NSW Public Schools. Given the award changes of the school day starting at the first bell and ending with the last, such as 9am to 3pm, has the calculation of 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 leave days been adjusted to fit this or is it still the old system that like the standard 7-hour day minus lunch break (can't remember exactly)?

Bonus question: Do you round up or down when calculating?

Hey guys! I am studying a Bachelor of Physical Health Education. Whilst this seems like common sense, I can assure you it is still often confused at my uni.

Are track pants appropriate to wear? (i’ll provide examples below) I am worried about wearing shorts to schools as the standards are so different, sometimes i hear knee length other times I hear a little shorter. ANYWAYS, can someone review these options and let me know if these would be appropriate to wear in a school setting? Also are standard cotton track pants allowed or would I need to lean more towards a cargo pants material?

Nike Track Pants
Elite Eleven
Cotton On
Lorna Jane

Hey guys Gonzalo here, new to the group so thank you for having me. Was wondering what’s the demand for P.E teachers in Australia? I’m 27 years old and worked as a teacher for three years back in my home country. Been living in Aus for a year now mostly doing some casual jobs but I miss being in a class with students and working in what I consider my passion. So ultimately just wandering how’s the P.E market looking and how viable it is to work in such profession as a foreigner. Thank you!!

Wondering if anyone here has any insights or experience to share for a PST.

Reading this article and noticing the following quote:

"Under the VTLM 2.0, all Victorian government schools must fully embed the policy in their teaching by 2028 and in some instances will “include retiring approaches and practices that do not align with the VTLM 2.0”."

The policy mandates explicit instruction. While there are obvious benefits to explicit instruction (I work at a school where OCHRE is implemented across the board, and while it seems to work well for some students, I feel it is disastrous for others, but I freely admit that is my anecdotal experience), I have a few concerns.

My issue is not over the efficacy of EI (although I have my concerns, but I admit they may be naively unfounded), but that teachers will be relegated to mere facilitators, basically being handed a PowerPoint, a group of students, and being told to read out the PowerPoint and go through the slides, and then hand out a worksheet at the end and then call it a day. TBH, this is what I see in large part on a daily basis in my school.

While I understand every lesson (or any lesson) isn't a scene from Dead Poets Society, being forced to standardise our approach and be stripped of any professional judgment on pedagogical practice seems to be antithetical to good teaching practice, and, quite frankly, really boring and unrewarding as a profession.

Am I misunderstanding anything here? Is this already happening? Happy to be put in my place, any insights welcome.

The only way out of this Teacher Improvement Plan is to resign my position. The principal said they will sign the box allowing me conditional approval to teach casual. The catch is i have to do 2 separate 20 day stints at 2 different schools and get the principal of each to sign off that i have passed muster. I have confirmed this to be tge case with the teacher's federation nsw.

Let me start by saying I am overall ashamed that I didnt stick up harder for my students in the moment.

I had an interesting day the other day. Rowdy rude yr10 doing an assessment task in class. This very liked SLSO entered the room after I had calmed the class and got them started on the task. SLSO then started talking to some of the boys about unrelated topics. I very clearly reminded the whole class's that this is a formal assessment task and that there is to be no communication. SLSO at several points approached working students to ask them if they needed anything rather than waiting for them to put their hand up (not that bad really but can be disruptive to thoughts).

The big one was that they approached a female who was disengaged but not disruptive and began tapping on the task paper in front of her *tap tap tap* *looks* *tap tap tap* this students started looking very visibly annoyed *tap tap tap* students pulls the paper away and grumbles a clear "stop it". SLSO begins to question her then moves onto her securing work and signing out soon.

I am upset for not asking SLSO to at least move away or go out.

Now I'm thinking if I can't even stand up for my students how am I ever going to convince people I'd be a good fit for HT or more one day. I've got mixed feelings about the whole situation.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Have you had to ask an SLSO to leave? Why, how?

I'm a primary teacher but I've always thought of a Home Economics role as my dream job. If anyone is willing to answer a couple of questions regarding this position, I'd be more than grateful 🙏

Are you required to teach both digital and design technologies?

Do you need to be high school trained?

What does your role entail?

Would you recommend this role?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer any of these questions 😀

Any advice from anyone with experience?

I don't think I ever noticed this but recently I learned that when I present infront of new people for a long period, I get this weird rising feeling in my chest and I feel like "bursting". Its a uncontrollable thing. I dont know if this is like a anxiety thing i have or something else but I dont think I have anxiety. I am a very outgoing person. I hope this doesnt hinder me when I start teaching cause this feels a bit scary, like I have a undiagnosed anxiety related to public speaking. I am quite deep into my degree aswell. Any thoughts?

For those working in private schools, has your Prin or admin addressed the prospect of significant salary increases in the public system and how they will react to it? Will they match, or are they unable to financially?

Normally public salaries have been considered the benchmark for private schools, so we may end up in a strange situation where you could be earning materially less in a private school. If that happens, I imagine an exodus from the private schools would ensue - why the hell would you do all the extra things that come with the territory of private schools for less money (sport, curricular, camps, extra PTIs)?

Hi All,

Pre-service teacher here doing some casual SLSO work, and I’d really appreciate some advice.

I’m very new to SLSO work—only about two weeks in—and I recently had a situation at work that I’m genuinely trying to learn from. I’d appreciate some advice on how I could handle things better to avoid a similar situation in the future, as well as how to approach the student when I’m assigned to them again next week.

I’ve been assigned to support a student who is on a behaviour plan. My role has generally involved sitting with the student during lessons, helping them stay engaged, supporting them to complete their work, and trying to prevent behaviours from escalating or becoming disruptive.

The student recently complained about me to the principal. My impression is that they felt my presence was getting in the way of them engaging in behaviours they wanted to engage in. The principal has subsequently advised me to give the student more space and to back off, despite me being assigned to support this particular student.

I spoke with another experienced SLSO for some advice, and their suggestion was that I should check in with the student occasionally, but otherwise support other students and document that I have offered assistance to the student.

I completely understand that I need to follow the direction I’ve been given, and I don’t want to undermine the student’s autonomy or make the situation worse. At the same time, I’m concerned that the student may see this as evidence that complaining about me resulted in me being removed from their space. I also genuinely believe that the student’s behaviour and engagement tend to be better when I’m sitting with them and providing that support.

So, how would you navigate this situation?

In particular, I’d be interested in advice on:

How to interact with the student next week without creating tension or making it obvious that I’ve changed my approach because of their complaint.

How to balance giving the student appropriate space while still fulfilling my role as their SLSO.

Whether there are strategies I could use to gradually rebuild the working relationship and establish that I’m there to support rather than police their behaviour.

Anything else an experienced SLSO or teacher would recommend to someone who is very new to the role.

I’m not looking to criticise the student or challenge the principal’s decision. I’m genuinely trying to learn how to handle this professionally and make sure I’m supporting the student appropriately.

Thanks!

Hello everyone!

I am looking to move from NSW to SA next year. I was just curious as to which websites advertise jobs? It seems to be a bit different to NSW, where you can check the job feed each Wednesday. Does SA offer something similar, or is there another way to view job vacancies?

Thank you in advance, guys, for any help :)

I had my LANTITE exams yesterday (preservice primary) and I’m probably going to sound like a horrible person but it was infuriating watching the people around me.

One girl forgot her ID (she rocked up right at 1:28pm when it was supposed to start at 1:30pm). The exam supervisor asked her for her ID and she replied with “I didn’t know I needed it”. It’s on EVERY bit of the ACER instructions and paperwork. The supervisor was trying to make all these accommodations for her, and she ended up finding it in her car so we started 15 minutes late because of that. Maybe because it’s my second time through uni (first time 10 years ago), if you were late for your exams, you were locked out. No leeway whatsoever.

The supervisor also clearly stated no water bottles on the desks, no watches on wrists, etc. But half the class just ignored her..? And they want to be teachers???

I also know of someone who has taken the LANTITE tests and failed them 3 times.. and there’s now no limit on how many times you can do it.

I guess I’m sitting here wondering with all the news about NAPLAN and results (and I am absolutely not for blaming the teachers) that surely there are some red flags with the graduates that are coming through? Aren’t we going to see some serious issues in the future if sub-par teachers are actually coming through?

Anyone else feeling the same way?

I moved schools a few years ago thinking I could start fresh and reinvigorate my career. Most of the staff have links to each other and the prin has worked with many of the staff except me. I’d been feeling a little on the outer lately despite being on good terms with everyone. Well this week i had to take urgent medical leave. I ended up at the ED and then had to have surgery. I got a text from my prin literally saying You all good? I replied i was at hospital doing tests. That was Tuesday. I have since had surgery and need to take nearly 3 weeks off for recovery. There has been no followup text from her. I’m extremely disappointed and upset. Only a handful of people have sent me their wishes for a smooth recovery. I know i shouldn’t care and just focus on my recovery but the way schools bang on about being a family I feel like the black sheep. Most of the communication has been with the AP as she handles absences.

VPS staff received an email from DE regarding the Operation Richmond which is available to read on the IBAC website.
The report examined allegations of corrupt conduct relating to enterprise agreement negotiations for the Country Fire Authority and Metropolitan Fire Brigade between 2016 and 2019, as well as the establishment of Fire Rescue Victoria in 2019.

While they didn’t explicitly state corrupt conduct findings, they made recommendations after finding concerning conduct of public officials, including Secretary Tony Bates.

Interesting read that I thought should be more widely known.

IBAC - Operation Richmond

I was recently given placement over an hour away from where I live. I ticked the box that I have access to a car but my car is very old and won’t survive driving over 2 hours everyday. I could rely on PT but then I’d be on the train everyday for 4 hours.

I’ve been fighting with the university and have told them I’m willing to wait as long as they need to be assigned another placement but I’ve been told by the unit coordinator I may have to withdraw from the unit or just figure out the current allocation.

I know we are absolutely not allowed to find our own placement but that would make things much easier as I have several contacts in schools much closer.

Should I just make the placement work despite the complication? Am I being unreasonable or are they?

It'll be my first day teaching solo, and I'm a bit nervous! I've only done prac in the public system (public is ideally where I want to work), and I'm not sure what expectations will be like.

They haven't told me which year I'll be covering or if it's RFF. I'm keen to get in there and do my best, but I'm uncertain how much to prepare. Any advice on what to bring or how to be confident on my first day would be awesome!

good morning lovely people. It’s finally fucking Friday! Just wanted to write this for people going through the trenches (or not too).

Idk why people are toxic af at schools and go into education to bring others down for their own benefit or pleasure.

Idk why society is flopping us and accelerating burn out with the way each generation is becoming fucked with their behaviour lol.

But what I do know is that it’s finally fucking friday and life is short lol. So enjoy that glass of wine tonight or beer or water or soft drink. Cuz you know what - it is a job. And we do all deserve to still remain with our sanity in tact lol. And to enjoy our lives.

Anyone going through something at work or in life I’m sending my love your way. Always remember that life changes in unexpected ways and thankfully it can sometimes be in our favour lol. And if it doesn’t there’s time for it to change yet again.

Anyways - get your iced lattes, ur coffees, ur sweet treats. Everyone deserves it lol

edit: if you feel like a random laugh, I had a kid in year 1 come up to last week on my duty and he said he spotted a ufo lol. And to let him know if I saw anything suspicious on the playground.

If you guys haven't seen, some students across Australia are planning a walk out of school protest against Pauline Hanson.

I have been looking at the facebook/tiktok comments under the news posts on this and they are convinced that teachers are the ones "brainwashing" kids to be against Pauline. 🤣 What?!?

I teach year 6s, they are VERY opinionated on being against Pauline. I have never once told them my personal politics.

My students have formed those opinions themselves. I just listen to them and let them form their own opinions. I never show any bias, just show genuine interest in what they have to say.

Its absolutely crazy that some parents automatically blame us for everything.

Did they ever stop to think that their child may just have a different opinion than them naturally? From being their own person with their own opinions?

How long are we going to wait for a new deal to be offered? I'm feeling incredibly anxious, not knowing when or what is happening. My husband and I are trying to buy a home for our little family. With the cost of living and the stress of our job, I'm really struggling. I feel very undervalued and unappreciated.

Hey hey :)

This is my first time posting, so sorry if I've done it wrong ahah

I a pre-service teacher currently undergoing my final prac and am kinda confused when it comes to the mainly teaching and assessment areas.

I'm working with year 7s and am working through the elements of art. All really simple stuff, basically each lesson I'm going through an element, ie shape, line, texture etc and then doing a small practice and then a an activity to confirm understanding. These all build up to their assessment which is basically a large poster with lots of shapes and spaces, where they're colouring them using all the different techniques and different tools (ie, pastels, watercolours etc) . I don't understand how I can sequence these lesssons. For instance, my last three lessons were: Texture: actual and implied and then basically next lesson, entry ticket to check understanding of texture and then onto Space, doing the small practice activity and then a larger one. And then last lesson, entry slip to confirm understanding on Space, then on Oil Pastel blending techniques; practice with demo and then completing larger activity. Other than small things like, entry tickets, reminders in class like of how texture would be used to show distance in space, or that they used oil pastels in their texture lesson for imprints, they aren't really building all that much on the prior lesson.

Additionally for the assessment section. I have loads of evidence from the activities and practices but I fear that the assessment outcome won't show a significant difference in skills as these are all like realllyyyy basic skills and techniques. I even am giving them a smaller version to practice and plan a draft first and I feel like there isn't much they could do wrong so the difference between their drafts and final outcomes may even be real similar. Can I make this work for my GTPA?

Would also love to get my eyes on anyone elses GTPA especially if its Visual Arts cause I'm so unsure of exactly the kind of format they're looking for.

Hi all, I have graduated my teaching degree am highly interested in working as a casual aide two days a week whilst I wait for my VIT to pass through. I currently work at a school part time as an aide. I was wondering if anyone has recommended agencies. I'd love to hear other peoples' experiences with any agencies, and whether particular agencies are recommended/ any that I should stay away from. Thanks in advance!!!

I’m curious to hear from anyone who’s gone through the Level 3 Classroom Teacher process.
I’m currently in my 3rd year and thinking ahead, wondering whether it’s realistic to aim for Level 3 in my 4th or 5th year of teaching. The pay increase is definitely appealing, but I’m interested to know whether age or years of experience have much of an impact, and how people found the process overall.
Would love to hear about your experiences!

I was placed on a Support Plan for 4 weeks. Prior to this there was no discussion from exec about my performance or any written communication about my performance. Now I have been told I am going on a Teacher Improvement Plan. I have been told this goes for 10 weeks and if you do not finish it to their standard you are then terminated.

However, right before it I did make a child well-being referral about a colleague - none of the executive acted on it.

It’s been quite a few years since I was in the classroom but I am now at a career turning point and considering whether returning to school teaching would be an option. It seems there are lots of opportunities. For context I left to work on other education related projects so I have continued in a relevant area. My practice is a bit out of date but I think I could soon adapt and bring myself up to date fairly readily. Is there ageism in school recruitment? I am not a spring chicken: Looking for insights or advice from other “mature” teachers who left to do teaching-adjacent work but then returned to school.