Anonymous #081

Submitter information

Name

Anonymous #081

Where are you located?

Western Australia

What type of area do you live in?

Regional or rural

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?

My school has recently appeared in the media for an issue that we have raised with our Union. However, the media coverage was warped and caused our school to look terrible, and invalidated the work that teachers have done to combat the issue raised. I have my concerns that relying on the media will do little to improve the public perception of teachers, as positive press will be tossed aside for sensationalist reporting.

As far as pathways to recognise highly accomplished teachers stand, in my experience these titles have done little but caused further unpaid work for teachers who have already been working above and beyond their requirements in order to reach these levels of accomplishment. I was granted Senior Teacher status in 2019 after completing my Certificate IV Training and Assessment. Instead of being allowed to negotiate my responsibilities in this role with my principal, I was made to accept roles that they had designed that had very little to do with my interests, strengths or aspirations and were instead roles that had previously been undertaken by support staff or deputies, such as organising and setting up for assemblies. Any suggestions I made for my role were written off as “every teacher does that” or “that’s just your job”. Neither of these statements were accurate.

In order for teachers to want to reach these higher levels of accreditation, the expectations on teachers need to be made clear not only to the teachers applying, but to school leaders. These roles should recognise the experience of teachers and reflect the direction of their career rather than be an excuse to land more unpaid work on them.

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.

Neither agree nor disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

I am concerned that the reasons that teachers leave the profession are not being adequately addressed. Around the country, teachers are negotiating for significant pay rises and being ignored. Meanwhile living costs are rapidly increasing and our salaries are not keeping up with this. The private sector seems more and more attractive when our pay has been stagnant for years.

My strongest consideration around leaving the profession, however, has occurred over the last few years when suffering bullying and harassment from my previous principal. This principal has received numerous grievances and complaints against her, has been reprimanded by regional office, and is currently being investigated by the Department of Education, however nothing has changed in her actions. [REDACTED INFORMATION]

Seeing this behaviour not addressed, and hearing that similar behaviour had gone unaddressed in her previous schools, has made me lose my faith in the Department of Education and the teaching profession. Prior to this experience, I was certain that I would be teaching for the rest of my life. Now, I frequently look for positions outside of education.

Strengthening Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

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

Somewhat disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

I am concerned about the focus on paid internships. Whilst I agree that there should be some payment for ITE students undergoing school experiences, I have had several negative experiences with teachers undertaking programs such as Teach for Australia.

The majority of teachers thrown into this program find it incredibly difficult. They do not have the appropriate mentoring and oversight on their practice, instead are thrown into the classroom after a short initial course and expected to match experienced teachers. They need more information and more supervised time in the classroom to ensure that they are informed about what they are expected to do, and that they will be able to cope with the demands of the classroom.

Furthermore, these programs are insulting to the profession of teaching. The idea that anyone can be thrown into unsupervised classroom teaching after six weeks of lectures is incredibly demeaning to the profession.

Maximising the time to teach

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

Neither agree nor disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

We need more education assistants, support staff, and non-teaching roles that provide pastoral care. We also need more trust that we are professionals who know what we are doing and don't need our methods constantly scrutinised and questioned.

Every school needs to be provided with a budget to be spent on adequate, up to date technology for every student and teacher.

The technology we use to constantly feed back to parents, such as Connect in WA, has only increased our workload. Parents have access to up to date student work and results, yet we are still expected to constantly contact home and send letters and write reports regarding student progress. These tools should be used to streamline the reporting process, not add to it.

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?

Moderately effective

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Please consult more working teachers about why they are leaving the profession. I appreciate this work is being done, but I have just spent over half an hour of my time before school filling in this submission in an attempt to get my voice heard. It should not be this difficult or onerous for me.

Ministers and staff from the Department of Education need to take the time to get out to schools and talk to teachers about their day to day concerns. One of them is that we already feel undervalued. This process has not alleviated this feeling.

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.

Neither agree nor disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

I have already given feedback around my concerns about the burden placed on more experienced teachers seeking higher accreditation.

Teachers are also finding it incredibly difficult to find permanent positions. In WA, teachers are no longer permanent to the Department, they are permanent to their school. This, combined with a high amount of nepotism in staffing processes, ensure that teachers find it incredibly difficult to find permanent positions.

Independent Public Schools in WA has been a failed experiment that has caused public education to suffer, and should be reviewed and dismantled.