Background information from the state government:

TO support schools across NSW in managing staffing impacts related to COVID-19, the department has published guidelines for the back-filling of staff, which include the use of the casual teaching workforce.

Contingency arrangements include teachers from nearby schools and the use of department accredited staff in non-teaching roles where other avenues of staffing have been exhausted.

All teachers employed in NSW public schools are qualified to teach.

As of March 14, more than 350 corporate staff accredited to teach have been deployed into schools and 1799 final year students have been granted interim teaching approval for casual and temporary teaching. School principals can also encourage part-time teachers to take on fulltime work.

The department has contacted more than 1400 teachers who have retired over the past two years to consider casual or temporary work. In January and

February, 297 of retired teachers contacted have been paid as a casual teacher and a further 54 paid as a short-term temporary employee.

Almost 8,000 additional staff are also being engaged to deliver our COVID intensive learning support program, and we acknowledge the impact that this has had on our casual pools.

We are working on a number of initiatives to deliver a sustainable supply of quality teachers, including in critical subjects and locations. This includes a campaign to bring more than 500 qualified STEM teachers from other countries and states to boost teacher numbers in NSW public schools.

The Government is on track to deliver its 2019 commitment to recruit an additional 4,600 teachers over four years. Vacancy rates remain low for a sector of our size. The Department has filled more than 6,400 teaching positions last year, and since 2017 it has appointed more than 26,000 teachers.