We do not need to look far to see a media headline relating to nationwide teacher shortages, increased teacher workload or stories around staff burnout. Many of you will also be aware that these headlines are not necessarily new, and indeed such headlines were around in the late 90s when I was an early career teacher in the UK. Whilst the concerns may not be new, the issues are indeed very real and will require solutions not just here in Melbourne, but on a global scale.
As a school, we utilise a vast range of data to inform our understanding of issues at a local, national and global scale. Such data and research underpin our student programs, innovations and indeed our responses to issues such as those outlined above.
One such report we draw evidence from is the annual Building Thriving School Communities Report from McCrindle Research. This report provides a snapshot of school communities across Australia and encompasses the views of staff, parents and students.
In the most recent edition issued earlier this year, the findings addressed the issues highlighted above with some concerning data reporting that 58% of teaching staff surveyed across Australia had considered leaving teaching in the past 2 years; whilst this figure is down from 66% in 2023, the high numbers reported highlight the growing concern in the sector around teacher retention and subsequent recruitment.
Unpacking this data further, the report notes that motivations for departure from the profession are determined predominantly by teacher workload with a staggering 74% of teachers reporting feeling overwhelmed with the work requirements of the role.
Whilst the workload of teachers has been an issue under scrutiny for many years, it is fair to say that the changing education landscape over the last few years has seen the role of the school as a pivotal organisation in society expand, and thus the role of the teacher becomes ever more complex and expansive.
The report goes on to note that the top 2 attractors for educators in a role are:
Making a positive impact: 42%
Work/life balance: 39%
Covid was a major disruptor to workplaces across the globe, changing the landscape of the corporate organisation beyond what had ever been anticipated pre-2020. Whilst many other sectors retained online and hybrid modes of operation in the post pandemic world, overall, schools returned to the pre-covid reality with little, to no discernible modifications.
In discussions with business partners across other sectors, the hybrid modes of operation were reported to have increased staff flexibility and, in many cases, increase individual focus and overall productivity. Whilst this was not the universal experience, I know that many parents in this community and friends within my network have benefited enormously from the flexible options available to them.
Over the last few years at TKS, we have acknowledged the fundamental importance of staff wellbeing and have implemented increased, but limited, flexible options to our staff to allow for some focused time working from home. The feedback from these options has been overwhelmingly positive and indeed has certainly made a tangible impact on our staff attendance levels over the last 2 years; however, we are aware of the need to do more.
This semester we are piloting an enhanced model of flexible working for staff in one of our Senior School Faculties. This term, the Maths Department staff will trial a one day per cycle (2 week) optional working from home arrangement. This one-day arrangement has been designed to offer our staff a day of uninterrupted planning, preparation and marking. Whilst the arrangement will still require staff to be contactable, attend meetings and respond to student queries, the identified time is designed to provide the necessary infrastructure and support for teachers who wish to work flexibly from a location other than campus on this designated day.
Within a school environment, our Duty of Care to our students is paramount and thus the structure has been designed to ensure classroom learning is not impacted and students have access to the professional expertise and support they require.
Whilst we do not believe that you will notice a difference to the operations at the School whilst this pilot unfolds, we did wish to outline the pilot we will be running and the objectives we hope to achieve. We will be monitoring the pilot closely and taking essential and timely feedback from our stakeholders across the term as we consider our future planning.
The feedback we receive from our community each year speaks to the value you, as parents and carers, place on our dedicated team of educators and staff; I know that you will support us in our endeavours as we seek to find effective ways to support our overall community wellbeing.
The implementation of the Right to Disconnect legislation, applicable to all awards and eligible employees will come into effect on August 26th. The insertion of this legislation into the relevant awards will allow all eligible employees the right to refuse contact outside their working hours, unless such refusal is considered unreasonable. Whilst the nature of our organisation does make it difficult to define working hours, at TKS we do our utmost to ensure that our employees are able to disconnect, spending time with family and pursuing interests outside of work.
For the last few years at TKS, we have attempted to limit unnecessary out of hours communications, requiring all internal emails to be sent between the hours of 8am and 6pm, where possible. Overall, this works well in our setting, reserving out of hours emails for emergency situations only. Whilst we understand the demands of being a working parent, and therefore the window of opportunity for parent communications to teachers will often be after 6pm, we will – under the legislation – be required to take tangible measures to ensure that employees aren’t required to respond to contact out of hours but can do so in an agreed and appropriate time frame.
Whilst we do not anticipate these changes will create any negative experiences for our parent and carer or student community, nor limit the quality of provision we provide, we do anticipate it will enhance the overall experience for our team of staff.
At TKS, we believe our people, our community are our greatest asset and know that investment in holistic community wellbeing will see benefits for all.
Ms Nikki Kirkup
Principal and Chief Executive
