Better Use Of One Third Of Education Workforce Needed

Better Use Of One Third Of Education Workforce Needed, Report Finds

Almost one-third of the education workforce is now made up of teacher aides, school librarians, administrative staff, ICT managers and other school support staff, but they could be used more effectively by many schools, a report released today has found.

“Support Staff - Collectively Making Resources Count”, a report researched and co-written by the education union NZEI Te Riu Roa, the Ministry of Education and the NZ School Trustees Association, recommends that school leaders integrate support staff more effectively into teaching teams.

It says more training for support staff, including combined training of teachers and teachers’ aides, should be developed, and that management of support staff should be part of principals’ leadership training.

Vicki Signal, an office administrator at Rhode Street School in Hamilton who represented NZEI on the support staff workforce strategy group, welcomed the report.

“This is the first time the education sector as a whole has looked at how to ensure support staff can most effectively support children's learning, so it’s a hugely important report.”

NZEI President Ian Leckie agrees: “I think it's a win for support staff and a win for children if principals, teachers and support staff work together as a real team. The report provides a great set of ideas about how support staff, teachers and management can work together in our schools to support children’s learning better.”

The report surveyed principal and support staff in 250 schools and undertook seven detailed case studies. It has been 18 months in the making and was launched in Wellington this morning by the Secretary for Education Karen Sewell. The report highlights the value and worth and essential roles support staff play in supporting teaching and learning in 21st century schools.

The report identifies inclusion of support staff in the whole school team, providing good induction and training, and supporting effective relationships between teachers and support staff as areas that many schools could focus on more. NZEI says it looks forward to making further progress on the report’s recommendations with the Ministry and NZSTA.

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