Positive developments in staffing policy

by Angelo Gavrielatos and Gary Zadkovich

Federation has campaigned long and hard for the government to accept responsibility for ensuring that all schools have access to an adequate supply of suitably qualified casual, temporary and permanent teachers and is getting results.

Building on the positive initiatives of the current staffing agreement (2002-2005), Minister John Watkins recently announced additional policy to improve the system's capacity to recruit teachers.

Casual Teachers Plan

Under the Casual Teachers Plan, the computerised call centre will be expanded from the current six districts to 11 by week 7, term 1, and eventually state-wide by the end of term 3 this year. This will provide much-needed and long-overdue support to all schools in their endeavour to find casual teachers. No longer will schools have to make endless calls to find a casual teacher. Schools will only need to make one telephone, fax or e-mail request for a teacher.

To complement this expansion, the Department will also introduce forms of district relief in the Campbelltown, Minto and Green Valley areas of south-western Sydney and Moree. Specialist district relief for special education teachers will be introduced for the Penrith and Parramatta Districts and English as Second Language teachers in the Fairfield District. Furthermore, there will be a trial of in-built relief in 10 high schools, whereby teachers will be timetabled on a reduced teaching load so they are able to cover absent colleagues.

Schools in need of assistance beyond the above measures will still be able to request the above-establishment appointment of temporary or permanent mobile teachers to provide in-built relief to address the casual teacher shortage.

A Plan for Rural Teachers

• an increase in the rental subsidy from 20 per cent to 90 per cent in the 33 most isolated schools (eight point schools) and an increase from 20 per cent to 70 percent rental subsidy for teachers in the 80 six point schools

  the retention benefit of $5000 per annum for teachers who stay beyond the minimum period of service in the most difficult to staff schools will be expanded to include all 8 point schools, extending it to 40 schools

• enhanced Family and Community Service leave provisions will be negotiated for teachers working in isolated rural districts.

Further recruitment strategies

• teacher scholarships will be increased from 150 each year to 200 from 2004 (30 scholarships will be targeted for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers)
• Teach.NSW, the Department of Education and Training's promotional and recruitment campaign, will be enhanced, with a focus on targeted advertising to Higher School Certificate students and interstate and overseas recruitment
• overseas trained teachers will be given enhanced, mandatory orientation and professional support to optimise successful transition to employment in NSW public school classrooms
• in conjunction with NSW universities, a new program of orientation will be developed to attract more graduates into the public education system
• the extension of priority transfers will be explored for teachers in all Schools for Specific Purposes and special classes as a recruitment incentive into special education.

Inquiry into the Provision of Public Education chair Professor Tony Vinson has acknowledged that the most crucial ingredient in the whole educational mix is a well-paid, highly-valued, professionally-supported teacher in every public school classroom.

In the midst of a worldwide teacher shortage, the government clearly has further work to do.

Issues of supply and retention will only be comprehensively addressed by raising the salary and status of teachers.

Angelo Gavrielatos is Senior Vice President and Gary Zadkovich is an Organiser.

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Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005