How shortened school weeks could ease Qld’s teacher crisis

An independent prep-year 12 school implemented a shortened and more flexible schedule this term. About two months in, they have seen “happier kids, happier staff, and happier families”.

More than a fifth of Queensland state school staff lack overall support, have poor staff morale, and don’t have enough help to manage their workloads, the latest statewide survey says.

It comes as one Brisbane school reports major improvements in staff morale, work-life balance, and retention since implementing a shortened and flexible weekly teaching timetable.

About 50,000 state school staff responded in the 2023 School Opinion Survey.

They were asked whether they are well-supported at their school.

Almost 22 per cent replied with either “strongly disagree”, “disagree”, or “somewhat disagree”.

On the issue of staff morale being positive, almost 29 per cent disagreed to some degree.

Education Minister Grace Grace at West End State School last month. Picture: Liam Kidston

When asked whether they felt supported to manage the pressures of their workload, more than 23 per cent replied with a “disagree” response of some kind.

Regarding their school culture supporting a good work-life balance, almost 20 per cent of staff responded with “disagree” in some form.

Queensland Teachers’ Union president Cresta Richardson said the feedback from the union’s 48,000 members was clear – more support was needed across the state school system.

“This support for both classroom teachers and school leaders includes full resourcing so students can be effective learners,” she said.

“The Department of Education and government should be focused on addressing the teacher shortage crisis, student behaviour and reducing administrative workload burdens.”

Queensland Teachers’ Union president Cresta Richardson. Picture: Supplied

But Education Minister Grace Grace pointed to the fact that teacher retention rates in state schools remained about 95 per cent, attributing it to the state having some of the best pay and conditions in the country in the enterprise bargaining agreement renewed late last year.

“A strong majority, more than 70 per cent, of state school teachers feel well supported and that staff morale is positive, according to the latest data,” she said.

“The data also shows that more than 70 per cent of state school teachers agree they are being supported in managing their workload and that over 80 per cent believe their school’s culture supports people to achieve a good work-life balance.”

Independent school Wisdom College – in Calamvale in Brisbane’s south and home to 450 students from prep to year 12 – implemented a new flexible schedule this term.

Every Friday, all students finish at 12.40pm. Staff have the afternoon to themselves for professional development or to catch up on marking or paperwork.

Supervision is provided for those students whose parents are unable to pick them up in the middle of the day.

Every Wednesday, year 11 and 12 students either go to work, attend TAFE classes, or stay home and catch up on classwork.

Also on Wednesdays, students in years 6-10 don’t do normal classes. Instead they spend the day working on a specialised project of their choice – depending on what interests them.

Wisdom College principal Damien Barry with students Mariam Herrmann, Hameedah Buksh, Yassin Shalaby, and Hai Tran. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Principal Damien Barry said the traditional model was no longer working for his community.

“We recognised early on that the traditional model of schooling was no longer working for the kids; not only that, the traditional model wasn’t working for our staff either,” he said.

“We recognised that we needed to carve out some time in our school week. There was a disconnect between the world of work, family and school.

“We’re really happy with the changes we have made. We’re finding happier kids, happier staff, and happier families.”

Mr Barry said the most significant improvements had been seen in the college’s staff.

“In terms of attraction and retention of staff – schools either pay more, provide time for staff to do their job more effectively, or provide clear professional development pathways,” he said.

“I can’t compete on salary with the large well-established independent inner-city schools in Brisbane. But I can compete on time.

“The early Friday finish benefits our students and parents, but even more so benefits our staff so they have a better work-life balance.

“They can get all of the stuff they need to get done on Friday between 1pm and 3pm when they would normally be teaching.

“They can meet, plan, collaborate, mark, assess, and do professional learning.”

What do students and parents think?

Year 12 student Zohha Hassan noticed an improvement in student behaviour and engagement.

“I feel like most students would be really tired when it comes to Fridays – a lot of us wouldn’t be paying much attention in class or slacking off,” she said.

“But since we get Wednesday off to focus on ourselves and our work, and we leave early on Friday, we have been more cooperative in answering teachers’ questions and paying attention.”

Her father Hassan Ali, a self-employed business owner, said the new timetable gave them more family time on Tuesday, and allowed Zohha to come to work with him on Wednesday.

“I can see her focusing more on her studies, but also having more work-life balance and more time to herself. With the Wednesdays off, that gives her more flexibility to learn practical skills in my workplace,” he said.

Hassan Ali with 17-year-old daughter Zohha Hassan, who is in year 12. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

For year 7 student Hai Tran, the new set up gave him more time for his passions.

“I find having more time to learn at home can open up more interests and hobbies – I’m currently studying photography and photo editing. I now have more time to study about something I want to do in the future.”

Fellow year 7 student Yassin Shalaby has less stress with his sport commitments.

“I have a lot of sports in my week, my school usually ends at 3pm and my sport usually starts at 3.30pm – so it’s all jammed and a lot of stress,” Yassin said.

“On Fridays I have more time to mentally and physically prepare for swimming, MMA and my other sports. I also have time to have lunch with my family, I don’t usually get to see them because we have such busy schedules.”

Parent Seyma Dikci – who has children in prep, year 5, and year 8 at Wisdom College – said the flexible schedule gave them more family time on Friday afternoon.

“When they come home, they have some free time, but then we say they need to do one or two hours of study,” she said.

“They can also spend more time on after school activities – my girl has a piano lesson after school on Friday.”

Seyma Dikci with kids Selman, 14, Ealnur, 5, and Suedanur, 10. Photo: Lyndon Mechielsen.

Year 9 student Hameedah Buksh had concerns when the flexible timetable was first proposed.

“At first I thought the change in the timetable was weird and uncalled for, and at first it was very stressful,” Hameedah said.

“But Wednesdays are really fun because it teaches us to step out of our comfort zone and the Friday afternoons have allowed me to study more, and given me more free time on weekends because I can do my Saturday chores on a Friday.”

Fellow year 9 student Mariam Herrmann liked having time to do tertiary study.

“As year 9 students, we can do a Certificate II in Vocational Pathways and Workforce Skills, which is a useful qualification,” she said.

“I don’t think we would have had the time to do those before.”