Queanbeyan High School teacher resigns amid persistent shortage

Teachers at Queanbeyan High School want students in grades 7 to 10 to combine on-campus and home-based learning until staffing shortages are adequately addressed.
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About 30 teachers at Queanbeyan High School were on strike for two hours this morning amid concerns about ongoing staffing shortages.

Takeaway: Until Queanbeyan High School fills up, teachers want a mix of home and face-to-face learning

Until Queanbeyan High School is full, teachers want to combine home and in-person learning. The NSW Department of Education says it is working closely with schools to find solutions

The NSW Department of Education said it was working closely with schools to find a solution. The NSW Teachers' Association says it has not received a "letter" from the Department of Education

Last Monday, the school announced that due to a chronic teacher shortage, pupils in grades seven to ten would only be able to attend on-campus classes three days a week.

The decision was overturned a day after the NSW Department of Education intervened and told schools to resume full-time face-to-face teaching.

But Mitch Andrews of the NSW Teachers' Federation said teachers were unhappy with the decision, with three-quarters leaving at 9am in protest, leaving only a skeleton staff to supervise students.

"Student learning has been affected and if we don't take a stand now, it will continue until who knows when," he said.

"We've now had older students with over 100 hours in class, so for six weeks, they haven't been in class, they've been in the library.

"It's their last two years of school and they have to stand in front of their teachers every day, which we can't provide at the moment, it's physically impossible."

Teachers at Queanbeyan High School want a combination of home-based learning and face-to-face teaching until staffing shortages are better addressed. (Nick Haggerty)

The NSW Department of Education's assistant secretary for school achievement, Murat Dizdar, told the ABC this morning the department was committed to giving teachers the support they needed and was working with schools to fill vacancies.

"We recognise they need our support. There's a range of job openings out there, a range of COVID impacts," he said.

"Our school work unit has met with the principal and is working to fill some of these positions.

"We have worked with principals to provide schools with a number of qualified teachers working in corporate offices to support the continuity of teaching and learning."

"No contact" between trade unions and departments

Before the strike this morning, Mr.