A recent survey has found teacher and principal wellbeing is down significantly since last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo / Supplied
A recent survey has found teacher and principal wellbeing is down significantly since last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo / Supplied
A survey has found a significant drop in teacher and principal wellbeing due to Covid-19, with Northland schools not escaping unscathed.
The Education Review Office (ERO) survey released on Tuesday found teachers' enjoyment of work had declined from 62 per cent to 56 per cent and only a third felt their workload was manageable, down from 42 per cent last year.
Furthermore, only 57 per cent of teachers reported they were satisfied with their life compared to 86 per cent of New Zealanders who rated their life satisfaction highly (Statistics NZ).
Te Tai Tokerau Principals president Pat Newman said the results were unsurprising given the frustration and anxiety he was witnessing daily.
"I believe the figures would be accurate. I've been a principal since 1982 and this is the toughest year for me personally, as well as for my colleagues," Newman said.
Pat Newman, Te Tai Tokerau Principals president and Hora Hora Primary School principal. Photo/ File
According to Newman, a loss of long-term, quality teachers, as well as hundreds of children 'disappearing' across the region due to the introduction of the vaccine mandate had also proven a challenge for schools.
Looking to next year, Newman said many schools were worried about the new rules around mask-wearing, vaccines for 5 to 11-year-olds and the potential of 'hybrid education' (mix of online and class-based).
"I wish the people sitting in their ivory towers in Wellington could come and show us how they think we should do this, because in my opinion, their stupid ideas don't fit schools," Newman said.
"They're asking us to completely change the way we operate and essentially change the pedagogy of our education delivery.
"There is a huge amount of angst and fear that if people send their kids to school, we're going to grab them and vaccinate them without their permission.
"That will never happen and I want to be very clear - the rollout of the vaccine mandate, at least at my school, will not be compulsory in order for children to attend school."
Kaitaia Primary School principal Brendon Morrisey echoed Newman's comments, saying he'd been working most weekends to keep up with the changes.
"The survey is spot on, the mountain of work is just getting worse and worse and less and less manageable," Morrisey said.
"After the mandate was brought in, it created a massive amount of work which is still ongoing and precarious to navigate."
Kaitaia Primary school principal Brendon Morrissey. Photo / supplied
Morrisey said the cost of masks and how to police vaccine passes were now added stresses to worry about.
"My take on the whole thing is the Government has made these decisions and now it's basically the job of the board of trustees and school principals to clean up the mess," he said.
"Many of us will be short-staffed next year and will have to try to get kids to keep their masks on when inside.
"How are we supposed to manage that, especially our kids with special needs, breathing difficulties or allergies?
"I also don't know how I'm supposed to police the seven gates that people walk through to get into the school to check their vaccine passes.
"We will just have to do what we can."
The Northland Age approached the Ministry of Education for comment on the above concerns but was provided with a short statement and list of bulletins that had been sent to the schools regarding rules applying to the new Health Orders.
"We have provided a large amount of advice and guidance in our bulletins, 'Ministry Bulletin for School Leaders He Pitopito Kōrero – Education in New Zealand'," a MOE spokesperson said.
"All our guidance is based on supporting schools to manage their legal obligations under the various Health Orders.
"As people have been using face coverings for some time as part of the Covid-19 response, schools are not expected to provide or care for face coverings."
New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa president Liam Rutherford said the survey results were extremely concerning but unfortunately, not surprising.
"Teacher workload and wellbeing were significant issues for educators even before the pandemic," Rutherford said
"Now with the extra pressure and stress of the last two years, that has significantly increased these concerns and many teachers are struggling.
"To truly address teacher wellbeing we need to fix the underlying causes of stress – workload and resourcing."
Rutherford added the survey reported younger teachers were three times as likely to say they were unhappy at work compared to their older colleagues.
Furthermore, the Pūaotanga staffing report released earlier this year made clear that current primary staffing was inadequate.
"This is particularly concerning in a sector that is already understaffed and struggling to recruit educators."
Vaccine mandate in 5-11-year-olds
With regards to mandatory vaccinations of children, the Ministry of Health confirmed it would not be compulsory for children aged between 5-11 years old.
Furthermore, no restrictions would be in place for unvaccinated children more broadly, in contrast to those unvaccinated people aged 12 and over.
A Ministry of Health spokesperson said while it was not compulsory, they did encourage everyone who was eligible to get vaccinated.
"This offers the greatest protection against Covid-19 and helps to protect vulnerable members of our community as well as our friends and whānau," the spokesperson said.
"Medsafe is making excellent progress with the urgent assessment of Pfizer's data on vaccinating 5 to 11-year-olds and expects to take its assessment to its expert advisory committee for advice in mid-December.
"Once Medsafe makes its decision, the Ministry's Covid-19 Vaccine Technical Advisory Group (CV TAG) will be asked to make recommendations about the appropriate use of the vaccine."
According to MOH, planning was under way for the training and other processes needed to rollout the paediatric vaccine safely.
The timing of the rollout start date was yet to be confirmed but was expected to be no later than the end of January.
Health officials are said to be working with iwi, DHBs, local providers, communities and the Ministry of Education to identify locations for vaccination clinics that could administer the paediatric Pfizer vaccine in a whānau-based model.
