Some Northland schools have been forced to roster students home on certain days this winter due to staff sickness.
It comes as some school leaders in the region say principals are stepping into the breach as the sector struggles to find relief teachers to plug gaps.
On August 8, Kerikeri High school’s principal Mike Clent announced students would be rostered from home on different days after an increase in staff sickness, the Northern Advocate reported.
In June, Tikipunga High School also made the decision to roster senior students home on Thursday and Friday after staff absences left the school with little choice.
Northland Principals’ Association chairperson Natasha Hemara told Breakfast that staffing throughout winter in Northland had been “particularly difficult” this year.
“There’s a combination of sickness occurring that we haven’t had before, I think after the Covid time a reaction in terms of helping people see wellbeing, we no longer come to work sick to spread our germs, there really is a positive approach to looking after our staff.
“But at the same time recognising we have a model in schools where we have to have a person in front of our young people to help educate them, to help them learn.
“But if there isn’t enough people to call on to fill those gaps, because the reality is there’s lots of vacancies in teaching, so we’ve gone to get relief staff and not been able to grab them because they’re already doing long-term relief to cover for vacancies already present.”
She said a combination of an ageing population of teachers and fewer people coming into the profession made it harder to attract people to come forward, particularly in rural areas.
Hemara said joining or combining classes, similar to that done in some Southland schools, was “not an ultimate learning experience”.
“Some schools are having to say ‘stay and home and do at home learning’. And we know through the Covid period that we use at home learning as an opportunity to keep learning going, but it’s not as effective as having a teacher that is able to spend that quality time with you to help you understand.
“Some schools are just mucking in and pushing their workforce a little bit too hard, because they’re trying to fill those gaps by not taking their non-contact times. And then we get quite a stressed-out work environment.”
Principals’ workload doubles
New Zealand Rural Schools Leadership Association president Andrew King said these shortages meant some principals were using their allocated principal time to cover for classroom teachers at some points during the school day.
“What this is doing is having a culminating effect in that principals are unable to carry on with their principal duties because they’re having to step up and get into the classroom.”
He said the situation was “not ideal” as the workload of principals had effectively doubled.
“They’re working after hours and on the weekends to get their principal duties done.”
Education Minister responds
In a statement to 1News, Education Minister Erica Stanford said access to relief teachers is a “key issue facing schools right now”.
“I am committed to finding solutions, and understand the particular pressures faced by small and rural schools.”
She said the issue is due not only to winter illnesses, but to increases in classroom release time and the need to access professional learning development opportunities like structured literacy.
“I have tasked the Ministry of Education with providing an urgent plan to address the supply challenges in this space and expect them to look for creative and innovative solutions to support schools.
“I have also sought advice from the Teaching Council on how they can respond to the relief teacher supply issues by considering the various settings within their control.”