Members of the NSW Teachers Federation at Bega High School held a short industrial action on Thursday, April 7, to plead with the NSW government and the Department of Education to address "critical" staffing shortages.
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Around 35 Bega High School teachers walked off the job for 10 minutes, a short but meaningful industrial action to address their concerns, and share them with the wider community.
Bega High NSW Teachers Federation representative Justina Baumann said COVID-19 and flooding had exacerbated staffing shortages, which last week led to the school resorting to three days of minimal supervision and a periodic return to remote learning at home.
"The situation we've found ourselves in this term is unsustainable. The expectations placed on our staff to go above and beyond to cover classes is now beyond unreasonable," said Ms Baumann.
In March alone at least 18 staff members had to teach significantly above their existing load, and at least three of these teachers had to teach over 25 extra lessons.
Ms Baumann said for students in Years 7-10, classes were often merged.
Support classes were merged over 20 times, there were at least 50 occasions where two classes were merged, 21 occasions where three classes were merged, seven times where four classes were merged, and one occasion when five classes were merged - the equivalent of a whole year group under minimal supervision.
These numbers also did not include the instances when Year 11 and 12 students were left unsupervised.
Members expressed their concern over how disruptive these conditions were for students, who were being continually forced to self-direct, without the assistance of a teacher.
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Ms Baumann said their membership at Bega High had seen this shortage coming for a while, with teachers retiring and needing leave, but that the NSW government and the Department of Education had not addressed the issue in, "any meaningful way".
"Our valued casuals that we do have are at the point of burn out from being over-relied upon.
"Specialist teachers, deputies and principal are being put on classes, all taken away from their crucial roles and all teaching above their load," she said.
Members wanted to encourage their wider school community, especially parents of students, to speak out.
"Our community should expect that the young people in our care will receive the quality education they are entitled to," said Ms Baumann.
Bega MP Michael Holland was unable to attend the 10 minute action, but acknowledged the staffing crisis by providing a statement.
"The staffing issues Bega High have experienced in the past week alone has not only severely impacted the learning experience of hundreds of students, but also places undue strain on the available teaching resources at hand.
"Teachers are an invaluable resource that the NSW government should be investing in.
"I'm appalled with the state of our education system, and I look forward to working closely with Prue Car our Deputy Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for Education in developing policies that support and recognise the value of our amazing teachers," read the statement.