Rewarding excellence in teaching reform becomes reality in NSW

Six hundred high-achieving public school teachers from across NSW will be the first to earn salaries of up to $152,000, thanks to a $100 million commitment from the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government.

The first cohort of 200 teachers across more than 50 schools will start in 2023, helping shape the career pathway before it is expanded across NSW.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government was future-proofing education by attracting the best teachers into the profession, and keeping them in the classroom to lift student outcomes across the State.

“This is seismic reform that will modernise the teaching profession and ensure we have the best teachers in our classrooms to benefit students for generations to come,” Mr Perrottet said.

“We want our children to have the best start in life and that all starts with a world-class education. The Rewarding Excellence in Teaching career pathway recognises outstanding work and ensures teachers stay in the profession.”

Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said if re-elected a NSW Liberal and Nationals Government would create 600 additional roles for highly-effective teachers over four years with a vision of growing the roles further.

“Our vision is for Rewarding Excellence in Teaching to be an integral part of the classroom career pathway in NSW schools, which is why we are doing the work now to get this right and making a clear commitment to delivering this reform longer-term,” Ms Mitchell said.

“Parents and students engage with amazing teachers every day in our schools and this commitment means those teachers stay in the classroom.”

Professor John Hattie, who has been the lead independent adviser on the reform, said the scale of 600 teachers over four years was the right step towards system-wide reform, based on extensive research and consultation.

“The best evidence says you need to co-design these roles in partnership with schools to get the biggest uplift in student outcomes. Over time, we would want to see this scaled up to around 10 per cent of teachers, or about 6,600 roles, to have the biggest impact,” Professor Hattie said.

“To help ensure these higher paid positions are as effective as possible, an initial group of more than 50 schools will be working with us to co-design the roles and what works best in different school contexts.”

The Rewarding Excellence in Teaching Program has been the subject of one of the largest consultation processes ever undertaken by the NSW Department of Education, as detailed in the ‘Rewarding Excellence in Teaching – Consultation Playback Report’ published today.

The consultation included:

  • 117 roundtables held across every school network in NSW
  • 1,267 teachers from 849 schools directly consulted
  • 4,554 online surveys completed

Schools involved in the first phase of the program represent a cross-section of school settings from across the State:

  • Albion Park Rail Public School
  • Asquith Girls High School
  • Bellbird Public School
  • Belmore South Public School
  • Ben Venue Public School
  • Blacktown Girls High School
  • Brooke Avenue Public School
  • Buninyong Public School
  • Byron Bay High School
  • Callaghan College, Wallsend Campus
  • Callaghan College, Waratah Campus
  • Cecil Hills High School
  • Cobbitty Public School
  • Cronulla South Public School
  • Croppa Creek Public School
  • Denman Public School
  • Eastwood Heights Public School
  • Elanora Heights Public School
  • Epping Heights Public School
  • Fairfield West Public School
  • Francis Greenway High School
  • Girraween Public School
  • Glendale East Public School
  • Gorokan High School
  • Guyra Central School
  • Gymea Technology High Schoo
  • Jordan Springs Public School
  • Kapooka Public School
  • Kyeemagh Public School
  • Londonderry Public School
  • Millthorpe Public School
  • Minchinbury Public School
  • Murray Farm Public School
  • Narrabeen Sports High School
  • Newcastle High School
  • Oakhill Drive Public School
  • Parramatta Public School
  • Prestons Public School
  • Russell Lea Public School
  • Sackville Street Public School
  • Southern Cross School of Distance Education
  • Stokers Siding Public School
  • Strathfield South High School
  • Tarcutta Public School
  • Temora High School
  • The Grange Public School
  • The Ponds School
  • Thornleigh West Public School
  • Ulladulla High School
  • Wattle Grove Public School
  • Woodport Public School
  • Woollahra Public School

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