Senior school leaders say solving the state’s teacher shortage requires more than short-term fixes and urge governments to improve support for early career teachers including addressing the workload pressures driving staff away.
In a wide-ranging discussion with Herald education editor Christopher Harris, Denise Lofts, president of the NSW Secondary Principals’ Council, said the focus must shift to retaining the teachers already in classrooms.
“I think we need to start thinking about how we actually look after our teachers who are here,” she said.
Lofts said the “grassroots” aspects of the job — managing behaviour, building relationships and navigating school systems — remain among the most challenging for new teachers.
Dwayne Hopwood, principal of Ashfield Boys High School, said the issue was “a bigger problem than pulling levers.”
He said school location, desirability and access to transport can influence teacher retention. The cost of living in Sydney, particularly closer to the city, has forced many teachers to commute long distances.
Lisa-Maree Browning, principal of Cerdon College, said staffing gaps are particularly acute in key subject areas including technology and science. Browning added that the growing complexity of teachers’ workloads is compounding the problem.
Dr Kate Hadwen, principal of Pymble Ladies’ College, said teacher registration requirements in NSW also contribute to workforce pressures, noting that the state’s accreditation process is more difficult than elsewhere in Australia.
“We bring staff from all over the world, and that’s very difficult in NSW because our registration process is more difficult than any other state in the country,” she said.
As a result, some teachers opt to work in Victoria or Western Australia, where registration is less onerous. “I think that’s a challenge we can address as a state, for sure,” she said.
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