The NSW Government says at least 10,000 temporary teachers and support staff across the state will be offered permanent positions to shift surplus away from temporary roles.
The announcement follows the completion of a pilot scheme last year that saw teachers offered permanent roles in selected schools where there was demand.
Minister for Education and Early Learning, Sarah Mitchell said the roles would be offered starting in early 2023.
“This is an issue that has been raised with me by teachers and principals alike, including our Ambassador School Principals when we met earlier this year, and I made it clear that I wanted to have more teachers in permanent roles,” Ms Mitchell said.
“As such, the Department of Education has been working to identify teachers and support staff in temporary roles who could be transitioned. At least 10,000 roles have been identified and the Department will continue to work directly with principals to identify more.
“The pandemic allowed us to bypass the existing staffing agreement to work on responsible ways of converting excess temporary teachers to permanent positions.”
Minister Mitchell also confirmed plans to convert temporary Student Learning Support Officers (SLSO) roles into permanent positions.
“Our Student Learning Support Officers are critical – they play a vital role in our schools alongside our teachers, often working with our more disadvantaged students and those who have additional needs,” she said.
“We want to give those SLSOs on temporary contracts more certainty by also offering them permanent roles.”