Anonymous #070

Submitter information

Name

Anonymous #070

Where are you located?

South Australia

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?

B-12

What is your occupation?

B-12 Senior Leader - Curriculum, Pedagogy and Data

Elevating the profession

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

Strongly agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Teacher development, excellence and rigour is essential in all aspects of the profession regardless of site based role - academic progress will not just happen and we cannot afford to go back and 'fill in any gaps' left along the way by ineffective staff efforts and poor support availability.

Hard working teachers who enact professional learning, best practice, seek consistent professional improvement are essential. Repeatedly engaging staff with low expectations, low level accountability and unwillingness to improve practice has and will continue to be detrimental to the future.

I firmly believe pre service teachers should NOT be placed with non proficient mentor teachers AT ALL as is the case in some instances. An early career teacher can be involved but not in a lead mentor capacity. I believe some universities request this although it is not always possible. In SA high level teachers (referred to as step 9) are required to mentor staff and in some instances refuse to do so.

Teachers also require deep knowledge and practice around general student management specifically extreme behavioural and mental health related cohort needs.

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.

Strongly agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Comprehensive support is critical in all areas especially in relation to social media etc. Employment processes, whilst fair are often looking for the best staff and sometimes when that 'pool' is diminished will look to employ or re employ the same ineffective teachers with little to no change in action - repetitive poor outcomes.

Some sites do incredible jobs in upskilling their staff and others simply leave them to do what they can.

Strengthening Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

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

Strongly agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Maximising the time to teach

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

Strongly agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

For this to be effective all the busy ness of schools needs to be micro managed in terms of monitoring attendance, wellbeing, curriculum support etc.

Big sites need entry level leaders with explicit foci on the focal area such as intervention to fee up teachers and improve outcomes for specific students.

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?

Extremely effective

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

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.

Strongly agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

I came into leadership very late due to poor placement in country locations, small schools and in areas where simply everyone did something not just leaders so my skills developed quickly.

I believe myself to be a LEAD teacher regardless of a process - I can lead and should be converted as such if my line manager felt I meet the criteria.