Ag 21 march, 2018

Page 1

Wednesday, Mar 21, 2018

Since Sept 27, 1879

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THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY

Double ‘trouble’ Twins Jackson and Jason McCulloch are among babies who regularly turn out for Ashburton Plunket’s twins and multiples coffee group. FULL STORY

Jaidyn in top company P16

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PHOTO SUSAN SANDYS 200318-SS-007

Relief teachers in short supply BY KATIE TODD

KATIE.T@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ

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A significant lack of relief staff is the latest symptom of teacher shortages and local principals say it’s beginning to hinder the effective operation of their schools. As nationwide teacher shortages leave their mark on the district, Ashburton schools are having trouble finding day cover for teachers on sick leave and having to resort to “last choice” options. Allenton School principal Graham Smith said that five years ago his school

had an extensive day relievers list which was only ever stretched during wintertime. But this was definitely no longer the case. “Relievers are not easy to get hold of now,” he said. “We’ve had it a wee bit over winter – but to have problems this early in the year is a bit of a worry.” Smith said it was a catch-22 that teachers were exposed to all sorts of sicknesses from the classroom, but then faced difficulty finding cover when they needed to take sick leave. “And most do want to do their job, so

A community built around people.

if they’re away it’s because they’re really sick.” Nowadays when teachers were away, his school was having to look into other options like “doubling up” multiple classes with one teacher, or taking teachers off their two designated days of classroom release time (CRT) per term, which are usually used for planning, testing and training.

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