QTAD Q&A
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 124 No 1, 15 February 2019, page no. 26
Due to a Day 8 reduction in student numbers, I have been asked to transfer to another school. Can the principal do this?
Schools should reference the workforce plan to identify the subject areas/year levels that are affected by the change in enrolments and potential new staffing mix required to meet school needs. Staff should be given the opportunity to self-identify for transfer and/or to change teaching areas. If no-one self-identifies to transfer, regional HR consultants, in consultation with the principal, should consult the workforce plan to identify all teachers with expertise in subject areas that are no longer required to meet school workforce needs. Factors that should be considered include place of residence, previous service history, compassionate circumstances, disruption to school programs and future career plans. Staff should be given the opportunity to provide additional information about their personal circumstances upon which transfer decisions will be made.
What is the maximum number of students teachers can have in their class?
As per the certified agreement, the department is committed to the following class size targets: prep, years 1 to 3 and years 11 to 12 should have a maximum number of 25 students per teacher and years 4 to 10 a maximum number of 28 students. Classes in excess of these maximum target sizes should only occur in exceptional circumstances. Where there is the possibility of class sizes in excess of these targets, the class arrangements shall be the subject of a timely, collaborative and consultative process with staff through the local consultative committee (LCC) in schools required to have one, in accordance with the consultative principles contained in the certified agreement. Where composite classes exist across cohorts, the class size target would be the lower cohort target, e.g. years 3/4 should have a maximum of 25 students.
How much playground duty should a full-time teacher do each week?
There is no agreed maximum amount of time for playground duty set out in the Teaching in State Education Award – State 2016 or State School Teachers’ Certified Agreement 2016. Schools should arrange the playground roster in a consultative way with the support of the LCC. Teachers should not be unreasonably deployed to undertake playground duty and should ensure that they receive their break entitlements. Meal breaks must be a minimum of 30 uninterrupted minutes per day, with full-time teachers accessing a total of 225 minutes per week of unpaid meal breaks. In addition to these uninterrupted meal breaks, teachers are entitled to a 10-minute paid rest/pause break each day as part of their rostered duty time. This should be provided in a break separate to the time allocated for the meal break and cannot be averaged across the week.
I am a primary specialist teacher – do I have to do playground duty?
Specialist teachers who service more than two schools cannot be allocated playground duty or bus duty.
I have been asked to supervise children before school – do I need to agree to this?
For legal reasons, the QTU strongly recommends against before or after school playground duty supervision. Parents should be notified that there is no formal supervision for students who arrive at school early. Any supervision of students in the classroom before school should count towards teachers’ rostered duty time.