Anonymous #154

Submitter information

Name

Anonymous #154

Where are you located?

Western 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?

Secondary

What is your occupation?

School leader

Elevating the profession

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

Somewhat disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

The value of teachers and education in general is low in our society. There needs to be a distinction between what is the teacher's job and what is the role of the parent in the education process.

Our classrooms are not valued. In state run schools (DOE in WA specifically for my context) we are expected to spend thousands of dollars on establishing our classrooms. The fact that this is seen as 'okay' in the eyes of our employer and the community is disgusting. Value what we do by giving us the tools to do our job appropriately from the start.

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 disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

If you want to keep teachers in the profession you need to address workload, conditions and pay.

The menial admin tasks such as answering emails, attending meetings to meet our 5 hours per term with agendas which have clearly been filled just to ensure the meeting takes place, the endless surveys, the data entry etc. These are all jobs that could be passed on to a clerical staff member to complete.

Conditions - the violence and abuse we are subjected to. From parents, from students and from the school system. You want us to stay teaching? How about having clear boundaries for what is appropriate and not appropriate behaviour in schools. Again, resourcing and class sizes play a part in this as well.

Pay - Gives us a decent pay rise and pay us adequate allowances if we work in regional areas. In WA the last time our Country Teacher Program allowances were indexed to our wage rises was 2013. That means that the allowance has been frozen for nearly 10 years! It doesn't even cover the rent in towns like Karratha - even if it comes out before tax. It actually costs us more to work country than it does in the city!

Also, if you think rewarding teachers staying in the classroom is a priority, take a look at what is going on with administrators. We have less and less experienced staff going into these roles without inductions and without support. If you up wages for HALTS (or Lvl3 CT in WA) then you must also do the same for school administrators or risk exasperating another crisis.

Strengthening Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

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

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.

Somewhat agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

More time in class but also more time to focus on teaching our classes. If I had 16hrs of contact and 9hrs of DOTT per week (full time equivalent) I would be a far better teacher than I am with one hour for every four I am in front of a class.

Think about the formative feedback, the resources that could be made and the collaboration between staff who are not time poor.

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?

If every school carried 1-2FTE (so one or two full time teachers) to provide targeted support or relief at short notice I think that we would have less teachers burnt out.

As an administrator, I was expected to provide internal relief during COVID. My job requirements didn't stop and I had some teachers in my team who had not had time to do their own additional duties as they were undertaking internal relief up to 3 of their 5 allocated DOTT periods. This could have been avoided if we had these teachers on staff. In Term 3 our school employed our own and it made a world of difference.

Yes it is extra money. But we are not machines.

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.

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?