NSW to get Bespoke Teach for Australia Model

Teach For Australia (TFA) will partner with the New South Wales Government to establish a teaching pathway pilot in NSW secondary public schools from 2024.

Working with NSW education stakeholders, TFA has developed a bespoke model that will selectively recruit eligible high-calibre career changers and graduates from other disciplines to teach in NSW. TFA will provide participants with upfront specialised training and ongoing professional development while they work and complete a two-year Master of Teaching with TFA’s tertiary partner, Australian Catholic University.

“Teaching students are telling us they need more flexibility when it comes to acquiring their teaching qualifications as well as more time in the classroom, and this program delivers on both fronts,” ACU Faculty of Education and Arts Executive Dean Professor Mary Ryan said.

Successful applicants complete an intensive program of learning and gain classroom experience before being placed in a low-socioeconomic, regional or remote community for two years where they are paid to teach at 80% of a full-time load, while completing their Master’s qualifications.

Associates have access to experts in teacher education, a robust and high-quality learning experience, and authentic classroom experiences. They are supported every step of the way and complete one quarter of their Master’s degree before they commence teaching. 

Applications open early next year, and successful applicants will begin the Master’s qualification and intensive, supervised teacher training via the new TFA NSW Professional Experience (PEx) Academy from October 2023–February 2024.

School principals will be able to choose if participants receive additional supervision before leading classrooms. TFA will provide its best-practice teacher coaching and mentoring for the duration of the program.

CEO Melodie Potts Rosevear said, “We’ve listened closely to the NSW education community and we look forward to working with schools, principals, the Department of Education and others to deliver a program that is evidence-based, stakeholder-informed and deeply connected to NSW.

“Our programs complement other Initial Teacher Education and professional development pathways. We help to bring more subject specialists into the classroom who would not otherwise have considered the career, and we support regional, rural and remote schools with workforce supply and development needs.”

Teach For Australia focuses on teacher quality and school leadership as these are the two key levers with highest impact on student outcomes.

Teach For Australia has delivered more than 1200 new teachers and is working with 300 partner schools in communities across Australia. In the 2022 national cohort, nearly 50% are qualified to teach in-demand STEM subjects, and 68% are career changers who bring additional professional perspectives to their teaching.

“We also track our Alumni closely and know, since the first cohort in 2009 through to today, 72% are teaching and leading classrooms and another 12% are also in education-related roles. We also know they are highly sought after – 91% of partner school principals tell us they would hire another TFA teacher,” says Rosevear.

Teach For Australia receives funding from the Commonwealth’s High Achieving Teachers Program, and recently received an additional commitment to support another 700 teachers from the Federal Labor Government.

Applications for TFA programs, including places in the NSW pilot, will open in early 2023. Enquiries can be made at teachforaustralia.org.