Anonymous #402

Submitter information

Name

Anonymous #402

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?

Primary

What is your occupation?

Teacher

Elevating the profession

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

Neither agree nor disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Forget the public, the status of teaching is not why we go into teaching or why we leave.
Targetting aspiring teachers could help if you use 'real teachers' to actively promote the merits of the profession.
Nice to have the Ministers etc but not who target audience will be swayed by in my opinion

Creation of Australian Teacher of the Year - use what the states and territiories are already doing and combine it to lead to this

Medals of the Order of Australia - this is a great honour for an individual but is not going to have much influence on attracting people to teaching. Can you remember last years?

The HALT system is flawed. Whats the point of increasing them when schools in S.A. have very limited positions. Huge workload to apply for little benefit if schools are not creating positions or able to convert successful candidates within their own school.
Idea of new HALT specialisations has merit, especially if they can work alongside new graduates.

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?

More places are obviously needed but overlap with other scholarships needs to be looked at.
Do bursaries attract the best and brightest? What evidence is there of this? Do we need the brightest or rather the 'best fit' to what teaching requires
Schools most in need are disadvantaged and rural. You might offer money but that does not lead them to stay long term.
Country loading for teachers in regional areas is fair but what about staff in disadvantaged city schools who work with a whole range of complexities other teachers rarely face.
Pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People is a great initiative but needs to be strongly supported given the demands placed on these teachers.

Guaranteed permanent teaching positions would be among the most successful strategies in attracting but not necessarily retaining.

Attract migrants by having a permanent job for them to come to in areas that need them most.

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?

The score to get in to teaching is so low in some cases that a number fail the basic literacy and numeracy test. So good to see an action whereby all teaching students will undergo initial assessment in their first year and crucially be given targeted support if they need it.

Initial teacher training - the programme needs to align with current school practices in a practical sense.
Too often graduates come out with not enough knowledge of how to deal with complex students - and compounding this is that they are often placed in disadvantaged schools.
Often students who have worked as Student support officers or in Out of Hours care have more understanding of the realities of a school day.
First Nations teachers' strategy is crucial if things are to improve for First Nation student

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?

Work with Unions collaboratively as well as they have much to offer in this area in terms of the reality of what is happening in schools.
One of the most useful strategies has been where teachers are released to team plan, trial and refine the new curriculum units. In areas where the units are being followed they will be a great asset to beginning teachers as they are well supported in terms of links, suggestions, sequence etc.

Why are teachers expected to teach things that use to be parent responsibility? Lets go narrow and deeper as there is too much in the curriculum - you cannot fit it into the time available.

The diconnect from digital technologies is a great idea but should also be extended to leadership in schools, as thats the next looming problem. Some schools in rural and disadvantaged areas are already finding it hard to attract leaders to their schools.

One of the biggest challenges to maximising the time to teach is the increasing complexity of needs with a class. After 42 years of teaching I believe one of the best actions would be to provide all teachers in disadvantaged schools with para professional trained Student Support Officers - one in each class for the whole day whose training enables them to best support side by side trauma impacted children etc... Teachers can't easily continue class learning when they are dealing with the impacts of trauma on their own. Many choose to leave the profession as they are burnt out with being hypervigilant. Now that it has become harder to move schools in South Australia they are also locked in without the option of transferring to a less complex school.
Over and over we hear that the least trained teachers are given employment in schools with the most complex 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?

Moderately effective

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Develop and publish comprehensive data about why teachers leave the profession and what would improve retention...

Why don't we have this already then we probably wouldn't need to find ways to attract people to the profession...

More money is not the answer. Most teachers don't go in to the profession to earn a large salary but they do want respect and to be able to do their job in a 'safe' and supportive environment without giving up so much of their time.

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?

Good teachers want to stay in the classroom generally. The HA and Lead teacher accreditation is solid but you should be able to apply and the stay in your school at that level. I applied for the old Advanced Skills Teacher Level 2 and did not need to move to a 'position' in a school to be at that level.

I hope the data for the Queensland Centres for Learning and Well being is working as the key functions are all crucial to the ongoing success of a school in providing the best we can for our students