Public School Teachers

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. R.A. Simms:

That this council—

1. Notes the release of the Teachers at Breaking Point report commissioned by the Australian Education Union (South Australian Branch) which found:

(a) South Australian public school teachers work on average over 50 hours per week, including 30 hours of tasks beyond face-to-face teaching;

(b) fewer than one in 10 teachers feel that their views are valued by policymakers in South Australia and only one in five teachers view departmental policy demands as reasonable; and

(c) almost half of all respondents intend to leave teaching within five years, double the rate recorded in the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey.

2. Acknowledges that South Australian public school students deserve teachers who can fully exercise their commitment, knowledge of learning and learners in their context, understanding of complex relationships and needs, and love for teaching.

3. Calls on the Malinauskas government to commit to supporting South Australian public education by:

(a) increasing time and support for teachers to manage increasingly complex student needs;

(b) reducing administrative demands on teachers to make workloads healthy and sustainable;

(c) addressing shortage of staff to reduce workload pressure;

(d) increasing the voice of teachers and leaders in decision-making and co-construction of policy; and

(e) increasing support for early career teachers to sustain the profession.

(Continued from 28 June 2023.)

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (22:56): I move:

That this order of the day be discharged.

Motion carried; order of the day discharged.