In 2018–19, we prioritised our staff by:

A responsive and capable workforce

We continued to enable the personal and professional growth of all employees through performance and leadership development frameworks across all levels of the organisation.

A range of leadership capability development programs and initiatives were delivered for AO2 to senior officer employees, including:

• Leading Where You Are (statewide)—194 participants
  
• People Matters—41 participants
• Delivery of Training Solutions open courses—1,542 participants
• Practical and Interview Skills for job applicants—48 participants
• Writing for Government—108 participants
• Senior Officer Leadership Development Initiative—51 participants.

We supported school business managers through:

• a OnePortal Business Manager Support Centre, providing just-in-time advice on key information required by business managers and school administration officers across an extensive range of functions
• 192 grants to undertake a Diploma of Leadership and Management or a Diploma of Business, delivered by TAFE Queensland. 

From 1 January to 30 June 2019, 78,827 staff (85.1 per cent) completed the Mandatory All Staff Training program, designed to improve the quality, consistency and effectiveness of compliance training for employees. For this period, the average satisfaction rating was 8.3 out of 10, and 97 per cent of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement I am confident I will be able to apply what I have learned in this program.

The department has:

• conducted workforce planning visits in 272 secondary, P–10 and P–12 schools across Queensland during the 2018–19 financial year to build capability and skills in workforce planning for principals and other school leaders and enable early vacancy identification
• delivered the Restart Teaching program to 122 returning teachers
• supported an additional 361 teacher mentors across Queensland to complete the Mentoring Beginning Teachers program to ensure our beginning teachers have access to a trained mentor
• supported our secondary school beginning teachers, with over 160 new teachers attending the Beginning Secondary Teacher Bootcamp in December 2018, which provided teachers with additional information about the new SATE system implemented in 2019
• prepared teachers for the rollout of the new curriculum, delivering a senior assessment and tertiary entrance online program through Central Queensland University, with 948 teachers enrolled at as 30 June
• delivered the Principal Induction SIMposiums to support 383 newly appointed, substantive principals with structured induction to their new roles
• delivered 233 cleaners health and safety training sessions between September 2018 and July 2019 to approximately 6,640 participants
• prepared for the rollout of the health and safety training package for schools officers, with 5 trial courses conducted
• delivered training for Industrial Technology and Design teachers through two-day, competency-based workshops, with 114 teachers from 6 regions completing training in the 2018–19 financial year
• delivered training regarding safe management of chemicals and managing chemical compliance, with 482 live webinar participants and more than 1,100 accessing the webinar session recordings to date
• enhanced the online Rehabilitation and Return to Work Coordinator course to support use of the new injury management module in the MyHR WHS system.

To improve attendance and provide beginning teachers with a contextualised regional induction, from 2019 a region based approach has been implemented. Under this model, regional induction conferences were conducted in Semester 1, 2019, with ongoing contextualised professional development occurring throughout the year.

The department is supporting aspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders through participation in the Aspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leaders program, with 41 places offered.

The department is offering experienced teachers proficient in a second, approved language the opportunity to attend a 20-week online training course to add a language specialisation to their teaching profile, with 49 teachers enrolled in the last year.

The Take the Lead program is a comprehensive leadership program for up to 25 aspiring leaders per program, which develops the skills and capabilities expected of high-performing leaders at rural and remote schools within Queensland. A total of 98 aspiring leaders participated in the 5 programs conducted to June 2019.

Other achievements include:

• 2019 Graduate Program supporting 20 graduates as they transition into the workforce
• 77 school officers attaining their Certificate III in Government through the Recognition of Prior Learning process
• the personal and professional development of all employees supported through the pre-qualified panel of professional development providers, with 27 providers under contract at end of the 2018–19 financial year
• OneSchool Foundation training (myAcademy) providing 1024 beginning teachers and 280 pre-service teachers with the confidence to transition from theory to reality of managing teaching, learning and administrative processes in schools.
  

Domestic and family violence awareness and prevention

The department was responsible for leading 4 actions within the Queensland Government's Second Action Plan of the Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Prevention Strategy 2016–17 to 2018–19. These actions included continuing to promote the implementation of respectful relationship's education through curriculum materials, pastoral care opportunities, and through the department's Respectful relationship's education program and other evidence-informed programs.

The department continued to deliver training and awareness raising campaigns to increase staff knowledge and capability to more effectively respond to DFV in the workplace.

Staff awareness of policies to support employees affected by DFV increased to 84%—up from 82% in 2018.

Managers' confidence that they can sensitively communicate with employees affected by DFV increased to 87%—compared to 85% in 2018.

The department's key focus areas for preventing and responding to DFV include:

• reviewing the department's Supporting staff affected by DFV policy and provisions and developing additional resources to support affected staff
• establishing a statewide DFV Liaison Officer network to deliver training and provide advice on staff and student DFV related issues
• finalising the evaluation of the Our Watch Respectful Relationships Education pilot.

Refining our wellbeing framework

In 2018–19, we continued to embed and refine our staff wellbeing framework. The framework provides a systemic approach, using evidence-based processes and tools, to increase the effectiveness of individual wellbeing initiatives and maximise the sustainability of staff wellbeing programs within our schools and workplaces.

The framework provides a model for wellbeing that includes five interdependent wellbeing dimensions supporting a holistic approach. The 5 dimensions are: physical, psychological, financial, occupational, and social and community engagement.

Implementation of the framework across the department is underpinned by 2 goals:

• empowering staff to adopt individual behaviour change resulting in increased health and wellbeing
• creating work environments that support health and wellbeing.

Staff awareness of policies to support employees affected by domestic and family violence:

• 2019 – 84.0%
• 2018 – 82%

Managers' confidence in sensitively communicating with employees affected by domestic and family violence:

• 2019 – 87.0%
• 2018 – 85%

In 2018–2019, the department continued progress towards these goals through the following initiatives:

• enhancing the Staff Wellbeing Learning and Resources Portal, with an additional 4 Positive Psychology modules and on-demand videos to support the psychological, occupational and physical wellbeing of staff
• continuing our partnership with Queensland Health to connect departmental staff with the My Health for Life program
• expanding the Wellbeing Champions initiative (the department has 15 champions across the state) to showcase staff excellence in positively influencing wellbeing across our schools and workplaces and help drive cultural change
• delivering 28 training sessions on managing personal wellbeing and supporting staff wellbeing in schools to business managers at the School Business Managers Association Queensland statewide roadshows
• monthly Empowering Hours professional development sessions, covering various psychological, physical and occupational wellbeing topics, and accessible to departmental staff across the state via live streaming
• developing new initiatives to improve health and wellbeing for principals and deputy principals through access to additional coaching and support, and training to assist with stress management
• providing psychological support for staff through the Employee Assistance Program, including free confidential counselling for staff and their immediate family members, manager hotline and critical incident support for potentially traumatic events.

New wellbeing initiatives for school-based staff

To support the retention of teaching staff, particularly beginning and early career teachers, a dedicated wellbeing program of works has commenced. Initiatives as part of this program include:

• piloting a staff wellbeing program specifically designed for education workforces
• developing and piloting the Pause program at Malanda State School and Mareeba State School (including a resource kit for schools to use)—providing teachers with information and skills to support students to adopt prosocial behaviours and develop emotional self-regulation skills
• developing a new Mental Health Strategy to broaden and strengthen our approach to mental health including prevention, early intervention and rehabilitation, with consultation on the draft strategy to occur in the second half of 2019
  
• providing additional resources to help schools implement staff wellbeing initiatives through the onboarding of a regional wellbeing coordinator within each region.