Anonymous #249

Submitter information

Name

Anonymous #249

Where are you located?

Victoria

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?

Primary

What is your occupation?

Teacher

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?

Creating awards for a select few teachers is not elevating the profession. Creating "lead teacher" roles is creating unnecessary competition among staff and adds to workload. Many of us would be happy to be in the classroom without these roles, provided we were treated with respect.

The idea of a "high performing teacher" is misleading, as it could look very different for different schools and locations. There is also a risk that staff who receive accolades and rewards will be "friends" of leadership. Looking at my own school, I know that many staff are overlooked because of prejudice and because some people take a dislike to them. I feel that I would never benefit from this myself, as in my own school I was not even given a "shout out" for mental health week (while every other staff member was).

If you really want to reward teachers and elevate the profession, we need politicians to be bound by standards that prevent them from disparaging the profession, and media standards to prevent disparaging articles blaming teachers for poor NAPLAN results etc.

To REALLY reward teachers, pay off our HECS debt for us in installment bonuses for the years of service or clear it completely.

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?

Students see the impact of teaching firsthand in schools. They know that we do a thankless job, and that the pay is low.

Students choosing teaching is a very minor issue, which will not be solved by the actions proposed -- there is ALWAYS a lot of students who do not complete their teaching degrees . We also need to keep the staff we have!

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?

Teacher education is not the issue.

Maximising the time to teach

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

Somewhat disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Teachers are working unpaid hours at home over the weekend and holidays because there is not enough time to complete the requirements during paid hours. While our fact to face time is reducing, we have been regularly losing out on our planning time when staff are absent, to be "owed" (often not being "repaid" for weeks if at all) meaning that the time to plan is lost for a week and that work is done during unpaid hours at home.

We need to ensure that teachers are getting their planning time and paying them for the extra hours of work being done!!!

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?

Not effective at all

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

There needs to be tracking of trends, but also impact study of opening so many new schools at once. We have a massive shortage in the western suburbs of Melbourne because there were at least 8 schools open this year and the same again opening for next year.

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 disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Streamlining teachers into lead teacher jobs will not keep them in the profession, it will simply increase workload and competition between colleagues. Accreditation will create more workload for teachers wishing to complete the course.