Amid unmanageable workloads, staff shortages and burnout, a Teacher’s Union is calling for more to be done to prevent the continuing mass exodus across the education sector.
Teachers in the Logan area have spoken privately of the extra workload bestowed upon them due to high rates of illness and absenteeism.
A number of teachers have said they’re being asked to do extra duties – in and out of normal time.
A recent report by the Productivity Commission, which investigated the National School Reform Agreement, exposed the issues local schools are facing on a daily basis.
One of the statistics to come out of the report is that teachers are spending as little as 40% of their time in the classroom.
The other 60% is being spent on administrative duties.
A spokesperson from the Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) said this is one of the most challenging issues to overcome in education right now, greatly contributing to the current teacher shortage in Logan.
“One of the greatest challenges QTU members are grappling with on a daily basis is the combination of overwhelming workload and staff shortages,” the Spokesperson said.
“The pandemic has not caused this shortage but has certainly not helped, many teachers are doing more simply to keep classrooms open and education on track.
“In an effort to tackle workload, in the latest EB agreement the QTU secured a review of school resourcing with a mind to minimising tasks that are not directly inherent to classrooms, students and learning to help alleviate workload pressure.”
The Spokesperson went on to say that accrued non-contact time should be introduced to help overcome these growing issues across the sector.
“As teachers do not have access to overtime, the QTU believes it is essential that accrued non-contact time is delivered to prevent burnout and further losses of quality staff members to the profession.”
The Productivity Commission’s report released last Tuesday on Australia’s education outcomes noted that non-core workloads have increased significantly for teachers.
The report called for changing resource allocation between the types of staff, including employing more non-teaching staff, to allow teachers “to focus on core teaching functions to improve the quality of teaching and reduce teacher workload.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said it is committed to providing effective work practices that support wellbeing, work-life balance and a safe work environment.
“We are on track to meet the commitment for new teachers, and have already met the commitment for new teacher aides,” the spokesperson said.
“As of September 2022, we have employed the full-time equivalent (FTE) of 3, 489 new teachers and the full-time equivalent of 1,384 new teacher aides since the start of 2021.
“The Queensland Government’s $20 million Turn to Teaching program is providing 300 aspiring teachers with financial support, mentoring, and paid internship employment to complete their postgraduate teaching qualification and take up a guaranteed permanent teaching position.”
The Government made a commitment at the last election to employ more than 6,100 new teachers and 1,100 new teacher aides over four years commencing 2021.
