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Special Report – Teachers Blast “Crippling” Workload: Public Schools Underfunded by $6.5 billon Per Year
Teachers Blast “Crippling” Workload:
Public Schools Underfunded by $6.5 billon Per Year
By Sarah Davison, Industry Reporter
In the run-up to the 2022 Federal Election, NSW teachers have vowed to continue their fi ght for better pay and conditions. They staged a mass walkout on May 4, in what marked their second strike in six months.
The 24-hour teacher's strike saw educators march through Sydney's CBD in protest for a pay rise between fi ve and 7.5 percent as well as extra planning time for lessons.
NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielato said the state government had failed students, their parents, and the teaching profession. “The simple truth is that if we don’t pay teachers what they are worth and address crippling workloads we will not retain nor att ract the teachers we know we need,” Mr Gavrielato said.
“Acting on uncompetitive salaries and unsustainable workloads is the only way to stop more teachers leaving and att ract the people into the profession we need to fi x the shortages. This is an investment in our future. “Government report aft er government report has stated the main reasons why teachers don’t want to stay in the profession are unsustainable workloads and uncompetitive salaries.” Mr Gavrielato’s sentiments were echoed by South Australian primary school teacher Gemma*, who described the current workload for teachers as “crippling”.
Primary Teacher Burnout in Public School Sector
Working as a teacher in a low socioeconomic area for the past fi ve years, Gemma told School News she was beginning to consider other career paths and was feeling “burnt out” by the lack of support. Gemma said the gap between public and independent schools was only gett ing wider, and she worried about the future of her profession. “In the public school system, we are bound by the funding the school is given,” she said. “The biggest recent change has been in funding to support students with disabilities.”
Disability Support Funding Turmoil for Public School Teachers
“The new changes mean that even if a child has a diagnosis, they are not necessarily given classroom support,” Gemma explained to us. “As teachers, we fi nd this incredibly challenging as we spend huge chunks of time trying to prove that we need support in the classroom with the One Plans and IESPs.
“But most of the time it is rejected because it is believed that we can manage it in class. I could possibly manage if I only had that one child, but I have 19 others, many with their own complexities, trauma, or diagnosis. “It ends up hurting us, and most importantly the students.”
Gemma said she wanted to see more funding for special classes and said many of her students would benefi t from smaller class sizes and a diff erentiated curriculum.
“It’s diffi cult to support students with a high level of complexities, and these students are likely to never catch up or feel successful in the classroom,” she said.
Chronic Underfunding for Public Schools by $6.5bn
It comes as a recent report by economist Adam Rorris found that Australia’s public schools were underfunded by approximately $6.5 billion per annum.
The Rorris report additionally found that since 2018, the Morrision government had “diverted more than $10 billion in funding towards private schools”. It further read that “[the funding] excluded public schools which desperately need the money […]. This has been achieved through multiple special deals, discretionary funds with litt le to no accountability, numerous private school only funds to assist with drought, bushfi res or the pandemic, and the now-notorious systemic rorting built into the design of JobKeeper.”
The report determined that throughout 2020 and 2021, private schools received a total of $750 million through the federal government’s JobKeeper wage subsidy program. Economist Trevor Cobbold revealed that 700 private schools received JobKeeper payments during this time, including some of the richest private schools in the country. The average payment received by these was $1 million per school. Australia’s wealthiest school, Geelong Grammar, with assets of over $230 million, received $10.7 million from JobKeeper. Melbourne’s Wesley College, with assets of nearly $200 million, got $18.2 million In JobKeeper subsidies and posted a $2.2 million profi t, In NSW, the King’s School received $7 million in JobKeeper and kept almost all of it as profi t, recording a $6.9 million surplus, Moriah College received $6.8 million and recorded a $9.4 million surplus, In Queensland, St Hilda’s School received $5.9 million in JobKeeper and made a profi t of $7.4 million, Brisbane Grammar got $3.2 million in JobKeeper and recorded $3.8 million profi t, Toowoomba Grammar received $4.2 million from the scheme and kept $3.8 million in profi t. “Morrison Government’s deliberately loose criteria for access to JobKeeper functioned as yet “another opportunity for the Morrison Government to provide even more special funding for private schools,” Mr Cobbold determined.
“It is icing on the cake of a huge funding boost for private schools through a highly fl awed method of determining their fi nancial need.”
Lack of Funding for Classroom Resources
Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe said the report showed the federal government’s “record of neglect” for the public school system “We must never forget, that at the end of the day, we are talking about the education of children,” Ms Haythorpe said. “Every child, irrespective of their circumstances, should have a high-quality education. “This government has made a series of very deliberate choices to undermine this principle.”
Gemma said the Rorris report was particularly frustrating, and the lack of funding for public schools impacted everyone involved. “Private schools are able to turn away students if they have poor performance, or if they have a disability, and the students oft en don’t have the complexities we have,” she said. “If a child is at a private school there is a good chance their family can aff ord a car, petrol, food, water, and electricity bills, etc. Many of our families cannot, meaning our students either don’t come to school at all, or come to school and are not ready to learn. “We also see a lot of trauma and have students in state care where private schools have far less.”
Gemma also said she was unable to upgrade classroom resources to refl ect best practice, and there remained a lack of access to speech pathologists, social workers, and psychologists. “If the parents can’t aff ord, or don’t care about supporting their child, it can take 12-18 months for someone to come assess the student,” she said.
“At my school, I oft en create mandated reports, and due to low funding, students that need support at home, or to be removed from their home are oft en not assessed for years. There remains no real support for traumatised kids in the public school system, and it negatively impacts everyone involved.” AEU federal president Ms Haythorpe said the report revealed the truth behind government claims and was an important consideration in light of the upcoming federal election. While Labor has committ ed to full funding for private schools at the time of print, the AEU was concerned about the party’s lack of timeframe. However, she said Labor’s commitment was preferable to the Coalition who had “off ered nothing at all”.
*Not her real name.
Money Confi dent Kids
Following a successful launch in the US, global investment fi rm T. Rowe Price has launched its free fi nancial education programme, Money Confi dent Kids, here in Australia.
The programme equips young people aged 11-16 with the skills and knowledge they need to set goals and plan for confi dent fi nancial futures.
Money Confi dent Kids links to the Australian curriculum and has been designed for teachers, helping you to deliver impactful fi nancial education lessons that build young peoples’ confi dence and skills, while showing how the fi nancial choices they make today can positively impact their lives in the future.
Because every class is diff erent, the fl exible nature of the programme allows you to pick and choose which themes to focus on based on your teaching priorities and class’s needs.
Working with grade 7 students? Why not focus on modules one and two, which cover goal sett ing and decision making. Or focus on modules three, four and fi ve with older or more advanced students, to cover topics like infl ation, investment and diversifi cation.
To fi nd out more visit moneyconfi dentkids.com.au to download the full suite of resources for free.
Years 7–8 Teaching Guide
GOAL SETTING
DECISION-MAKING
MONEY & INFLATION
ASSET ALLOCATION
DIVERSIFICATION
Years 7–8 Teaching Guide
2
OVERVIEW
We all have limited time and money, so making deliberate spending decisions—and resisting impulse buys—is a key financial strategy. In this section, students will learn the difference between necessary and unnecessary purchases. Key Learnings and Vocabulary § Distinguising between needs: the things you must have to survive, like food, water and medicine or things that will help you achieve your financial goals; and wants: the things you would like to have (but don’t really need) that can set you back from reaching your goals, like a cool pair of jeans or a new phone cover. § Realising that some purchases, like insurance, are necessary even though they’re not exciting § Applying the concept of comparison shopping § Understanding loans and credit—when either one can be appropriate and the consequence of interest charges; learning that maintaining a good credit rating depends on paying off debt on time. LESSON COMPONENTS Decision-Making Component
Name Duration Session 1 Lesson 1 – Introduction
Discussion 5 Minutes
Lesson 1
Get It for Less
15 Minutes Lesson 1 – Activity Sheet Lesson 1 – Game Sheet But I Really Want It! 10 Minutes
Plan Your Party 15 Minutes
Session 2 Lesson 2 – Introduction
Discussion 5 Minutes
Lesson 2
A Dollar Saved… 20 Minutes
Lesson 2 – Activity Sheet How Interesting! 10 Minutes
Session 3 Lesson 3 – Introduction
Discussion 5 Minutes
Lesson 3
But I Love That New Car Smell 15 Minutes
Lesson 3 – Game Sheet
Is It Covered? 20 Minutes
Assessment
Show What You Know 10 Minutes
7
2 1
Student Workbook
NIKKI GOAL SETTING
DECISION-MAKING
MONEY & INFLATION
ASSET ALLOCATION
DIVERSIFICATION
Decision-Making Goal Setting
INTRODUCTION LESSON 1
Better Set a Budget I’m so excited! The science competition is in 10 weeks’ time and I’ve decided to design, build and programme a robot that can build other robots! How cool is that? I’ll win first prize for sure! I shopped around and the parts will cost me $140. I went over to Grandad’s house to have him check out my design and give me advice on raising the money I need. But he didn’t want to talk about money first. He wanted to start with my goal. He said that people and businesses often use a process called SMART goals to make decisions. Goals need to be Specific, Measurable (meaning there’s a way to tell if you succeeded or failed), Achievable (meaning doable), Relevant (meaning appropriate or fitting for your current lifestyle) and Time-specific (meaning there’s a deadline). Decision-Making text here Goal Setting helps you envision why you are saving and what you are saving for—and creating goals is the essential first step toward money confidence.
Your goal is clearly defined and states exactly what you are going to achieve. Track your progress and know when your goal is met.Your goal challenges you but is also something realistic.Your goal is connected to what is valuable and important to you. Your goal includes a date you will have achieved it by. achieved it by. Your goal includes a date you will have Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-specific
4 High School, Year 7
High School
NIKKI
Help young people plan their financial futures with free and curriculum linked financial education resources.
www.moneyconfidentkids.com.au
GOAL
© 2022 T. Rowe Price. All Rights Reserved. T. ROWE PRICE, INVEST WITH CONFIDENCE, and the Bighorn Sheep design are, collectively and/or apart, trademarks of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. MONEY CONFIDENT KIDS is a trademark of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. Distributed in Australia by T. Rowe Price Australia Limited.
