Guidelines - Network of Community Activities

OOSH Educators Scholarship
For Network Conference 2015
Guidelines
You should read these Guidelines very carefully BEFORE completing the Application
Form.
You are required to provide the original of your Application Form. You must collate
the Application Form before you post it to Network. Do not bind your application in
any way or put it in plastic sleeves or folders, a staple in the top left hand corner is
sufficient.
REMEMBER – the information you provide on the Application Form is the only
information that will be considered in the selection process. If the Application Form is
not complete you will not be contacted to provide further information.
CLOSING DATE
Thursday 2 April 2015
For hardcopy applications, please mail the original copy of your completed
application.
Send to:
Chief Executive Officer
Network of Community Activities
456A Harris St, Ultimo NSW 2007
LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED
For any enquiries please contact Network
Email: [email protected]
Tel:
9212-3244
Fax:
9281-9645
Background Information
The Network OOSH Professional Scholarships Scheme assists OOSH Educators by
providing financial assistance to support the maintenance and upgrading of skills and
knowledge relevant to the needs of their local community through attendance at the
Biannual Conference 22-24 May 2015 at Manly.
Who can apply?
The Network OOSH Educators Scholarship Scheme is open to those who meet all
the following criteria:
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Currently employed in an OOSH service
Work in a service that is a financial member of Network of Community
Activities
Reside and deliver OOSH services in NSW or ACT.
Funding Guidelines
Scholarships will be awarded as a contribution toward the cost of accessing:
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Transport and accommodation (rural and remote services only)
Conference registration
Staff replacement
Scholarships are to fund recipients for professional development activities. You are
responsible for obtaining all necessary information and making all necessary
arrangements for attendance at the conference.
When calculating travel and/or car expenses, you are requested to be clear in
provision of information. In order to assess your application, the Selection
Committee requires details such as:
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If travelling by car – make and model of car, capacity (size) and type (rotary
or non rotary) of engine, number of kilometres to be travelled.
Total cost (return ticket price) of plane/ bus/ train trip.
Selection Process
Once the application period closes, the Selection process is completed in
approximately 3 weeks. The assessment committee consists of the Chief Executive
Officer of Network, Board of Management representatives and two independent
representatives.
All eligible applications are forwarded to the Assessment Committee who then read
each application
Awarding of Scholarships
The Advisory Committee will consider all applications on a case-by-case basis in
accordance with these guidelines. Consideration and allocation is done according to
the Order of Merit. Allocation continues until all the funds available for distribution
have been utilised, including a reserve list in case of applicants declining an offer of
scholarship.
The decision of the Advisory Committee is final.
If your application is successful and you are offered a scholarship you will receive a
scholarship offer package by mail (or by email). You will be required to comply with
the Terms and Obligations of the Scholarship and sign an acceptance form indicating
that you agree to them.
If you accept the offer of a scholarship, funding will not be paid until the Network has
received the signed acceptance of offer form, the completed bank details form and
official documentary evidence of confirmation of enrolment in the conference.
If you are unsuccessful in your scholarship application, you will receive a letter
notifying you that you have not been successful, however you will still be eligible for
early bird registration conference rates. The scholarship administrators are unable to
give detailed information to unsuccessful applicants regarding their application.
Completing the Application Form
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The original application form must be completed with blue or black ink so that
it is easy to read.
Do not bind your application(s) or place in folders or plastic sleeves; a staple
in the top left hand corner is sufficient.
Section A – Personal and Contact Details
Question 1.
Asks you to provide details of your name, date of birth and gender.
Question 2.
This question asks whether you are from an Aboriginal, Torres Strait Island, or
culturally or linguistically diverse background
Question 3.
This question asks you to provide home address details.
Question 4.
This question asks for your mailing address and other contact details. Please make
sure the details you provide remain current. In particular, it is important that your
Official Mailing Address is correct. If there is a need to speak to you, this will be
during standard business hours (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday Australian Eastern
Time).
Question 5.
When reporting on the outcomes of the scholarship program, a breakdown by
Federal Electorate of Scholarship allocations. Your response to this question will
enable this data to be easily collected and reported, and your local member advised
for publicity purposes.
Section B – Professional Qualifications
Question 6.
This seeks information on your professional qualification. You do not need to be a
qualified to be eligible to apply for this scholarship.
Question 7
This question seeks information on whether you are a member of any professional or
community association. The answer to this question is not used in determining
eligibility for the scholarship program, but gives the selection committee an indication
of your involvement in your profession and in your community.
Section C – Employment
Question 8
This question asks you to provide work address contact details. Please supply
information regarding your employment and a contact to confirm this.
Question 9.
The application requires you to provide information about your employment history
for the past five (5) years. Complete the relevant section/s in the spaces provided on
the Application Form. DO NOT attach a Resume or Curriculum Vitae.
Section D – Other Financial Support
Question 10
You must indicate if you have sought and are in receipt of any other form of financial
support to undertake the proposed activity – for example, support from your
employer, local community scholarships. It is not meant to replace other programs.
This question enables data on other funding to be collected.
Section E – Professional Development History
Question 11.
You are asked to provide your professional development history for the previous five
(5) years. Provide details in the spaces provided on the Application form of any
activities undertaken, including short courses, conferences and postgraduate study,
in the past 5 years.
Selection Criteria
The information you provide in this section will be the primary determinant of the
success of your application, not the manner or style with which you write.
This section is used to assess the merit of our application. Each of the following
selection criteria is scored out of 100 points and the results then averaged to give
you a final total out of 100. This total then determines the order of merit for
scholarship allocation.
Here you are able to provide reflective statements about your practice, your
community and your commitment to OOSH. The Application Form poses four
questions for you to be able to demonstrate your commitment to your community and
your commitment to your professional development and practice.
Please note – Questions are to be answered in dot point format.
Format for response is:
§ Dot points only
§ Font – Times New Roman, 12 point
Or clearly hand written
Section Criteria 1; demonstrate the extent to which scholarship assistance
would remove the barriers to professional development in your rural/ remote
location.
Question 1 – What barriers have you identified that have impacted on your
ability to access training?
A significant way of improving professional development and service delivery is to
remove the barriers individuals face when trying to access professional development
opportunities. Therefore Question 1 asks you to identify any barriers that have
impacted on your ability to access professional development. These include factors
relating to distance/ remoteness, travel costs, family responsibilities, professional
practice issues and cost of courses and resources.
Question 2 – Outline priority need/s of your community and how the proposed
program and the skills you acquire from undertaking it will be used
This question focuses on how the scholarship will be of benefit to the community in
which you practice. In answering this question you should demonstrate
understanding of the needs of your local rural or remote community and how
attendance will enhance your skills to be able to address these needs.
Question 3 – Why do you consider professional development as an important
part of your career?
Question 3 focuses on your understanding of the need to undertake ongoing
professional development. The assessors read your professional development
history in order to show that you have demonstrated a commitment to ongoing
continuing education. However, the professional development history does not
contribute towards any score for this criterion as it would prove discriminatory against
those who are new or more recent employees in the OOSH Sector or those whose
access to professional development has been limited due to the barriers this
scholarship program is aiming to overcome.
Question 4 - How do ensure you maintain a high professional standard in your
profession?
This question asks you to identify codes and ethics under which you operate in your
professional practice that the funds are allocated to OOSH Educators operating
under recognised codes of practice and ethics. You are asked to provide a brief
statement regarding your own view of the standards by which you operate.
Section H – Declaration
By signing the declaration, you are saying that the information you have provided is,
to the best of your knowledge, true and correct.