Anonymous #036

Submitter information

Name

Anonymous #036

Where are you located?

Queensland

What type of area do you live in?

Metropolitan

Are you an education professional?
(e.g. teacher, school leader, learning support assistant, teacher’s aide)

Yes

Which sector do you work in?

Secondary

What is your occupation?

Teacher

Elevating the profession

The actions proposed recognise the value teachers bring to students, communities and the economy.

Somewhat agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

4. Targets to increase the number of classroom teachers recognised as high achieving and highly accomplished.
o This needs to be done without the significant workload and expense of the current system.
o If this is how pay for teachers is being lifted back to that of an average professional salary then about 20% of teachers need to be at this level as per the Grattan Institute’s Debunking Dangerous Myths About Teachers’ Pay (https://grattan.edu.au/news/debunking-dangerous-myths-about-teachers-pay/)

Improving teacher supply

The actions proposed will be effective in increasing the number of students entering ITE, number of students completing ITE and the number of teachers staying in and/or returning to the profession.

Somewhat agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

There’s no point doing any of this if pay and conditions that will retain people in the profession aren’t being put in place in the immediate future. I suspect the pay and conditions required would be in the range of a 20% increase in pay to return teaching to an average professional salary and a 20% reduction in workload to allow teachers to reclaim their evenings and weekends.

Strengthening Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

The actions proposed will ensure initial teacher education supports teacher supply and quality.

Somewhat agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

I suspect a significant contributor to the low completion rate of education bachelor’s degrees is due to students being exposed to the pay and conditions of teaching on their placements and deciding they are not attractive. As such, please see my response to “Improving teacher supply” above.

Maximising the time to teach

The actions proposed will improve retention and free up teachers to focus on teaching and collaboration.

Somewhat agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Thank you for trying to reduce administrative red tape, but my experience of the Queensland Workload Advisory Council, which is no longer in existence, is that in its three years it made negligible impact on workload for most teachers. The streamlined reporting and assessment requirements that are noted in the draft document are only recommendations and many schools do substantially more than the recommendations. We need a significant difference as soon as possible and it needs to be enforceable, not just recommendations.

Drafting and marking, senior assessment especially, can have dramatic impacts on workload, especially for teachers with multiple senior classes. I have had years where my senior class was taking as much time to prepare for, draft and mark as my four junior classes combined. As such, it would be great to have a measure to allow overtime or time in lieu to be claimed when unavoidable overtime is worked to draft and mark.

Better understanding future teacher workforce needs

How effective are the proposed actions in better understanding future teacher workforce needs, including the number of teachers required?

Slightly effective

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

23. Develop and publish comprehensive data about why teachers leave the profession and what careers they move into and what would improve retention, as well as why other career leavers choose teaching.

This needs to be collected and addressed as the top priority. Without addressing why teachers are leaving the profession as quickly as possible, all the other actions are simply turning the tap on harder in a pointless attempt to fill a bucket with substantial leaks. I suspect some of the dominant reasons for teachers leaving the profession are:

1) The 16% decline in pay relative to other professions over the last 30 years (https://grattan.edu.au/news/debunking-dangerous-myths-about-teachers-pay/). This should be addressed by providing pay increases of 16% above average wage growth as soon as possible.

2) The ever increasing workload that frequently results in teachers working 50 plus hours per week. This should be addressed by reducing teaching time by 20% as soon as possible.

3) The frequency of disrespectful behaviour from students and parents. This could be addressed by providing appropriate consequences and support for students and parents who act in disrespectful ways so that the teacher is not exposed to this behaviour on an ongoing basis

Better career pathways to support and retain teachers in the profession

The proposed actions will improve career pathways, including through streamlining the process for Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT) accreditation, and providing better professional support for teachers to retain them in the profession.

Somewhat agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

25. Develop national guidelines to support early career teachers and new school leaders including mentoring and induction.
o Early career teachers need a significantly reduced teaching load, at least one subject less than other teachers, for the first year or more to allow them to develop their teaching without being overwhelmed by the workload.