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Western Teacher

October 2022

From the President 

Regaining a voice for public education

Teachers know best on what is happening in schools right now. Consider this quote, which comes from one of over 400 school leaders and union reps who completed our survey Managing Teacher Relief in WA Public Schools: “Teacher burnout is very real, resulting from the continuous system-wide demands that assume we are working under normal conditions.'' With rolling waves of staff members having to isolate the reality of the situation is that we are exhausted just managing to keep the core teaching and learning operating. Add to that NAPLAN, the running of events, reporting to parents, performance management, SEN reporting, NCCR reporting etc. and you have a perfect storm for mental and emotional burn-out.

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National education and union news

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TAFE funding win
The Australian Education Union has warmly welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement of 180,000 fee free TAFE places, made during his Jobs and Skills Summit opening address last month.
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Investing in women could generate billions annually
An estimated $111 billion can be generated every year by cutting gender inequality at work by half, according to a new report from the ACTU.

From the Senior Vice President 

TAFE sector must be supported post-election From the Senior Vice President
New data from the Australian Education Union has highlighted the Morrison Government’s failure to take responsibility for TAFE.

Features

Fully fund public schools to increase productivity
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says that increasing productivity is a priority for the Labor Government. A key component of increasing productivity is improving workforce knowledge and skills.
Protecting democracy through education
The immediacy of today’s vivid news cycle as Russia invades Ukraine has not spared our children. In our youth, caring adults often buffered us from disturbing topics like war, nuclear threats and human cruelty.
How can Australia support more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers?
A major federal government review into how we train our teachers was released earlier this year.
Fresh perspectives and new developments
With the registration of the Schools General Agreement (GA) 2021, I thought this an opportune moment to look at the changes that will benefit women, particularly the new clause in part eight of the GA 2021, personal leave clause 33.
A how-to guide to senior teacher status
Senior teacher status was developed after it was recognised there was a need to retain competent and experienced teachers in duties directly associated with classroom teaching and learning, and to reward the excellent work and professionalism of experienced classroom teachers who do not wish to move into an administrative role.
Roadmap key to EAL/D teaching
Growing up in Zimbabwe in a bilingual household, emphasis was always placed on education and hard work.
Teacher shortage plan ignores root causes
In August, Australia’s state and federal education ministers met with emotional teachers, who spoke of working on weekends and Mother’s Day to cope with unsustainable workloads – and how they were thinking about leaving the profession
Managing teacher relief: What you told us
All staff are extremely stressed, overworked and exhausted.
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Acknowledgement of Country

We wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we live and work. We wish to pay respect to their Elders - past, present and future - and acknowledge the important role all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within Australia. We stand in solidarity.

Artist credit: Tyrown Waigana. Learn more.

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Authorised by Mary Franklyn, General Secretary, The State School Teachers' Union of W.A.

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