Update – Monday 9 May, 2021
Teach For Australia (TFA) welcomes a commitment by the Australian Labor Party that, if elected to government at the upcoming election, it will boost the Commonwealth High Achieving Teachers Program and support TFA to place 700 teachers to schools where needs are greatest.
TFA has worked closely with the Commonwealth Government since 2009 and has built a bipartisan, proven model for recruiting and developing teachers to make an impact on the lives of their students.
We are delighted that this funding commitment matches the Federal Liberal-Nationals Coalition’s support for TFA to increase the intake of our flagship Leadership Development Program in 2023 and 2024.
A Federal funding commitment announced today will support Teach For Australia to scale efforts recruiting and training more teachers for classrooms around Australia where needs are greatest.
As part of the $40 million commitment, TFA will be supported to recruit and train an additional 700 teachers who can start in classrooms in 2023 and 2024.
Melodie Potts Rosevear, Chief Executive Officer of Teach For Australia (TFA), welcomed the continued Federal Government support which will allow TFA to increase the intake for its flagship Leadership Development Program.
TFA’s Leadership Development Program is Australia’s leading employment-study pathway to teaching. The two-year program rigorously recruits high-performing graduates and career changers, supporting them to complete a Masters of Teaching while working at secondary schools in rural, regional and remote areas and low socioeconomic status (SES) metropolitan communities.
“Great teachers change lives, and this funding will support TFA to scale and expand our programs, which have successfully recruited passionate, talented people to teaching since 2009,” Ms Potts Rosevear said.
“TFA’s work is grounded in the vision of all children, regardless of where they live or go to school, receiving a quality education that provides choice and opportunity for their future.”
“We work to realise that vision by bringing more people to careers in the classroom, and supporting them to be quality teachers for students and schools where needs are greatest.”
In 2022, 161 teachers started in the classroom via TFA’s Leadership Development Program, joining 153 who are in the second year of their program. About 50% of both Cohort 2021 and 2022 are qualified to teach STEM subjects, helping to fill vacancies where significant shortages persist.
“As well as those currently in the program, TFA also now has more than 1000 Alumni and we know that, after 13 years, 88 per cent are continuing to teach and lead in schools and work in education,” Ms Potts Rosevear said.
“We are proud to have partnered with more than 250 schools around Australia, predominantly in regional, rural and remote communities where teacher supply and subject specialist challenges are acute.”
“From small beginnings in 2009, with funding from Minister Gillard, to today’s landmark funding commitment by Minister Robert, TFA has built a bipartisan, proven model for recruiting and developing teachers to make an impact on the lives of their students, and we’re now supporting school communities in Victoria, Western Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania and South Australia.”
“Together with our tertiary partner, Australian Catholic University, and our coaching and education partners, Teach For Australia is committed to delivering the highest quality training programs.”
Applications for the next intake of the Leadership Development Program are currently open.
“If you’re passionate about tackling educational inequality in Australia, we’d love to hear from you. Teaching is life-changing for those who become teachers, and for the students they go on to educate and empower,” Ms Potts Rosevear said.
“TFA has worked closely with the Federal Government since 2009 and continued investment will allow us to bring even more high-calibre individuals to the teaching profession, where they can positively impact the lives of students.”
“TFA also values our State and Territory Government partners and the generous philanthropic and community supporters who also enable our program growth, in service of the students.”
TFA’s teaching pathway is independently verified as cost-effective, most recently in 2021 with NSW Productivity Commission’s endorsing the Leadership Development Program as a cost-effective pathway that is bringing, and retaining, quality teachers to the profession.
In the same year, PwC analysis commissioned by TFA found that on current data, TFA is a cost-effective way for the Commonwealth to produce a ‘teacher who teaches’ when compared to the average traditional Bachelor or Masters ITE pathway. Alongside the initial cost to the Commonwealth of each ITE pathway, this analysis factored in other costs arising from course completion and employment rates post-qualification.
Today’s funding commitment follows the Quality Initial Teacher Education Review final report, released in February, which recommended the Commonwealth expand existing Australian Government alternative pathways and secure long-term funding for Teach Australia.
To find out more about the Leadership Development Program, visit https://teachforaustralia.org/
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