Central Coast Council P&C (CCC P&C) has welcomed an announcement from Education Minister Prue Car that unnecessary paperwork is to be reduced for the state’s teachers.
Car announced on April 26 that the NSW Government is moving quickly to reduce the administrative burden on teachers, with the first round of red tape cuts already begun.
From April 26, the Government announced: the halving of more than 70 mandated changes to policies and processes that were due to roll out in Term 2, to only those that were essential and have minimal impact on frontline teachers; and a pause and review on all pilots and programs starting in Term 2 with teachers to be consulted on which ones to continue.
“This is just the beginning of the Minns Labor Government’s mission to reduce workload and lift the status of the teaching profession,” Car said.
“Schools, teachers and principals are over-burdened with administrative tasks and bureaucratic processes.”
Car said a review had looked at ways to remove, simplify or digitise tasks, with a focus on culling administrative tasks that add no benefit to student outcomes.
Among the changes stopped are activities relating to the surveying of teachers, the reporting of information and administrative work.
Car will also hold a roundtable in coming weeks with all the key partners in public education, including the NSW Teachers Federation, to agree on future actions targeting the workload challenge and to lift the status of the profession.
Further actions to support teachers include expanding the school counselling service, strengthening wellbeing support for teachers to address burnout, improving the way schools support students with additional needs and simplifying reporting to parents.
“I have been out to schools and spoken to hundreds of teachers, principals and support staff about the challenges they face every day,” she said.
“We’ve heard loud and clear that teachers are swamped with endless requirements to implement policy updates that cut into the time they should be spending with students and planning lessons.
“We need to act urgently to address this, which is why I have told the department to make changes right away to support our teachers; this is just the start.
“If I can remove some of this work, make teachers’ lives easier so they can focus on student learning then I’ll know my government is delivering for teachers and students.”
CCC P&C President Sharryn Brownlee said having the Department of Education do a line by line audit was the best way to ensure that important processes continue but unnecessary and duplicate work is removed from teachers’ workload so they can focus on teaching students.
“We see the burden of paperwork through the many panels and committees we are on in schools,” she said.
“The Minister is ensuring engaging, relevant class lessons will once again be the priority for teachers, not unnecessary administrative paperwork.
“CCC P&C knows parents are very optimistic that student learning outcomes will improve as a result of the proposed changes.
“Tone from the top really matters and hearing direct from Minister Car has already helped with staff morale, and that will flow through to whole school well being.
“Parents have been concerned about the difficulties in recruiting and retaining teachers over recent years and the disconnect between the Department of Education senior leadership team and schools was very clear as interview panels had to be re-convened to try to attract applicants.
“Back of house processes were negatively impacting on teaching time through unnecessary paperwork.”
Brownlee said both Minister Car and Deputy Secretary, School Operations and Performance at the Department of Education, Murat Dizdar, had spent a lot of time visiting schools on the Central Coast, talking with students, staff and community.
“(We) are very optimistic for the future of education in NSW as the much-needed changes are made,” she said.
“Students will benefit as will staff and families right across the education community.”
Terry Collins