Gallop Inquiry commissioner, NSW Teachers Federation visit Peel High School to speak to Tamworth teachers

NSW Teachers Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos and Gallop Inquiry commissioner Dr Geoff Gallop, stopped in at Peel High School on Wednesday to talk with the local federation teacher-members.

They said it was clear from the responses from local teachers the breaking point is being reached now, not a few years in the future.

"There is a crisis happening in schools like Tamworth right now," Dr Gallop stated.

"Three things: great pressure on workload, a failing support system in the classroom and the schools overall, and thirdly an anomaly between teachers wages and the wages of other professionals - and you have a crisis."

The inquiry has set out a blueprint for how the recommendations can be achieved in a staggered approach over six years.

He said if these big issues are not addressed in the timeframe the inquiry has set out, he fears there will "not be enough there to turn the ship around".

"We've learned about the importance of teaching during COVID, so let's use the positive momentum, that new attitude, to reset the system with better wages, better support, and a proper timeline for the individual tasks the teachers have."

He said so far the government's response had been 'reactionary' to the release, rather than a substantial plan of action.

"I think at best what we've seen from the government in the last few days since the recommendations were released, is some announcements to deflect, and a bit of tinkering, when what we need is a substantial reset," he said.

It comes after Education Minister Sarah Mitchell told the Leader that the inquiry's proposals, while still only days after their release, "support the work we are currently doing".

Mr Gavrielatos noted the importance of being able to travel with the Gallop Inquiry and to communicate directly with teachers and discuss the importance of these findings.

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"Big problems require big solutions, and the government has been asleep at the wheel the last decade. We need a reset," he said.

"There are shortages in Tamworth schools now. And they'll get exponentially worse because there is going to be a 25 per cent increase in student numbers in the next 20 years."

When asked if he thought the government could reasonably implement the recommendations, he said the bigger question would be what would happen if they didn't.

The Federation's country organiser, Mercurius Goldstein, who went along to the local meetings, said the reaction from the teachers proved the inquiry's findings were on the money.

"Members, our teachers, have said to me, 'I feel like I could have written that report, because it's writing my life'," he said.

"And what that speaks to, is the report has found truth."

He said the government has known about these issues for a very long time, and that their "rushed solutions are no solutions".

All said that policies aiming to bring teachers to the bush were useless unless the wage offered to teachers was at least equal to that given to other professionals, to attract people to the career in the first place.

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