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Montanna Styles and her Traralgon teammates began their Gippsland League campaign on the right note, defeating Bairnsdale away from home.The Maroons played a standalone game on Easter Saturday, as the rest of the competition is now ready to get underway for season 2024. MORE - VALLEY SPORT Photograph: Liam Durkin
Education crisis By ZAIDA GLIBANOVIC
FEELING burn-out, overworked and overwhelmed is what education staff reported to the state education inquiry, while parents described harrowing accounts of misconduct to a parliamentary committee at a hearing held at Traralgon Century Inn last Wednesday, March 27. Many local educators expressed their concerns as evidence to the inquiry into the state education system in Victoria. The Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee has a wideranging terms of reference for its probe into learning at government schools from Prep to Year 12. Stephanie Feldt from Albert Street Primary in the heart of Moe gave a heartfelt testimony, citing issues with staff wellbeing and special needs support. “The inquiry into the state schools reveals significant challenges,” Ms Feldt said. With 58 per cent of Albert Street
Primary School students needing extra support due to special needs, the Grade 5/6 teacher said the staff not only deal with behavioural issues frequently, but in their classroom duties must take special care and even ensure children are medicated. “Many students with disabilities in the Latrobe Valley schools lack access to crucial support,” Ms Feldt said. The teacher finds herself in a school where parents who often come from a low socioeconomic background are unable to provide their children with external support for their special needs such as speech pathology, paediatrics and therapy. Ms Feldt said the school was not fortunate enough to have the funding to hire an on-ground speech pathologist, and said the supply for specialists was not here in the Latrobe Valley. With so many students needing special support, classroom teachers have had to take on the brunt of the work, which has no doubt contributed to their workload, Ms Feldt said.
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“We’re putting a lot into our students, and that’s our job, but it is leading to teacher burnout … there’s not adequate support for our staff members,” she said. Not only do students have special needs without adequate support, but teachers also aren’t being supported despite facing many challenges to their mental wellbeing, including frequent behavioural issues. “A lot of staff are finding it difficult – having students swear at you every day or kick at you,” Ms Feldt said. A recent Australian Education Union survey of thousands of public school teachers across Australia found that more than a third of teachers were planning on leaving the industry because of excessive workloads, low pay, and student behaviour. “We’ve had to do a lot more and at capacity - you know you want to give your best to your school and that has definitely, led to one of our staff members burn-out,” Ms Feldt said. The state government finally released the damning findings of the 2022
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Teacher Supply and Demand Report last week. The forecast demand for teachers is expected to outpace supply to 2028, with a shortfall of 5036 teachers expected over this period, according to the report. Having worked in the private sector previously, Ms Feldt said there was a notable difference in funding and resources between state and private schools. “Coming to Latrobe Valley after being to some of those affluent schools was a massive wake-up call,” she said. With around nine support staff at a school with more than half of the school enrolments requiring special needs, Ms Feldt said the school needed more staff to efficiently provide a supportive educational space. Voices for Special Needs, a group born from allegations of misconduct at Latrobe Special Developmental School, presented at the hearing. Continued - Page 5
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GAME OF THE ROUND FORTUNA VS MOE - INSIDE