A comprehensive survey of almost 20,000 NSW teachers shows the overwhelming majority lack sufficient time to meet the growing needs of today’s students.
The Teachers Federation will today commence a statewide awareness push, meeting with members, parents, and politicians across the State to present evidence from 18,613 teachers who say they are being stretched beyond capacity, and hear the concerns of local communities.
Key findings from the survey include:
- Only 15% of teachers have enough time for lesson planning
- Fewer than one in ten teachers have time to collaborate with colleagues
- Just 7% of teachers have adequate time for curriculum programming
“Fewer than one in twenty teachers say they have enough time to do the work required to meet the needs of today’s students,” Mr Rajendra said. “It’s not just teachers sounding the alarm. Parents know this is a serious problem and want it fixed so that their kids get a teacher who has had the time to plan for the needs of their students.
“This is about having the time to do the professional work that today’s students need – planning quality lessons, collaborating with colleagues, and addressing student wellbeing.”
The survey found more than 93% report not having enough time to address student wellbeing matters, 95% cite “emotional/physical fatigue” as the main consequence of insufficient time and more than 91% say they don’t have time to collaborate with colleagues.
Despite increasing classroom complexity, teacher preparation time has not changed for primary teachers since the 1980s and the 1950s for secondary teachers.
In 2021, the expert Gallop Inquiry recommended providing teachers an additional two hours of preparation time. Yet since then, the number of students with disability in NSW public schools has risen to more than 220,000 – a 75% increase. With 86% of students with disability learning in mainstream settings, classrooms have never been more complex.
“The NSW Government has made meaningful progress such as delivering historic pay increases driving teacher shortages to their lowest levels in more than a decade. We’ve shown we can work together. Now it’s time to finish the job and commit to the additional preparation time teachers desperately need.”