Okaihau Primary School principal Tim Couling said he recently had to split a class to deal with the relief teacher shortage. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Okaihau Primary School principal Tim Couling said he recently had to split a class to deal with the relief teacher shortage. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Northland schools are having to combine or split classes, use untrained teachers to supervise students or close because relief teachers are in short supply.
Okaihau Primary School principal Tim Couling says the shortage has forced his school to take students from unstaffed classrooms and add them to other classes wherea teacher is present.
Couling is one of 71 Northland principals to respond to a survey canvassing the extent of the relief teacher shortage. Of the principals, 59 doubled up classes, 55 used management time to cover teachers, 33 used untrained teachers to supervise tamariki, and five sent students home.
Some principals reported being left with little choice but to close their schools when they couldn’t find relievers.
Couling said splitting up classrooms disrupted children’s learning.
Okaihau Primary School principal Tim Couling. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Okaihau has one relief teacher but Couling believed it should have access to more because if the reliever was away it would be left with no one.
He said recognising relief teaching as a “valuable profession” was key to supporting schools faced with the shortage. He believed the issue had not been given enough priority.
Improved pay, housing, mileage support and subsidies could help attract more relief teachers to rural or remote schools, he said.
Te Tai Tokerau Principals’ Association president Pat Newman hopes the survey will convince the Government that change is needed.
“Principals are working at night and during weekends because they’re using precious management time when they can’t find relievers, and there’s extra stress on teachers dealing with two classrooms,” Newman said.
“The Government cannot keep on expecting blood from a stone. There are illnesses out there but not enough relievers to cover them. This is impacting our staff, our teachers, and the students.”
He wanted to see schemes introduced that had worked in the past, such as allocating cheap rentals and other financial incentives for relievers.
Ministry of Education data shows that a total of 672 day-relief teachers were in Te Tai Tokerau between the beginning of this year and July 31. Earlier this year, it was reported that there were 3000 fewer relief teachers now than a decade ago. The NZ Educational Institute Te Riu Roa called for a complete review of the relief teaching workforce.
Anna Welanyk, the ministry’s hautū (leader) education workforce, said schools had been changing their behaviour since Covid-19 and were contracting relievers for longer periods, reducing the pool available for schools with “immediate need”.
“We are aware some schools, including in Te Tai Tokerau, have difficulty attracting and retaining the teachers they need, especially in rural locations. This is particularly challenging in winter months when the level of sickness within the teaching workforce is much higher.”
She said principals covering classes was not new, but it was not ideal when it detracted from other “important responsibilities”.
Welanyk said the goal was to grow an overall supply of teachers so schools’ needs can be covered.
Part of that included offering a fee-free teacher education refresh to attract more people into the profession.
The focus for the ministry was improving pay and conditions for all teachers, rather than considering accommodation incentives for some, she said.
Brodie Stone is the education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie recently graduated from Massey University and has a special interest in the environment and investigative reporting.
