From across the border, teachers from Queanbeyan and Braidwood were also spending their 24-hour strike in the ACT and say the coming together of the two education systems is “historic”.

ALSO READ: ACT and NSW teachers on strike are ‘exhausted’, pleading for fair pay

Women’s representative at Queanbeyan High School, Robyn Slater, has been a teacher for 34 years, and says she cannot a remember a time before where her Catholic and public school colleagues had gathered in unity for change.

“I think it’s amazing. I think maybe this is the second time … the last time was 1996. So, to have teachers from the Catholic system join us is absolutely fantastic,” says Ms Slater.

“But sadly, it’s an indication of how bad things are that we’re doing this. It’s very sad.

“It’s all for the students; it’s not about us. However, we can’t do what we want to do for the students with what’s going on at the moment, and that’s the bottom line.”

In over three decades in teaching, Ms Slater says she’s never seen public education in such a dire situation, which is why she’s standing up to strike.

“Seven years ago, the department said in seven or eight years’ time, we’re going to be in trouble because 50 per cent of the teachers are going to retire – and that’s proven to be correct,” she says.

“The last three or four years of my teaching career have probably been the worse in my 34 years. That’s because of an unsustainable workload. We’re not being treated like professionals, I don’t think, we’re held accountable and blamed for things that happen …

“I’m really worried about students. They’re missing out. The last couple of weeks we’ve had whole year groups – 120 to 140 students – with one teacher supervising them because we haven’t had teachers to cover those classes.”

Federation representative at Queanbeyan High School, Mitchell Andrew, says the NSW Government is refusing to negotiate.

“They won’t recognise there’s a teacher shortage. Teachers are broken, they’re burnt out, and the students are missing out,” says Mr Andrew.

“I had a student write me a letter yesterday saying this is how I feel and it’s devastating. Our most vulnerable students – who have been identified by an external board – that they need extra help are not getting it.

“They’re meant to be in a reduced class size with one teacher so they can have individualised learning and they’re in mainstream with no support because we do not have the teachers and it’s not fair. It’s discrimination against those kids – they’re not learning.”

2021 saw the end of the previous super scheme, leading to a significant rush of teachers retiring as it was unsustainable for them to continue working.

Federal representative at Braidwood Central School, Alisa Stephens, said the NSW government was aware this was coming for years in advance, and it was the “final exodus” for the profession.  

“There’s a lack of planning. This teacher shortage has been on the horizon, it’s been clearly visible, and the last couple of years have hit hard,” says Ms Stephens.

“If we want to save public education, Catholic as well, something needs to be done. I saw a friend the other day who said they had a nine-period day that day – their school only has four periods in a cycle. So, they covered nine classes running between rooms checking on students. The disruption of learning that is happening every day is a real problem.

“In NSW, time to prepare and document and do all the other things we are being asked to do hasn’t changed since the 1950s, and hasn’t changed since the 1980s for primary school teachers. Primary teachers are on class every hour except two a week, and they’re expected to do all of that extra stuff in just two hours a week.”

Ms Stephens says it’s simply not possible, and teachers are continuing to complete their work in their own time.

She explained that the Gallop Inquiry shows the desperate need for a reset and increased salaries, or Australia’s future will continue missing out on a quality education. 

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