Teachers On Strike Over Staff Shortage

BY JARROD MELMETH

Staff have walked off the job at Newcastle Senior School over concerns about staff shortages.

The Union reports there have been more than 20 unfilled teacher absences at Newcastle Senior School this year and teachers are fed up with the disruption staff shortages are having on teaching and learning programs.

The school specialises in the education of children with an intellectual disability which requires an intensive amount of work for teachers.

NSW Teachers Federation Deputy President Henry Rajendra says having insufficient staff places a huge burden on teachers and affects the provision of curriculum across the school.

"The teacher shortage is impacting on the ability of staff to take leave of seek professional learning opportunities.

"Students are missing out on the education they deserve due to lack of staffing, including casual teacher relief.

"The Gallop inquiry into the work of teachers found earlier this year that uncompetitive salaries for teachers and unsustainable workloads are leading to teacher shortages

"The workloads of teachers have increased every year, but their salaries have fallen every year compared to other professions," Mr Rajendra said.

The Union says it isn't ruling out further action if these simple requests are not met.

Teachers Losing Out in Cessnock Jail Expansion Plans

BY BRIDGET GUNN

Multiple teachers are set to lose their jobs in the controversial 1,000 bed expansion of Cessnock jail.

These proposed changes to the numbers of teachers employed at the jail have raised serious concerns, as the proposed teaching staff will be untrained and not fully qualified.

The government has made plans to cut the 9.5 full time teaching positions back to 2 positions as part of an employment outsourcing scheme.

Phillip Chadwick from the NSW Teachers Federation says these changes will have serious long term effects, as inmates won't learn skills necessary to reintegrate into society.

"One third of the people who might find themselves in prison have very poor language, literacy and numeracy skills, and it is vital that they have the right people in front of them giving them those skills so that when they do leave prison they can reintegrate and make their way back into society," says Chadwick.

"One of the key things that the education systems currently do is they interrupt that cycle of long term generational crime, and so it is vital to have highly trained teachers in place to break that chain."

"Under the new system, the people doing the education in our prisons won't have a proper teaching qualification, it will be a Certificate Four qualification and this is a real disaster for rehabilitation in our correctives services."

An immediate action training drill at Cessnock Jail
Source: The Newcastle Herald

Hunter Students get a Taste of Space

Regional Development Australia's ME Program has partnered with West Wallsend High School to increase children's excitement and involvement in STEM.

Buzz Aldrin on the Moon, July 21, 1969

The Quberider Workshop teaches teachers electronic and programming skills, which give students a taste of what astronauts do.

Students are encouraged to learn skills such as coding and electronic design, to physics and maths, while simulating experiments also conducted on real space missions

"This program is very much about being real world and actually being involved in programs that NASA would be involved in" said RDA Hunter's ME Program Director, Dr. Scott Sleap.

The program is said to give students the tools they need to launch into a STEM career and be competitive in the global market.

"What we have is a workforce that is going to require STEM skills in the future, and actually, in the now" said Dr. Sleap.

"If students don't develop the type of skills we're talking about in STEM, then they're going to be locked out of the workforce."

The program has seen considerable success in the Hunter, with over 30 schools now signed up to and actively involved in STEM, with up to 70 across NSW.

"The Hunter regions actually becoming one of the leaders in STEM education in NSW and even possibly Australia" said Dr. Sleap.