Are you getting the release time you are entitled to?

Special funding is available for new teachers to lighten their workload in their first years of teaching and allow for mentoring to achieve accreditation.

Beginning Teachers Support Funding is provided to schools to support a beginning teacher’s induction and professional development, guided by the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

Schools receive a funding allocation that is costed at the equivalent of two hours per week release time for the beginning teacher and one hour per week to release a teaching colleague to provide mentoring support.

This allocation should be given in addition to a teacher’s normal release from face-to-face teaching time and beginning teachers can negotiate how they use their time including observing other teachers’ lessons, engaging with their mentor teacher and targeted professional learning.
Specifically, the Beginning Teacher Support Funding should be used to enhance the professional growth of teachers during their induction period in a variety of ways including:

• observing other teachers’ lessons
• enabling other teachers to observe their lessons
• engaging in collaborative practices
• receiving structured feedback based on observation
• evaluating impact of their teaching on student progress and achievement
• implementing effective classroom management strategies
• engaging in professional discussion and personal reflection
• assessing and evaluating student work
• planning quality lessons to maximise their impact on learning
• compiling evidence to achieve mandatory accreditation at Proficient Teacher level with the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).

All beginning teachers should be guided through an induction when starting employment at a school, which includes workplace orientation, training and support.

Federation campaigned for many years for all beginning teachers to receive additional release, mentoring and support as part of their induction into the teaching profession. Additional release and support was introduced for new permanent teachers in 2014 and later for temporary teachers.

Beginning teachers in all employment types are encouraged to attend Federation’s beginning teacher conferences and courses, where workplace conditions and entitlements are explored in more depth, along with accreditation requirements.

To find your closest beginning teacher conference visit www.nswtf.org.au/pages/beginning-teacher-conferences.html.

If you believe you may be eligible but have not received any information or funding contact Federation on 1300 654 367.

Eligibility requirements
Permanent teachers:

• require mandatory accreditation
• have not yet achieved accreditation at Proficient Teacher level at the date of entering on duty
• are in their first permanent teaching appointment with the department.

• require mandatory accreditation
• have not yet achieved accreditation at Proficient Teacher level at the date of commencing their temporary engagement
• are employed in their first eligible consecutive four-term, full-time temporary engagement to a public school
• have full approval to teach with the department by 1 March in the year of engagement
• have worked for the department as a teacher for no more than 406 days in a permanent or temporary capacity (excludes casual experience) prior to the entry on duty date for their temporary engagement
• are employed under temporary engagements received by EdConnect by 5pm on 1 March in the year of engagement under a consecutive four-term, full-time temporary engagement within the calendar year.

The funding entitlement

The Beginning Teacher Support Funding policy can be found here.