Lowest number of relief teachers on record

There are fewer than 8500 relief teachers nationwide – the lowest number for 17 years, according to government data.

In 2004, the year records began, there were 9816 relief teachers in New Zealand. That number peaked in 2011, with 12,231 relief teachers, and has been on the decline ever since.

School leaders say it is ‘‘impossible’’ to find relief teachers amid the Covid outbreak, which has caused schools to roster students home and move to online learning. ‘‘Normally I would have 10 or so relief teachers on my list, now I have one,’’ Newmarket Primary School principal Wendy Kofoed said. Even then, she counted her school lucky to have someone on call.

‘‘It is almost impossible to get good relievers. I have been [a] principal for 22 years, I have never seen it this bad.’’

In two years, more than 1200 relievers have left the workforce and have not been replaced.

Liam Rutherford, president of education union NZEI Te Riu Roa, said relief teachers needed more support. ‘‘In the pandemic, people want access to more secure work and relieving is the opposite of that. With no work during lockdowns or over holidays, people have no job security. There isn’t anything holding them into the sector.’’ Covid had only emphasised the long-standing issue of insecurity in relief work, he said. ‘‘We can’t leave the reliever workforce up to chance.

‘‘They need job security. They need it to be part of a wider teaching career pathway, with access to professional development.’’

Sally Wallwork, chairperson of the New Zealand Relief Teacher Association, agreed. ‘‘They want better conditions. They want involvement in professional development,’’ she said. ‘‘Relief teachers want security. A lot of them have gone back to work fulltime. They have taken on new entrants’ classes in term 3.’’

The drop in relief teachers was no minor issue, Rutherford said.

When schools didn’t have relievers to take classes, they often had to split classes. That meant dividing students up and sending them to other teachers.

It disrupted children’s learning and increased teachers’ workload, Rutherford said.

NZEI Te Riu Roa is calling for an in-depth review of the relief teaching workforce.

Anna Welany, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, said the high levels of sickness and absence were increasing relief teacher demand.