Teachers across NSW are to be rewarded for working above and beyond under a new plan from the Department of Education.
Welcoming the Department’s issues paper on the Rewarding Excellence in Teaching program, Premier Dominic Perrottet said the Program was “not about NAPLAN results, performance pay or rewarding tenure”.
“It is about identifying and recognising teachers who go above and beyond in their teaching practice, and want to support and inspire other teachers to do the same,” Mr Perrottet said.
He said the Issues Paper identified that NSW classroom teachers had limited options to progress their careers without taking on formal leadership roles outside the classroom; that effective teachers were more likely to stay in the classroom if they could gain career progression from the chalkboard, including significant salary increases; and keeping highly effective teachers in the classroom was the single biggest factor in improving student outcomes.
Minister for Education and Early Learning, Sarah Mitchell said the new approach would bring “seismic” long-term change to the State’s education system.
“We are not only looking at where initiatives like this have worked overseas, we’re also looking at past attempts closer to home to make sure that our Rewarding Excellence in Teaching program is world-class, stands the test of time, and makes the biggest impact where it’s needed – in the classroom,” Ms Mitchell said.
“There are many options on the table regarding design and implementation of this ambitious reform – that’s why we’ll continue to hear from experts, teachers, principals, school leaders and all those involved in our school communities across the State.”
She said the central aims of the Program were to create a more attractive career path for classroom teachers, while raising the status of the profession, and leverage the skills of highly effective teachers to strengthen teaching practice across the public education system.
Ms Mitchell said that once consultation on the Issues Paper was complete, a policy paper would be finalised before the Program began implementation in 2023.
The Department of Education’s 25-page Issues Paper can be accessed at this PS News link.
