Australian Education Union warns that primary school principals could lose pay or jobs as Year 7 moves to high school

The approaching shift of Year 7 to high schools has some primary teachers and principals worried they’ll lose their jobs.

• Cashed-up or cash-strapped? How your school rates
• Read more on schools data

Primary principals face pay cuts and losing their deputies and other senior staff, while classroom support workers could lose hours or even their jobs because of the move of Year 7 to high schools, the Australian Education Union warns.

It says primary schools could also lose their deputy principals and other senior staff, putting more pressure on principals in schools where enrolments fall as a result of the policy.

The union also remains concerned for the futures of Year 7 teachers who don’t want to work in high schools.

State vice-president Dash Taylor Johnson told The Advertiser the union had already noticed a “significant increase” in advertisements for contract positions for upper primary teachers, and a decline in permanent opportunities.

The State Government has confirmed the direct effect of the Year 7 policy will be 500 fewer teachers needed in primary schools.

But it maintains population growth will offset that loss, so any teachers who want to stay will find jobs in other primary year levels. And it says the net effect of the Year 7 move will be job creation: 800 more high school roles will be needed as Year 7s will have specialist subject teachers.

But Mr Taylor Johnson said salary levels of principals were based on factors including enrolments, so there were concerns about pay cuts for primary leaders when the Year 7s were gone, as well as primary schools potentially losing other staff in leadership positions if enrolments dropped.

In June the Government announced a $13 million training package would prepare hundreds of teachers and principals to educate Year 7s in high schools by 2022. It will fund primary teachers to obtain the necessary qualifications to make the move, while high school teachers will be trained in supporting adolescents.

Education Minister John Gardner expected the move of teachers from primary to high schools to be a “voluntary process”. “We estimate that by 2023 there will be an actual increase of 1385 FTE teachers and other education staff driven by enrolment growth in government schools,” he said.

“System wide, we anticipate that there would be no net reduction in support (workers) required ... when Year 7 moves to high school.”

Calculations of principal salaries are being reviewed in the enterprise bargaining process.