Students are not the only ones learning in NSW classrooms as early career teachers benefit from mentoring by recently retired colleagues lured back with promises of better pay and less work.
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More than 260 teachers have expressed an interest in returning to work since the NSW Department of Education in November began contacting staff who had quit in the past five years.
State school teachers became some of the nation's best paid when a new wage deal came into effect in October, while the government has also promised changes that will lead to lower administrative workloads.
NSW still faces a teacher shortage and officials were working to remove barriers to recently retired teachers returning to classrooms, Education Minister Prue Car told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
"We need those experienced teachers in our schools, not just to plug the shortage, but also ... to help with the mentoring of younger teachers, beginning teachers that we find leave too early as well," she said.
The department has contacted more than 1500 departed teachers to see if they would return to work, with some 145 in a pool for casual and temporary work across more than 600 schools.
Around 60 per cent of the returning teachers had come out of retirement, motivated by better pay and reduced workloads, the government said.
NSW started the year with a 20 per cent drop in the number of teacher vacancies but there was still a long way to go to address shortages, Ms Car said.
There were 1782 public school vacancies in the first week of the 2024 school year, compared to 2242 at the same time in 2023.
Returning teachers will still be subject to accreditation processes and working-with-children checks.
They will largely be used to fill gaps caused by absences, but permanent teaching and small-group tutoring positions will also be available.
"If you are an experienced teacher ... you've given decades and decades to public education, we need you back even if it's one or two days a week," Ms Car said.
Australian Associated Press
