Hi all,

A quick update on the JPS uniform. As you know the Community Consultation that was scheduled for last week was postponed, however the school's P&C meeting went ahead as planned. A few of us attended and were given the opportunity to speak on the matter, including addressing the survey that was sent out to parents. 

The two Principals were in attendance, as was Keith Duran, Director Educational Leadership for Eden-Monaro.

Everyone got to have their say and the key points we put forward included the inadequte communication from the school on this matter, the history and connection of the school and community to the colour green, the financial and waste implications of a new uniform, the language used in the survey (leading questions and the "not fussed" option) and the lack of consultation with parents and the community to this point. We recommended to the school that they start again with a new survey that addressed the key points more adequately, including the question "do you want a new school uniform?"

There was considerable discussion round the table, however there was no clear outcome at the end of the meeting. 

I sent a follow up email to Steve McAlister the next day to which he replied: 

"Thank you for your feedback from the meeting and for your continued investment in getting this right. We have kept the current survey open - it will close at 4:00 pm today - as we believe there is still some significant data to glean from this, particularly in regard to people's concerns and questions around any proposed change. Once we have this information I believe we will be better equipped to determine what our best next steps are. We have engaged the Department's Communication and Engagement Directorate to assist us in making this determination. We will keep you and the parent and carer community advised of the process moving forward".

So that's where things stand as we head towards the end of the week. 

We have agreed to give the school some time to review the survey results and let us know what their next steps will be. We can determine our next move after that. 

In the meantime, if you would like to contact Steve to express your views on the matter, you can email him on: stephen.mcalister@det.nsw.edu.au.

Cheers,

Amy