Students benefit from classroom changes
Central Coast students are receiving a better education under the State Government, as the number of students being left in merged and cancelled classes has almost halved over the last year according to a new survey from the NSW Department of Education.
13 November 2024
THE 2024 Alternative Supervision Survey tracked merged and cancelled classes across the state, which is known to create a disruptive environment for students.
Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns said, “We are getting more teachers in classrooms, and that's making school less disruptive for our kids.
"This is good for children and a relief for their parents.
"Parents can be reassured that we are addressing the teacher shortage crisis we inherited and we are seeing improvements.
“We know there is more to do, but we are making progress to rebuild our teaching workforce to give NSW kids the best education possible.”
The former Liberal National Government dismissed the teacher shortage crisis and the former minister refused to collect data on the true impact of merged and cancelled classes on students.
Last year, the inaugural Alternative Supervision Survey found students had lost close to a million hours in learning over the year due to the teacher shortages inherited by the current Government.
This year, about half a million hours of lost learning for students has been regained through work to rebuild public education in NSW, according to these results.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said, “It’s no secret that the way to improve our students’ results is to make sure there is a teacher in front of every classroom, doing what they do best – teaching.
“The Liberals and Nationals’ long-term neglect of our education system caused damage to our educators and our children’s education, and it cannot be reversed overnight.
“We promised the people of NSW before the election that if we came to Government we would fix the issue of merged and cancelled classes across NSW schools.
“While there is still more to do, this data shows our work has our schools are moving in the right direction.”
Schools across the Central Coast have had a 77% reduction in the number of merged and cancelled classes in their local schools.
The results of the second Alternative Supervision Survey show the Government is making progress addressing teacher shortages, which had escalated to crisis levels under the previous government.
Since being elected in March 2023, the current government has made progress in rebuilding public education, by addressing the teacher shortage left by the Liberals and Nationals, including scrapping the wages cap and delivering teachers the largest pay rise in a generation.
The State Government has also converted the roles of more than 16,000 temporary teachers and school support staff into permanent roles and banned mobile phones in all public schools to help foster a more positive school environment. They are also continuing to make progress on reducing the workload of teachers through an expansion of the School Administration Reduction Program trial.
These efforts have helped reduce teacher vacancies to a three-year-low, with NSW public schools reporting 24 per cent fewer vacancies at the start of Term 3, 2024 than at the same time last year.
Member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch said, “As a former teacher, I have seen the impact first-hand of merged and cancelled classes under the former Liberal-National Government, resulting in students losing precious learning time that can never be regained.
“I am proud to be part of a Minns Labor Government who is committed to investing in public education, reversing the neglect of our education system by the former Liberal-National Government.
“Since being elected in 2023, the Minns Labor Government has acted swiftly, scrapping the wages cap and delivering teachers the largest pay rise in a generation, converting 16,000 teachers from temporary to permanent roles, and reducing teacher workload. This is just the beginning.
“The Minns Labor Government will always give our public education system the respect and investment that it deserves, to give our next generation the best opportunities possible.”
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