'One teacher per classroom' promise

Education department director Sharyn O'Neill has promised one teacher per classroom as almost 6000 extra students  file into WA schools this year.
Source: The Sunday Times

EDUCATION chief Sharyn O'Neill has assured schools there will be a teacher in every classroom this week as the department "works around the clock" to address staffing issues.

In a letter to all WA principals this week, Ms O'Neill said her department would automatically assign a teacher to classrooms if principals had not finished the job.

But some principals said that could result in teachers turning up without the specific skill-sets required by schools.

Almost 6000 extra students will file into WA schools this year, with 273,220 kids expected to start school tomorrow.

To deal with the student population growth, eight new schools will open and transportable classrooms will be used to deal with overcrowded year groups.

An Education Department spokesman said every public school classroom was expected to have a qualified teacher.

"Vacancies arise all the time, even right up to the first day, so the department is working around the clock to make sure there are no vacancies on day one," the spokesman said.

In December, WA Primary Principals Association president Steve Breen said principals would be working through Christmas to clean up the "mess" of teacher placements caused by complicated and inefficient processes.

This week, Mr Breen said principals had been working feverishly to overcome the ineffective system.

"Principals have been working overtime throughout the holidays to ensure that the process is in place for the new year," he said.

"Hopefully all classes will have a teacher in front of them on day one. The time has been all-consuming for principals."

WA Secondary School Executives Association president Rob Nairn said staffing issues would become more difficult once schools realised exactly how many students had turned up.

"Some parents don't enrol their kids until the first day of school," Mr Nairn said. "The schools which get significant numbers of enrolments on or after the first day will have to adjust timetables and perhaps put on additional staff that will be the challenge.

"The crunch time will be (tomorrow), when schools know how many bums are on seats.

"Staffing is more difficult in some areas such as technology, maths and science."

The rush to fill vacancies comes as the State School Teachers Union of WA demands the Education Department take control of staffing next year to reduce confusion as Year 7 students transition to high schools.

In the lead-up to the March state election, the SSTU has also demanded that the annual expose of the best and worst WA schools be removed from the internet and is seeking improved conditions for school psychologists in remote areas.

In her letter to principals, Ms O'Neill urged schools to make staffing the "top priority".

"Any vacancy where you are still considering the redeployment pool, that is not completed by midday (Wednesday) will be finalised on your behalf by staffing consultants," she wrote. "This means that, as per the process in previous years, you will be required to accept the redeployee who is allocated centrally."