Question On Notice No. 547 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 10 August 2022 by Mr P.J. Rundle
Question Directed to the: Parliamentary Secretary representing the Minister for Education and Training
Parliament: 41 Session: 1
Question
For the financial years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, please detail:
(a) the total number of relief teachers available for schools broken down by region including the metropolitan area; and
(b) the total number of classes that were combined as a result of a shortage of relief teachers, broken down by region including the metropolitan area?
Answered on 20 September 2022
Answer
(a) Schools currently engage casual teachers through a variety of means, such as:
· Casual Staff Seeker tool
· Third party online booking tools
· Contacting relief teachers directly by phone or email, or face to face utilising printed CVs and school-based spreadsheets
· Internal relief undertaken by teachers already employed in the school.
As schools currently access relief staff from a number of sources, the total number of relief teachers available for employment in schools is not available.
(b) The Department of Education offers support to schools that are experiencing challenges in filling absences locally. On all occasions that schools have sought such support, absences have been covered. Information on other measures taken by schools to manage teacher absences are not collected by the Department.