The missing piece in the school reform debate

Jan 31, 2023
Child holding puzzle pieces.

Student outcomes in literacy and numeracy continue to go backwards. Why? Missing from the list of causes for poor learning outcomes, as it is from every such list, is the ineffectiveness of the Learning Assistance Program.

Student outcomes in literacy and numeracy continue to go backwards, according to the Productivity Commission in a report released on Friday 20th January, despite record funding (which still fails to meet the minimum Schooling Resource Standard for public schools) and record teacher working hours (inflated by paperwork).

The reasons for this are the usual suspects, identified by the Productivity Commission as weak targets, socio-economic disparities among students, weak policies to address these, and the tactfully renamed “teaching quality.”

Surprisingly, the average five hours a week that teachers are spending on paperwork is not resulting in a standard of reporting on student performance that satisfies the Commission.

Missing from this list of causes for poor learning outcomes, as it is from every such list, is the ineffectiveness of the Learning Assistance Program. This program began in 2004 “to assist students enrolled in regular classes K-12 who are having difficulty in literacy, numeracy or language” according to a report commissioned by the NSW Department of Education. Under this program, the Department employs Learning and Support Teachers, at least one in every school, the allocated hours per week determined by school enrolments and student needs as identified by NAPLAN and other metrics.

However, a combination of the broadening of their role, disincentives for accessing specialist training, and limited time to do intervention work has made it difficult for Learning and Support Teachers to be effective in addressing the underachieving tail of students.

“They’re expected to attend to all these things: autism, behaviour problems, ADHD, not just literacy and numeracy,” I was told by Jasmine*, a former Learning and Support Teacher now working as an Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Instruction at a school in Sydney’s southwest. “Dealing with pediatricians, pre-schools, setting up behaviour programs at lunchtime, collating data, writing access requests. Dealing with speech therapists and occupational therapists as well. Some are running Learning Support Teams. It all takes away from actually working with children.”

Annette Guterres is Secretary of the Professional Association of Learning Support Inc. She has seen major changes in the role of Learning and Support Teachers over the last 20 years, most significantly the introduction of the Learning Assistance Program. This introduced the Learning Support Team, overseen by the school executive and including ESL teachers as well as support teachers and the school counsellor. This had advantages. “It made a big difference to getting a cohesive role across the school and having a voice on the executive.”

Annette also thinks the broadening of the role was positive, supporting class teachers, doing professional development and helping with behaviour as well as academic learning goals. However, she finds there has been “an enormous increase in documentation. It’s just exploded, there’s so much they have to do, it’s taking away from their role.”

The teacher who took over Jasmine’s previous job in Learning Support is now spending two days a week on paperwork. Jasmine’s new school is larger and the only trained Learning and Support Teacher is working full time on paperwork, leaving the Covid Tutors to do intervention. She is worried about what will happen when they are phased out this year.

Phoebe,* who teaches in a support unit for students with complex learning needs in a disadvantaged secondary school in regional NSW, is also concerned about the phasing out of the Covid Tutors. “They have been effective. The LaSTs are too busy to do the teaching themselves. They co-ordinate the Covid tutors, who will go at some point and we need them, and then some.”

Phoebe is qualified as a Learning and Support teacher but prefers to work in special education. “I wouldn’t be happy working as a Last because I see in our school how little time they get to work with students and I actually want to work with students. They are too busy with paperwork and co-ordinating other staff. They co-ordinate Covid tutors and SLSOs (teacher aides) to run interventions, but I want to run interventions and in my role I can do that.”

A further obstacle to effective learning support is the availability of teachers with special training. To become qualified in learning and support, teachers need to do a master’s degree in Special Education or Inclusive Education and it doesn’t result in a promotion or extra pay. Unsurprisingly, there is a shortage of teachers who have been willing to do this. Jasmine said that when she arrived at her current school, “They had no intervention program, they had no-one trained to do intervention, because the LaST was doing all the admin stuff. That’s the issue, having people who can do it, not only trained, but available for intervention.”

Annette agrees. “The priority is to meet student learning needs, and the professional learning needs of their teachers. Support teachers need to be well trained, especially in intensive intervention.”

 

*Not their real names

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