The state-wide teacher shortage is putting a strain on local teachers as the number of vacant permanent teaching positions in NSW public schools soars to almost 3,000.
Deniliquin High School is one of the many public schools across the state to have been impacted by the ongoing teacher shortage.
Principal Glen Warren said the high school has had a shortage of teachers this year, and will again in 2023.
“The reality is, this year, I think we were four teachers short,” he said.
“Next year, we'll look at probably being four or five teachers short.
“But it's the pattern across the state. Everywhere across the state is struggling to get teachers.”
According to the NSW Teachers Federation, the new figures are “a direct result of the failure of the Perrottet Government to address the causes of the teacher shortages”.
There were 2,963 full-time equivalent teacher vacancies in NSW public schools at the end of October - a vacancy rate of one in 15 in a permanent teaching workforce of just over 44,000 FTE.
On top of this, 70 counselling positions were vacant last month, which the Federation says is “exacerbating the impact of a chronic shortage in schools”.
The latest statistics come to light as the NSW Upper House's Education Committee released its report into teacher shortages in NSW.
It makes 20 recommendations across a range of areas.
Number one involves “adopting modern professional standards and expectations for teachers' performance, working conditions, scrutiny, enhanced professional development, promotion, job certainty and financial rewards.
There is also a strong case for the NSW Government to “fast track implementation of the Grow Your Own initiative that seeks to actively recruit candidates into the teaching profession from within rural and remote communities that have difficulty recruiting and retaining teachers.”
Inquiry chair Mark Latham said the findings demonstrate that the NSW school education system is at “a tipping point”.
“This report identifies the critical need to lift the status of teaching as a way of attracting more high-quality teachers to the profession, and ultimately raise academic standards in New South Wales schools,” he said.
“If we don't uplift the status of teaching in New South Wales, we can't uplift our school results and the lifetime opportunities of our young people. That would be a tragedy for New South Wales at every level.”
At Deniliquin High School, there are currently 54 teachers, 32 non-teaching staff and 500 students.
Mr Warren said it used to be hard to find teachers in some subject areas, “but now it's every subject”.
“It's hard to actually get people too and it's hard to attract them to the rural areas,” he said.
“And then if you do, you've got to be able to house them. A big issue for us is getting accommodation for a teacher if we do find one.”
Mr Warren said the teacher shortage is “absolutely” putting a strain on the current teaching staff.
“It increases the pressure on the teachers and it reduces what subjects we can offer,” he said.
“We have a shortage. It has been ongoing, and we'll have shortages for potentially the foreseeable future because there is a shortage of teachers statewide.”
Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said the number of vacant teaching positions was almost triple the 995 figure reported by the NSW Government in June last year.
He said the Perrottet Government’s Teacher Supply Strategy has been an expensive failure and children are missing out every day in both public and private schools due to the shortages.
“We have two thirds of teachers saying they are burnt out and 60 per cent looking to leave in the next five years,” he said.
“Less than one in five teachers say they have the time to do their job properly.”