The state’s top teachers are set to be rewarded with higher pay and enhanced status under a new scheme unveiled by the NSW Government this week.
Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch, said under options released for consultation, classroom teachers who are assessed as “expert teachers” under the Rewarding Excellence in Teaching program could attract salaries of up to $147,000 a year, or beyond, in recognition of their skills and impact.
Crouch said the reforms are a key component of the Government’s focus on building a modern education system that recognises and rewards excellence in our classrooms.
“It’s fantastic to see the Government taking action to recognise and reward the great teachers we have in our public schools, including across the Central Coast,” he said.
“This is all about keeping our best teachers in the classroom, teaching our students and improving outcomes.”
Minister for Education and Early Learning, Sarah Mitchell, said the reforms had the backing of the teaching workforce.
“Initial feedback shows that around three out of four teachers in NSW would be interested in putting themselves forward for such a role,” she said.
“This supports our approach and I’m looking forward to hearing more from the profession on our proposed plans.”
Developed by Professor John Hattie, a world-leading expert on education outcomes, the Options Paper proposes the creation of new teaching roles across schools with salaries ranging from $117,000 to $147,000, depending on the proportion of mentoring and collaboration time the teacher undertakes.
The Paper asks a series of questions of the teaching workforce and key stakeholders around the best pathways for identifying, selecting and allocating these roles.
Over the next four weeks more than 100 roundtables will be held with teachers and other school staff state-wide, with staff also able to share feedback via an online survey.
Hattie said it is important the policy is built from the profession up, rather than from the top down.
“We want to hear from teachers across this entire state to ensure we get the policy right and to find the best way to get great teachers to remain in the classroom,” he said.
“We already know from feedback to date that schools see this reform as worthwhile, but it’s important in this next step to hear exactly how they want to see it work.”
The Rewarding Excellence in Teaching program is expected to start in 2023, and scale up across the education system over time.
Consultation is open until November 25.
A copy of the policy options paper released and the consultation survey can be found at https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/rewarding-excellence-in-teaching.
Source:
Media release, Nov 2
Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch