NSW school staffing crisis hits Forbes High School

Teachers Federation members at Forbes High School have walked off the job over the negative impact the state-wide teacher shortage is having on their school.

NSW Teachers Federation Deputy President Henry Rajendra said staff walked out in frustration at the shortage of casual teachers and the inability to recruit teachers for unfilled positions at the school.

“Our members at Forbes High are concerned about the salaries and working conditions of teachers which have made it difficult for the school to attract and retain staff,” Mr Rajendra said.

“Head Teacher positions and permanent teaching positions have been advertised for the past two years without result.”

“As a result, teachers are being forced to cover classes they are not qualified to teach just so each class is supervised.”

“It is unacceptable that already overworked teachers are taking additional classes in excess of their normal teaching load.”

“Teachers are a dedicated workforce and they have been reluctant to take sick leave, knowing there would not be a casual teacher to cover their classes.”

Mr Rajendra said the Gallop Inquiry into the work of teachers found earlier this year that uncompetitive salaries for teachers and unsustainable workloads are leading to teacher shortages.”

“The workload of teachers have increased every year, but their salaries have fallen every year compared to other professions.”

“You can’t fix the shortages without fixing the wages and workload problem.”

“If we don’t pay teachers what they are worth, we won’t get the teachers we need.”