Which Queensland schools are struggling to find staff as teacher shortage looms

Hundreds of teaching positions are going unfilled from Cairns to the Gold Coast, with 130 schools struggling to find staff and regional areas failing to attract teachers. Check the vacancies.

Many of the state’s large regional cities are failing to attract teachers with more than 130 schools outside Brisbane struggling to find staff a week after the start of the 2023 school year.

Prestigious state and private schools in Rockhampton, Townsville, Mackay, Cairns, Wide Bay, Lockyer Valley and Mt Isa were all still desperately advertising last-minute teaching positions on the weekend.

Although there were 67 teacher positions still up for grabs in Brisbane, cities outside the capital were also grappling with vacancies.

In North Queensland’s Townsville, Charters Towers and Mt Isa, there were 35 teaching positions still vacant in the first week with prestigious schools such as Townsville Grammar and St Patrick’s still hunting for secondary teachers.

There were fewer vacancies for primary teachers with 11 posts for lower-level grades still unfilled across North Queensland.

Central Queensland schools in and around Gladstone, Rockhampton and Yeppoon also suffered with 29 teaching vacancies in the first week.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE LIST OF SCHOOLS STILL HUNTING FOR TEACHERS

Data from online job search engines Indeed.com.au and Seek.com.au highlighted a major demand for teachers in maths, science and digital technology in Central Queensland.

The ads also highlighted the financial cost with principals claiming the bills totalled thousands of dollars each month and affected their budgets with that spending not compensated by the government.

The Rockhampton Grammar School was needing teachers for agriculture and outdoor education. Photo: Rockhampton Grammar

Redeemer Lutheran College at Biloela was calling out for a primary teacher along with teachers in high school maths and science.

The prestigious Rockhampton Grammar School was advertising for someone to take classes in agriculture and outdoor studies while there were still major positions vacant in maths and science across the region.

There were 16 positions still being advertised for teaching jobs in Far North Queensland after day eight.

Cooktown State School advertised for “multiple positions” while Trinity Anglican College in Cairns still had posts at its White Rock and Kerrawa Beach campuses.

In the Wide Bay-Burnett area, which is about four hours’ drive north of Brisbane, there were 13 job ads for teachers after the first week of term.

All but two were for secondary teachers and the majority were for maths, science and industrial technology teachers, including Hervey Bay State High School.

Across the state, about 68 per cent of all the Queensland job ads, or 210, were for secondary school posts with 88 ads for primary schools and nine for training schools.

The state’s 55,000 state school teachers and 19,000 state school teacher aides will contend with 572,000 students in primary and high schools across the state.

There are approximately 303,000 in private schools.

Queensland Education said class size targets for 2023 remained the same as last year, when a Teachers’ Certified Agreement stipulated 25 students per teacher for Prep to Year 3 with 28 students per teacher for Years 4 to 10; and 25 students per teacher for Years 11 to 12.

A department spokesman said most of the ads were for private schools, not run by the government, and the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement applied only to state school teachers.

The job ads after the first week of school, renewed claims from Teachers’ Professional Association of Queensland about “classroom ramping” and dire staff shortages, especially in the southeast corner.

Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard, left, dismissed claims there was a teacher shortage but TPAQ secretary Tracy Tully, right, said more than 300 job ads showed there was a problem for schools retaining staff.

TPAQ secretary Tracy Tully said schools across the state were struggling to fill about 2000 relief teaching positions and teacher vacancies had increased since last year’s Covid dismissals.

She said a 4 per cent Enterprise Bargaining Agreement struck last year between the government and the Queensland Teachers’ Union had failed and said TPAQ had suggested a 7 per cent wage claim to retain good staff.

“Standard class sizes continue to blow out as the 2023 school year starts,” she said.

“Teachers are not experiencing any relief in the new year, as overcrowded classrooms remain at around 30 students per class whilst understaffed with teacher-aide support, well over the agreed 25 levels recommended.

“Principals continue to struggle with appointing teachers qualified in their subject areas in secondary schools with staff shortages impacting delivery of daily lessons, hampered by student behaviour issues adding to their problems.

“The state government is brushing aside these issues and has limited appreciation of exactly how exceeding the classroom limit has an adverse exponential effect.

“More students per room affects the type of furniture and resources available, along with limiting teacher time per student.”

Townsville Christian College needed both primary and secondary teachers. Photo: Townsville Christian College

But Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard, who was acting as Education Minister last week, dismissed the staffing shortage claims and said incentives including better pay were in place to retain and attract teachers.

She said 6000 new teachers and almost 1500 new teacher aides had been employed in the past five years with the state on track to employing the full-time equivalent of 6190 new teachers.

“There are wage rises of 4 per cent, 4 per cent, and 3 per cent over three years, and a cost-of-living adjustment payment each year of the wage agreement.”

Queensland Education said 95 per cent of state school primary classes and 97 per cent of state secondary classes achieved the agreed class-size targets last year.

The majority of classes where the targets had blown out, were over by “just one or two students”, the department said.