Year 7 Teacher Recruitment Program

Mr BOYER (Wright) (14:54): A supplementary question to the education minister, and I refer to the minister's last answer: can the minister confirm that the government has so far recruited only 100 of the 1,000 or so teachers needed for the transition of year 7 into high school?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (14:54): It is an interesting question from the member for Wright. I confirm that we sought to get 100 spots filled last year that were guaranteed spots for primary school teachers who currently have permanency within the South Australian public school system to move into secondary schools. Indeed, I was at Banksia Park high school this morning with the member for Newland; they have four of those teachers and they are very excited about them. Those are teachers that were locked in last year, according to the time line we set. It was offers to just over 100.

The principal of Banksia Park International High School, Roley Coulter, told the media that those four places were very hotly contested. There were a lot more primary school teachers interested in moving into high school in that round last year, when we made 100 spots available, and I would fully anticipate that many of those teachers will now apply through this round.

It is the time line that was worked through in consultation with the union and other representatives and, according to that agreed time line, last year 100 spots were made available immediately for those primary school permanent teachers to move up. The next group of teachers placed were those who have placement rights, and those who were potentially filling temporary positions. That is in excess of a further 100 who have been placed during term 1 this year, and they have been welcomed by their principals.

The mechanism for those placements might be familiar to the member Wright and the member for Port Adelaide, having worked in ministerial offices, but it would be a little unfamiliar to many outside education. With placement rights, these are teachers who have an industrial right to be working in the department but whose position within a school may not necessarily be confirmed. It has long been a challenging issue for the department because demographics in schools go up and down, and sometimes there is a stigma attached to these placement rights which, in many cases, is deeply unfair. These are experienced teachers, quality teachers.

We put into place a process where these teachers were able to provide a video talking about the things they were passionate about, the sorts of subjects they would be really interested in teaching, that would speed up the process whereby principals would be able to get a glimpse of the passion these teachers would have in taking on these positions. So, rather than these placed teachers getting a job and confirmation of where they would be the following year in term 4, or sometimes during the summer holidays, those placed teachers now have certainty going into term 2, about where they are going to be next year. That has been extraordinarily welcomed by both teachers and the principals who have placed them.

That was the second group. So we have more than 200 of those teachers locked in between the primary school permanent teachers locking in their places and the placed teachers. The next round of advertising, as agreed by the process that was done in consultation with all appropriate industrial representatives, is that it is now an open call. In term 2, schools around South Australia are advertising for positions next year.

I am sure the member for Port Adelaide would recall the challenges that were often put; these are certainly not new challenges for her. These have been longstanding challenges in an education system with 500 public schools and demographics going up and down. The member for Wright may remember it, as well, from his previous role. Going into the beginning of the school year, sometimes there are still positions to be filled, sometimes there are still positions that have been held over and placement-right teachers to be placed.

We are in term 2. We have three terms before term 1 next year when these teachers need to be in place, and we are so far ahead of schedule for placing next year's teachers, despite the extraordinary complexity of year 7 being moved into high school, that I couldn't be happier with the way the education department is delivering this.

I look forward to the remainder of those positions being placed, and I'm confident they will be. There is such enthusiasm from new teachers, graduates, primary teachers looking for a change, and indeed contract teachers looking for permanency. I have every confidence we will fill these roles and fill them with people who are very well suited to the roles they are going to fill.