The AISSA Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce was established in 2022 to assist all member schools to strengthen whole school policy, practice, and pedagogy to improve the wellbeing of the school community within their own unique context. In June 2023, the AISSA Wellbeing Toolkit is created to promote universal wellbeing and early intervention strategies through sharing evidence-based tools, resources, and research to help school staff improve student and educator wellbeing.

The Toolkit is an active collaboration between the AISSA Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce and Emeritus Professor Donna Cross, backed by the Australian Government through Choice and Affordability funding.

Overview of Principles and Action Plan (AISSA Wellbeing Toolkit 1.0 June 2023)

The decision is made to increase the AISSA’s social media presence in order to celebrate and share the high impact work of the AISSA, its member schools, and the Independent education sector.

A new dedicated LinkedIn page is created.

The Australian Government determines it will no longer fund Independent School Associations and the Catholic sector to support schools in meeting the requirements of the National School Reform Agreement (NSRA).

This decision leads to a reduction in staffing at the AISSA and highlights the strategic need to diversify its funding streams to ensure its ability to continue delivering exceptional member services.

To demonstrate the benefits of continued funding for reform priority work, the AISSA meets with key Senators and Members of Parliament and raises the issue with the State Government, which makes representations to its Federal counterparts, and assists individual schools in preparing letters and supporting documentation to engage with their local Members of Parliament.

The AISSA strongly argues that it is essential that all governments recognise that what supports quality education is equity of access and opportunity, regardless of jurisdiction or sector, and the need for governments to make a financial commitment to funding reform.

After an extensive search, Anne Dunstan is appointed to lead the AISSA commencing in January 2023, becoming only the fourth person to hold this role in its 48-year history.

Anne is most recently Principal of Guildford Grammar School in Perth and was Principal of Pulteney Grammar School prior to that role. Anne’s breadth of experience within the sector, includes her service on the AISSA Board, her awareness of the broader issues facing schools and their operations, and her depth of understanding of the key factors that contribute to excellent outcomes for all students.

Anne is particularly proud of the AISSA’s 100% membership, sharing “I’m proud of the way in which we are seen and perceived and valued as experts in our field and also as partners – that people trust us to walk alongside them, to support them in no matter what it is they are doing, whether it is a time of trial or a time of triumph.”

Interview with Anne Dunstan, current Chief Executive of AISSA

“Who knows what the next 50 years will look like. I’m confident though that there is a place for Independent schooling in South Australia and indeed in Australia… that the work that we do can only strengthen our sector going forward.”

Chief Executive Carolyn Grantskalns announces her intention to retire in late 2022 / early 2023, prompting a search for the AISSA’s next Chief Executive.

Carolyn takes pride in the work the AISSA has done in Reconciliation particularly. One of the highlights of her 10 years of service as Chief Executive is the team she has built, who are fully dedicated to serving member schools to the best of their abilities.

“On behalf of the AISSA Board, I would like to pay tribute to Carolyn for her outstanding service to Independent school education and to education more broadly. Carolyn has been an exceptional leader. She has driven programs supporting educational excellence, led the sector through the COVID-19 pandemic, overseen the introduction of new programs, fostered collaborative partnerships and, significantly, been a tireless advocate for the sector.”

– Brenton Howell, AISSA Board Chair (AISSA Chair’s Report 2022)

Carolyn Grantskalns’ final day announcement post on LinkedIn

Invitation for Carolyn’s farewell celebration in Ayers House

The AISSA Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce, in collaboration with Emeritus Professor Donna Cross, focuses on developing practical strategies for implementing whole-school wellbeing practices that emphasise building staff capacity and enhancing student outcomes.

The Taskforce recognises that schools play a powerful role, with the most important approach being the prevention, protection, and promotion of mental health and wellbeing, which are a daily responsibility of everyone. The Taskforce provides evidence-based resources to support staff capacity building and promote student and staff wellbeing through a whole-school approach.

The Iceberg Model of Prevention and Intervention (Runions and Cross, 2022)

The Australian Student Wellbeing Framework (Education Council, 2020)

Wider educational matters include the Review of the National Reform Agreement, the proposed Teacher Registration Board Code of Conduct, and the introduction of a national Unique Student Identifier.

Two key projects, guided by the AISSA’s strategy to promote sector growth and strengthen the education market, includes market research into the barriers that prevent parents from choosing an Independent school, and the development of a demographic tool to assist member schools in forward planning.

Support and advice on managing the COVID-19 pandemic in member schools dominate the work of the AISSA staff, who also continue to focus on areas such as school registration, copyright, compliance and accountability, child protection, behaviour management, enrolment, Commonwealth and State Government data collections and student attendance.

International students begin returning to member schools, but despite initial hopes for a return-to-normal school setting in the second year of the pandemic, schools in South Australia continue to operate under various restrictions to maintain face-to-face learning. Except for the government’s July directive to switch to remote learning during the state lockdown, schools manage to maintain onsite learning for most of the year.

The management of COVID-19 results in increased responsibility for individual schools, with the AISSA supporting the process for staff exemptions under SA Health’s close contact rules and providing Rapid Antigen Tests for staff in member schools.

The ‘COVID-19 Updates for School Leaders’ section on the AISSA website

In the 2020-21 Budget, the State Government announces the provision of funds for regional transport services for students attending rural non-government schools, following advocacy from the AISSA and CESA. The AISSA also manages the distribution of the funding on behalf of the State Government in the South Australian Independent school sector.

In 2020, the Australian Government introduces the Direct Measure of Income (DMI) Methodology to determine the capacity to contribute score for Commonwealth funding. Transition arrangements are put in place.  

The DMI assesses a school community’s financial capacity, using median income data from parents and guardians, sourced from income tax and Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data via the Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA). The DMI links parent and guardian information from the Student Residential Address Collection with PLIDA data, which combines details on health, education, taxation, and demographics from various government agencies. 

In late 2020, the State Government adopts the DMI Methodology to determine a school’s capacity to contribute for State funding.

A number of member schools are negatively affected by this decision, and the AISSA successfully negotiates with the Government for funds to support these schools with transition. 

Data collection and linkage process diagram (DMI Methodology, Department of Education, March 2020)