By Lucy Carroll
The NSW Education Department has proposed axing 245 positions across its teaching and learning division, which will include a major restructuring of the state’s highly rated HSC teaching training program.
In an email to staff on Monday, department deputy secretary Martin Graham outlined changes that would include scrapping the HSC “best in class” program, which deploys the state’s best teachers to public schools to help lift performance.
The NSW Education Department is planning a major overhaul of an HSC teacher training program.Credit: Nick Moir
Screenshots of the proposed changes, seen by the Herald, include the option of dissolving the HSC Strategy program in its current form, a teacher training initiative that aims to boost student results and close equity gaps across public schools.
The changes would include cutting 245 positions from the “non-school-based teaching service” as part of the department’s plan to “strengthen, simplify and streamline” support for public schools.
Internal documents reveal plans to have more than 100 HSC teaching quality and curriculum adviser positions “deleted” – roles held by educators who run teacher training sessions in specialised disciplines for public schools.
A NSW Education Department spokesperson said the proposal to streamline the teaching and learning division would mean the “majority of functions will not cease” but will move to other parts of the division and be supported under a new operating model that prioritises supporting teachers and schools.
“HSC students will get more support, not less, as a result of the reorganisation,” they said.
But principals and teachers say the changes have sparked concern for the future of senior school teacher training which has helped lift results and had a “significant” impact on improving practices and student results.
“To cut teaching positions in the midst of a teacher shortage is incoherent and illogical,” said NSW Teachers Federation president Henry Rajendra. “We are yet to see any rationale or evidence for how this will improve educational outcomes for students. That’s because there is none.”
He said teachers who worked outside the classroom provided vital professional development for teachers to help implement the curriculum. NSW is in the process of rolling out a once-in-a-generation overhaul of the education curriculum, including HSC syllabuses.
Alice Leung, a head teacher and a Teachers Federation representative, said the HSC Strategy program had contributed to a major uplift in final year chemistry exam results.
“Teachers can only do the best they can if they are supported by the system. The HSC strategy delivers professional learning to show what explicit teaching looks like in multiple subjects, including English, biology, physics and history,” she said.
“It’s a program about equity and ensuring all students can achieve at their best.”
It is estimated more than 7000 teachers have received training under the program since it was launched in 2020.
The HSC “best in class” program, set up in the same year, created tailored roles for about 70 teachers to deliver professional learning to teachers across the system while teaching their own classes
‘Focus on service delivery’.
A department spokesperson said of the total 245 roles to be reduced, 142 are currently vacant. “These expert teachers will return to classroom roles,” they said.
“To focus on service delivery to schools and reduce duplication, we are proposing a realignment to the department’s Teaching, Learning and Student Wellbeing division.
“This will make it easier for schools to access expert curriculum, teaching and learning, and wellbeing support through single points of contact. Under the proposed changes, the HSC strategy program will be expanded to support the full range of HSC subjects.”
A staff consultation process will run until September 15.
A 340-page research paper published by Western Sydney University researchers this month found the HSC Strategy program has a “substantial influence” on teaching practices.
“Teachers involved in the HSC Strategy reported a deeper engagement with reflective practices, a shift towards more evidence-based teaching and an appreciation of the value of the discriminating features of high-quality band 5 and 6 HSC responses,” the paper said.
The HSC Strategy has the “potential for bridging equity gaps and enhancing the quality of education across NSW,” the paper said.
Opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Mitchell said the strategy and best-in-class teams provide expert guidance on supporting their students, especially HSC students.
“These cuts will also add significantly to teacher workload which will not help with attracting or retaining teachers,” she said.
The restructure comes after the government gave teachers historic pay rises of up to $10,000 a year and slashed principals’ budgets by $148 million this year.
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