No applicants at all: the chronic teacher shortage crippling Te Tai Tokerau

A survey involving all 151 schools in the region, has revealed half of the schools have relied on untrained teachers to fill staffing gaps, and 23 per cent have had to employ early childhood trained educators.

One school reported employing up to five early childhood teachers and another has as many as eight staff with Limited Authority to Teach.

The survey conducted by Tai Tokerau Principals’ Association (TTPA), has prompted president Brendon Morrissey to question whether teachers in the beautiful but remote region, still exist. 

“‘Are teachers in Te Tai Tokerau becoming like the Moa – Extinct?’ is no longer a question. It is reality, a reality that must be addressed urgently by this Government...” Morrissey says.

“It is not just the lack of suitable applicants to permanent positions; it is the growing number of no applicants at all.

“It is about the fact that as well, the pool of day-to-day relievers is exhausted and schools increasingly have to take measures like sending students home as no teacher can be found,” he adds.

Morrissey is principal of Kaitaia Primary School and has worked in the region for 15 years.

While he says the region has a high proportion of isolated and single-teacher schools, and therefore can be tricky to staff, it’s never experienced this degree of shortage.

“Our profession is being demonised every day, and it’s just becoming less and less enticing,” Morrissey tells EducationHQ.

“Our Prime Minister, our ministers at the top, are there saying that we’re constantly not doing well enough.

The school leader says when kids these days are asked if they want to be a teacher, hardly anyone puts up their hand.

“Why would you when you see how much stress your teacher’s under?” he says.

“Or you’ve got parents who are teachers who are telling you to run, run away, do something else.”

The TTPA survey also found 93 per cent of principals have had to cover classes themselves and carry out their principal’s duties late into the night and on weekends.

Of these, 31 per cent worked in a school with a roll of more than 300.

“Every day we come to school, we look at who’s here, who’s not here, and what that picture is going to look like across the school, how we’re going to make sure that we've got the best learning situation today for our kids,” Morrissey says.

“That’s an everyday story in every school. It didn’t used to be, but it is now.”

The principal claims there is so much that could be done, starting with flipping the script.

“Turning the story into a positive, rather than demonising the profession, how about celebrating the profession?” he poses.

“How about turning the narrative from, ‘oh, these teachers aren’t good enough’ to, ‘If you want to really make a difference to kids’ lives and to communities, you should become a teacher’.

“You can make a hell of a difference, you absolutely still can.”

Morrissey says principals and teachers around Aotearoa New Zealand are frustrated by the lack of consideration given to sector voice when it comes to major changes.

“People don’t like things being done ‘to’ them, they like things being done ‘with’ them,” he says.

“We have constructive ideas that could really help and they could actually save the Government money,” he adds.

Morrissey points to PLD, and the cost involved with bringing up external providers from Auckland or further, who require travel and accommodation.

“We’re paying all these extra costs, and our staff are getting whatever’s left at the bottom money-wise, for time in front of the staff.

“What we want back is the Curriculum Advisory Service that we used to have in our ministry offices ... in the regions,” Morrissey says.

“We had such a wealth of ideas to call on from local people ... they were here in our ministry offices, and so that actually strengthened the relationship between schools and the Ministry, because we had people who were helping us to deliver really good curriculum areas based here in our towns.”

Morrissey contacted Education Minister Erica Stanford and outgoing Secretary for Education Iona Holstead last week with his concerns, and TTPA survey findings.

The local director of education has responded with an offer of an online meeting with a deputy secretary in charge of workforce.

Morrissey is less than pleased with the proposal.

“I don’t want an online meeting, you meet face-to-face,” he says.

“It’s too easy to be behind a screen and not be personally invested.”

In the meantime, the education overhaul continues and Tai Tokearau school leaders resume the daily battle of finding teachers for their classrooms.

“Before we can strengthen teaching and learning I think the staffing crisis is really the problem that needs to be tackled,” Morrissey says.

“Strengthen our profession with better learning supports and it will once again flourish. 

“Teaching is still one of the most rewarding professions and I still love it.  Even in the face of so much negativity, you can make a meaningful difference to many young lives.”