The Department of Education and Training (DET) has launched a staffing pool to fill COVID-19 related vacancies in Government schools at short notice to reduce disruption to students’ learning.
Announcing the pool, Minister for Education, James Merlino called on inactive or retired teachers, education support staff, retired principals and staff with administrative experience to join the DET’s Job Opportunity Pool.
“Staff will be deployed to local schools on a fixed-term basis to fill any short-term gaps caused by teachers, school leaders or education support staff who contract COVID-19 and need to isolate,” Mr Merlino said.
“Government schools will be able to access this pool to assist with their daily operations – from face-to-face teaching to student support, school-based allied health or administrative assistance, as well as supporting school leaders in managing COVID-19 matters,” he said.
“Every sector is under pressure from the Omicron variant and education will be no exception – but we’re taking action early to make sure staff absences don’t mean huge disruptions for students’ learning.”
The Minister said all staff employed through the pool would be required to hold a valid Working with Children Check or valid Victorian Institute of Teaching registration prior to the commencement of employment and must be fully vaccinated.
“If you’re a retired or inactive teacher, school support staff member, allied health professional or administration worker – we want you to support our schools in 2022, so please get online and apply now,” Mr Merlino said.
Further information on the DETs Job Opportunity Pool can be accessed at this PS News link.
