The real victims of the NSW Department of Education’s illogical decision to cut 485 non-school based teaching positions during the worst teacher shortage in living memory will be students.
These cuts extend well beyond numbers on a spreadsheet. They penetrate deep into the quality of learning we can deliver to kids.
Take the decision to cut the well regarded Best in Class scheme, which currently involves over 80 practising expert teachers. This includes the HSC Strategy program, which shares the most effective teaching methods and spreads excellence, lifting HSC results for students across all socio economic demographics and locations. That program will be killed off along with similar ones delivering high-quality, practical and relevant professional development.
The proposed cuts also dismantle professional learning programs specifically designed to support classroom teachers in critical areas such as literacy, numeracy, and Aboriginal education. In 2023 alone, these programs were attended by over 33,000 teachers across NSW, with more than 10,000 participating in the first term of this year. The loss of these programs will be particularly felt in rural, regional, and remote areas, as well as in poorer communities where teachers heavily rely on this support.
Even the School Magazine, a respected publication that teachers depend on to stay in touch with the latest developments in curriculum will not be spared. For the first time in its 109 year history, a qualified, experienced teacher will no longer produce this, compromising its quality and relevance to classrooms.
The Department’s justification of “operational efficiencies” ignores long-term consequences. By preventing teachers from collaborating and sharing examples of best practice they are also denying teachers the capacity to strive for the highest level of excellence and share wisdom. The cuts will also shunt additional responsibilities onto already overburdened classroom teachers.
First published in the Sunday Telegraph 15/09/24