary School, Coraki, First Place in the 2022 Roger O’Sullivan Memorial Award for Family, School and Community Partnerships for Learning.

The independent judging panel noted the first place submission is a result of advice obtained in a survey of the community and supports students' learning of local knowledge and understanding as well as environmental growth.

L-R Brendan Moloney, Len Moran, Catherine Garrett-Jones and Christine Morrison.

Christine Morrison, Deputy Chair, CCSP, Parent Assembly Cluster Coordinator, Diocese of Lismore and newly appointed CCSP Executive Director, Catherine Garrett-Jones, presented the award and prizemoney to the community of St Joseph’s Primary School, Coraki, in the Diocese of Lismore, on September 20.

Ms Jenny Allen, Acting Director of Catholic Schools, Diocese of Lismore, sent a special message for the community of St Joseph’s Primary School, Coraki, which was delivered by Janita Thomson, Lead, Family Partnership, Diocese of Lismore.

"School/Family/Community partnership and engagement is a key priority for our system of schools not only because of what the research tells us about its positive impact on young people but also because of the concept of communio in our Catholic tradition."

In the linked video below, that was part of the submission, Len Moran, member of the CCSP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Parent Sub-Committee, speaks about the project.

https://youtu.be/ehiNskcp9QM

School Captain Rasharnie Smith led the community in prayer

Pictured L-R   Brendan Moloney, Principal, Travis Schaefer, School Leader, Rachael Dawson, Teacher, Jo Kelly, Parent Assembly Cluster Coordinator, Rasharnie Smith, School Captain, Cath Garrett-Jones, Executive Director CCSP and Len Moran, Indigenous Education Worker. 

AWARD RECIPIENTS

2022 Roger O’Sullivan Memorial Award for Family, School and Community Partnerships for Learning.

2022 First Place

St Joseph’s Primary School, Coraki, Diocese of Lismore, for their School Improvement Plan Visual Appeal, Meeting of the Waters. 

2022 Second Place

St Mary’s Grafton, Diocese of Lismore for their Family Faith and Fun Night initiative.

Highly Commended Award

St Michael’s Primary School, Dunedoo, Diocese of Bathurst for their St Michael’s parent engagement in the faith formation of the child initiative. 

Finalists

Holy Family, Catholic Primary School, Lindfield, Diocese of Broken Bay for their Amazing me initiative.

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Mona Vale in the Diocese of Broken Bay for their Faith and Learning Walks initiative.

Loreto Kirribilli, Archdiocese of Sydney for their Mentoring and networking program.

Catholic School Parents Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn

Parent Representative Model under Review

Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn have been seeking the views of parents and carers on how parent representative groups can improve school governance through a review of School Boards and Community Councils.

A Working Group comprising of Principals, Parents, and representatives from Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn have developed a range of ideas in an Issues Paper which has been open for consultation for the past month.

Director of Catholic Education Canberra and Goulburn, Ross Fox, says parents and carers bring valuable knowledge, expertise, and enthusiasm to these forums.

“School governance is generating much discussion in Catholic school systems across Australia,” Mr Fox says. “This discussion stems in part from the changing expectations of parents, regulators, and governments about the role that parents, carers and members of school communities can and should play in the context of our schools, and the increasingly complex regulatory environment in which schools operate.

“So far, we have had a number of excellent responses offering thoughts, comments and perspectives on the issues paper and accompanying questions.”

The Council of Catholic School Parents Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn (CSPACG) look forward to supporting the implementation of the recommendations which will be presented to the Catholic Education Commission later in the year.

Parents and educators can learn more about parent engagement through resources already developed by CSPA and available on the Parent Engagement Toolkit website.  Currently, work is underway on additional parent engagement resources that will further highlight the home-school partnership and why it is important for student learning and wellbeing.  These workshop resources consisting of videos and facilitator guides will be available for teachers and parents from mid 2023.

Following are quotes from three interviews which feature in the videos.

	John Hattie: What happened during Covid, parents saw their kids learning, they saw sometimes that their kids struggled with learning and it was a negative thing, other parents saw their kids struggling with learning - and it was a fun thing.  In the same way they struggled to play Angry Birds or Fortnight, they loved it. They loved the game called learning. Their parents saw what their kids did when they didn't know what to do. They saw how they learnt alone and how they worked with others. And as some parents said to me, I didn't realize my child was so awful and naughty in that environment.
	Andrew Fuller: Anxiety really only becomes a problem when we don’t do anything with it.  So, anxiety is a feeling that all humans have and when it works well, we get kind of energised to do the things that we need to do.  When we don’t use it well is when we kind of collapse in a heap or flick through a whole lot of social media postings or really don’t use it as a call to action.
	Professor Donna Cross: Our research has shown that one of the most wonderful things to do with children when they are feeling anxious or want to talk about an issue is to go for a walk with them – children are much more likely to be open when they are shoulder to shoulder … so driving in the car, anywhere that you are shoulder to shoulder with a child, is a great way to have a conversation, and particularly a difficult conversation with them.

CSPA believes that when parents/carers and teachers work together children and young people have better outcomes both in wellbeing and learning.  If you are aware of a school where the family-school partnership is flourishing, and challenges such as the pandemic have largely served to strengthen this partnership, please let CSPA know by contacting john.obrien@cspa.catholic.edu.au  CSPA is keen to share and celebrate family-school partnership success stories from all over Australia.

CSPA acknowledges the support of the Australian Government for providing funding for this work.

The Australian Catholics Education Hub provides an array of resources to help Catholic schools engage students, teachers and families in religious education and faith formation – helping people deepen their relationship with God both at school and at home.

An AC+ subscription provides a school with access to the Education Hub for the entire school community (students, staff and families). This includes around 2000 articles (searchable by curriculum topic, age group, common theme and resource type) as well as classroom activities, prayer and liturgy resources, teachers calendar, blog, videos, directories, and access to exclusive webinars. An AC+ subscription also includes a flexible number of print copies.

Whilst aimed primarily at teachers, there are plenty of great articles and resources for parents and students alike. All content goes through a Diocesan censor and comes with the Imprimatur, so you know that whatever your family is looking at is in line with Catholic values. Articles are fun, accessible, contemporary and informative.

Parents from subscribing schools also get a login to the site to access articles. Check with your school if they have AC+ and explore the resources we have on offer at www.australiancatholics.com.au/educationhub

Media Release – 6 September 2022

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has published a guide on gender and identity to support Catholic schools in responding to the individual social and pastoral needs of students.

Created and Loved: A guide for Catholic schools on identity and gender outlines a pastoral approach shaped by the theological, medical and legislative context in which Catholic schools operate.

The bishops consulted widely with specialists in education, including principals and teachers, sought advice from parents with children facing various gender questions, heard from bioethicists and other experts in the field, and from the international Church community.

Increasing rates of gender incongruence in Australian society are seen as an invitation to reflect deeply on the biblical and Christian witness to human dignity. The guide offers principles that can be used by Catholic education authorities for their own local contexts.

“The Catholic Church and our schools begin from the foundational principle that each person is created in the image and likeness of God, and is loved by God,” said Archbishop Peter A Comensoli, chair of the Bishops Commission for Life, Family and Public Engagement.

“That principle guides this document, which we offer to our schools to support them in walking compassionately alongside each student we are invited to educate.”

Archbishop Comensoli said Created and Loved is grounded in Christian anthropology, which values the worth and dignity of every person, and also sees each person holistically, rather than defining that person by any single characteristic.

National Catholic Education Commission executive director Jacinta Collins said the guide will be the focus of a session with hundreds of Catholic educators during the National Catholic Education Conference underway in Melbourne.

“This will be the first of many opportunities for Catholic education authorities and schools in the formation of leaders and teachers to reflect on how they can respond to gender and identity with care and sensitivity,” she said.

Ms Collins said Catholic school communities already capably manage students’ needs in this area, but the guide will offer further advice that draws on theological, psychological, medical and legislative knowledge.

“Recent comments by eminent psychologist Professor Ian Hickie highlight the increasing number of medical professionals who are challenging the gender-affirmative approach and are supporting the biopsychosocial approach, which is less invasive, holistic and more closely aligned with a Catholic worldview,” she said.

“It remains critical that our Catholic schools can speak about the Church’s teachings on these matters in an informed way, underpinned by the principles of respect and human dignity.

“Catholic schools are uniquely pastoral communities, but it is vital that the Catholic vision of the whole person informs our understanding. Created and Loved outlines a sound basis for that approach.”

Archbishop Comensoli said Catholic school leaders are well placed to respond to pastoral needs in informed and sensible ways, free of politics and the division sometimes seen in the wider community.

The Catholic position is to support the needs of each individual based on their circumstances, respectful of the person and the wider school community of students and families.

“Catholic schools are beautiful communities of encounter with the risen Jesus, who loves us unconditionally and challenges us to grow in our wisdom and understanding,” Archbishop Comensoli said.

He said the guide will build on the engagement and formation that education authorities are undertaking as they develop practical local guidelines.

“It will be reviewed in time, and the guide will evolve,” Archbishop Comensoli said.

Created and Loved can be accessed at https://bit.ly/CreatedandLoved

In August 2022, McCrindle Research produced an interesting free infographic on 1981 to now – Forty years of change.  They used ABS data to look at changes across that period – such as the Australian population increasing from 14.5 million in 1981 to 25.4 million in 2021.

In 1981, 534,329 students were enrolled in Australian Catholic schools compared with 787,181 in 2021.  In 1981, 26% of the Australian population identified as Catholic.

(ABS data, NCEC, Catholic Education Commission (NSW) and McCrindle Research).

Did you know that a little under 40% of Australian Catholic schools are in a regional or remote area. Read more on NCEC’s 2022 snapshot of Australian Catholic education.

CSPA is thankful to our partners:

The National Catholic Education Commission

The National Catholic Education Commission at the national level complements and supports the work of the State and Territory Catholic Education Commissions.  Since inception, CSPA has been most grateful for the generous support provided annually from NCEC.

The Australian Catholic Superannuation and Retirement Fund

ACSRF started in 1981 as a profit-to-member fund that assisted members from the Catholic education, healthcare, aged care and welfare sectors with their retirement savings.  Since inception, CSPA has been most grateful for the generous, continuing support provided annually from ACSRF. 

CSPA wishes ACSRF every success with the planned Uni Super merger later this year.

Catholic Church Insurance

Catholic Church Insurance has a long, proud history of serving the Catholic community, having done so since 1911. In fact, CCI is one of the oldest insurance companies in Australia.  CSPA is thankful for the generous support of CCI and 2022 is the fifth year that CSPA and CCI have been in a sponsoring partnership.

For more information on CCI Personal Insurance, be it:

• Car Insurance;
• Caravan & Trailer Insurance;
• Home & Contents Insurance;
• Landlord Insurance; or
• Travel Insurance.

Visit - www.catholicinsurance.org.au