By Pat Byrne President

Teachers know best on what is happening in schools right now.

Consider this quote, which comes from one of over 400 school leaders and union reps who completed our survey Managing Teacher Relief in WA Public Schools:

“Teacher burnout is very real, resulting from the continuous system-wide demands that assume we are working under normal conditions.

With rolling waves of staff members having to isolate the reality of the situation is that we are exhausted just managing to keep the core teaching and learning operating. Add to that NAPLAN, the running of events, reporting to parents, performance management, SEN reporting, NCCR reporting etc. and you have a perfect storm for mental and emotional burn-out.

The exhausting task of finding relief, the leap of faith that they will be quality relief teachers and the risk of burn-out for these teachers are very real. Some of our most trusted relief teachers are being asked

to pay back DOTT in multiple classrooms, teaching multiple year levels in a day, and the reality of that situation is that quality teaching and learning is suffering.”

Teachers know all too well that COVID-19 is not the cause of the problems being faced today; the pandemic is just an exclamation mark on a cry for help that has been welling up for many years.

Teachers also know this is no temporary situation with an easy fix. Consider this quote from another survey respondent:

“We are unable to fill permanent job roles and the load is simply being shared

amongst staff as internal relief. Specialist teachers are leaving without replacements, allowing whole programs to end in this country town.”

Or, indeed, this one:

“The teacher shortage (and subsequent flow on of workload) has simply reduced the passion for teaching for myself and many colleagues like myself with decades of service. Burn out has increased at an unprecedented level in an attempt at maintaining the system we once had.”

Red flags are flying. The warnings are clear. Those who know best realise public education is at a crossroads.

We need to listen to what our teachers and leaders are saying; we need to examine the evidence as to what is happening in our schools: what is the state of public education in WA currently? And what effect is this having on our teachers and leaders?

Most critically, how do we best support teachers and leaders at an individual level but also with an eye to the long- term health of the profession?

To address these questions, the SSTUWA has commissioned an independent review of public education in WA.

The review will be chaired by Dr Carmen Lawrence. Dr Lawrence served as WA Education Minister in the late 80s and in February 1990 became the first female Premier of an Australian state when she became WA Premier.

Subsequently, Dr Lawrence served in the Keating Federal Cabinet. Dr Lawrence was also a member of the original Gonski

panel which established the Schooling Resource Standard as a fairer basis for funding school education in Australia.

In 2022 Dr Lawrence was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in
the Queen’s Birthday Honours for “distinguished service to the people and Parliaments of Australia and Western Australia, to conservation and to arts administration”.

Dr Lawrence will be joined in the review process by fellow panel members Dr Scott Fitzgerald of Curtin University, Colin Pettit, former Commissioner for Children and Young People and Robyn White, former principal of Perth Modern School. Pamela Pollard will be the executive officer to the panel.

The review’s draft terms of reference are:

1. What is the state of public education in WA currently? Focus issues:

• How have state government policies regarding the structure of public education since
• 2010 affected the operation of government schools in WA?
• How have curriculum content, pedagogical expectations and reporting and accountability processes changed during this time?
• What changes have occurred to the community expectations of our school leaders and teachers?
• What has been the impact of COVID-19?