Primary principals stressing
A shortage of reliever teachers for primary schools in Southland may result in some classes being told to stay home, an educator says.
A Southland Primary Principals Association survey has revealed 39 of 62 Southland primary school principals [63%] said they could not find enough relief teachers to cover for staff having days off.
Riverton Primary School principal Tim Page said rural schools were the toughest places to get reliever teachers, as a lot did not want to travel from town to rural areas for work.
Despite having a pool of relievers to call on, he could only count on one to respond if she was available.
If two of his full-time teachers were sick, and his reliever was unavailable, he would teach in one class and the children in the other class would be split up and put into different classes for the day.
Southland Primary Principals Association president Simon Bell, the principal of Otautau School, said the issue was causing stress for principals.
His school had one reliever teacher, and if she was unavailable or already covering its teachers who were off on courses, he often taught himself.
“If we get two or three teachers sick at the same time we wouldn’t be able to staff the classes safely, so would have to ask classes to stay home.”
Education and Immigration Minister Erica Stanford this month announced that secondary school teachers moving to New Zealand would be put on a fast track to residency to help address workforce shortages.
Bell said he believed primary teachers should also be fast tracked from overseas.
“What they [Government] need to realise is there’s just as much a shortage in the primary sector.”
Stanford’s office did not respond to questions on the matter.
Bell said he did not believe teachers were coming through the training colleges in the same numbers as previously had.
Ministry of Education workforce leader Anna Welanyk said the latest data showed the number of domestic students enrolling in initial teacher education training qualifications was down by 23% between 2021 and 2022 – from 5235 to 4050 students.
The reduction reflected a drop from higher-than-normal numbers of students enrolling during Covid-19, she said.
Welanyk said the ministry’s annual teacher demand and supply report did not forecast a shortage in primary teachers nationwide.
“[But] we know some localities are under pressure and may be experiencing challenges with supply.”
She encouraged schools to contact their local education ministry office for advice in such cases.
Permanent full-time primary school teacher numbers in Southland had remained steady, with 408 in 2022 and 405 in 2023, while day relievers had increased from 110 to 123, she said.
She acknowledged the predicament of rural Southland primary schools in finding reliever teachers.
“Southland’s population is spread across a large geographical area presenting schools with particular challenges around access to available staff in times of urgent need, or where there is short term notice.”
The ministry had domestic and overseas initiatives in place to support recruitment, training and retention of teaching staff, she said.
These included free teacher education refresh programmes to incentivise qualified teachers to return to teaching, and it supported teachers to relocate to New Zealand with an overseas relocation grant of up to $10,000.
Primary and secondary teachers were on the Immigration Green List, enabling migrants a smoother path to residency, and Welanyk confirmed secondary teachers moving to New Zealand were put on the “straight to residency” pathway.
Gore District deputy mayor Keith Hovell will not participate in making decisions on some chapters of the council’s proposed District Plan, after questions were raised that he had a conflict of interest.
In a submission from internet services provider Yrless, a company owned by councillor Joe Stringer, mayor Ben Bell’s mother Rebecca Tayler queried Hovell being on the hearing panel, given that he was previously engaged by the council to assist with the District Plan process.
Tayler is listed as Yrless’ group manager corporate services in the submission.
The submission says: ‘’we note that Keith Hovell was used as a consultant during the development process of this District Plan review and its proposed changes, and has now assumed the role as a member of the hearing panel. We believe that this is a direct conflict and that he should stand down immediately as a member.
“Any continued involvement of this member could raise questions to the integrity of the process’’.
Hovell addressed the issue by issuing a minute, which is included in the agenda for a council meeting tomorrow.
It says Hovell’s involvement was: “ostensibly that was in a managerial and technical capacity during the early stages of the preparing the proposed District Plan and that by itself does not give rise to a conflict’’.
It says ‘’however, having regard to matters set out in the Register of Interest and the submissions lodged, Commissioner Hovell will not participate in making decisions on various chapters of the proposed District Plan’’.
Stuff asked the council which chapters of the proposed plan Hovell would step away from.
It responded saying he would not be involved on chapters about light, signs, earthworks, energy, infrastructure, and activities on surface water.
Hovell is the chairperson of the hearing panel, responsible for the overall hearing process.
Councillor Glenys Dickson will sit on the panel, as will commissioner Maria Bartlett. Former deputy mayor Cliff Bolger will also sit on the panel and chair the hearings, and Hovell will chair them if Bolger is unavailable.
Tayler was employed as the council’s general manager, regulatory and community services before becoming embroiled in an employment dispute after her role was disestablished.
“Any continued involvement of this member could raise questions to the integrity of the process’’. Yrless submission