29 Aug 2019
To our great school community, we need your help and our school needs your support.
As would be obvious to all, in recent years our school has been struggling to attract and maintain adequate staffing levels and this has come to a head in 2019. Furthermore, due to a lack of available casual teachers, these vacancies are not all being filled with outside resources.
This has led to all Parkes High staff working above and beyond requirements to ensure that the school continues to function and that student learning continues. According to the teacher’s Industrial Award, such alternate periods should be “paid back” with a release from ancillary-duties, but this has not been possible. And it is taking its toll.
The smooth running of schools is reliant on the goodwill of its teachers, however, staff are frustrated that the needs of their students continue to be negatively impacted by the Department’s ongoing failure to provide adequate staffing. The toll on the staff’s mental wellbeing is rising as well.
We note that teacher shortages are not unique to this school. In a similar manner to the difficulties our hospital is having in attracting and retaining qualified professional staff, so too Parkes High School is unable to attract sufficient qualified teachers to keep the school running at its best.
Therefore we need your help and the P&C would like to suggest the following;
- Understand the current environment at Parkes High and if there is something that you are troubled with regarding your child’s education then talk to the school about it, while understanding that they want the best for your child and they are trying their best within the current environment.
- Thank our awesome staff for all they do – they go well and truly beyond what is expected of them. And this is all staff, not just teachers.
- Support the staff by raising this matter with the people listed below, as more voices may put pressure on the NSW Department of Education to rectify our staffing crisis.
Mr Phillip Donato, Member for Orange
P: (02) 6362 5199 E: orange@parliament.nsw.gov.au
NSW Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning - Hon Sarah Mitchell
P: (02) 8574 5950
Secretary of the Department of Education - Mark Scott
P: 1300 679 332 E: education.nsw.gov.au
General Secretary NSW Teachers Federation - John Dixon
P: 02-9217-2100 https://www.nswtf.org.au/contact
Executive Director School Performance - Dean White
P: 02-6883 6300
Director, Educational Leadership etc – Charles Dwyer
P: 02-6883 6391
Lionel Lovett, President Parkes AECG
C/- 77-85 Currajong St, Parkes NSW 2870
Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to this,
Rev Stephen Gaut
Chairman Parkes High P&C