Beginning teacher support funding
Direction and guidance for schools on using Beginning Teacher Support Funding to support the induction and professional development of eligible beginning teachers.
Audience
Beginning permanent and temporary teachers, supervisors, principals, school executive and relevant department staff (Directors, Educational Leadership and School Workforce directorate).
| Version | Date | Description of changes | Approved by |
|---|---|---|---|
| V01.0.2 | 11/11/2024 | Updated to include link to Beginning teacher support entitlement familiarisation document. | R/Director, Attraction and Engagement Programs, School Workforce |
| V01.0.1 | 30/08/2024 | Under the 2023 Policy and procedure review program, document moved from Beginning teachers support funding policy. No change to intent. |
Chief People Officer |
| V01.0.0 | 09/04/2024 | Under the 2023 Policy and procedure review program, a new procedure was created and incorporates details of the department-wide approach to beginning teacher support funding. | Executive Director, School Workforce |
| Ongoing union consultation is occurring and amendments may be made from time to time. |
About the policy
The department is committed to maintaining a skilled and competent workforce through a suite of professional development, performance and accreditation initiatives. These include providing funding to schools to support beginning teachers’ induction and professional development as a key strategy to assist new teachers entering the profession.
These procedures relate to the Workforce planning and management policy.
Beginning teachers:
- work collaboratively with their supervising teachers and or mentor to develop their practice
- work towards their accreditation at Proficient Teacher level.
School executive and beginning teacher supervisors/mentors:
- provide induction support, professional learning opportunities and feedback to beginning teachers
- work collaboratively with other staff to support the professional development of beginning teachers
- ensure that a program of practice-based mentoring support is developed for eligible beginning teachers
- support permanent and temporary beginning teachers to work towards their Proficient Teacher accreditation requirements.
Principals:
- implement Beginning Teacher Support Funding appropriately in their schools (refer to the Beginning Teacher Support Funding School Workforce team to clarify how to use the funding; for example, it cannot be used for university or graduate study)
- report on use of funds as required to their Director, Educational Leadership
- ensure eligible beginning teachers are made aware of the support available under this procedure
- ensure any unused funds are returned to School Workforce directorate when required (for example, if a temporary engagement has ceased or the beginning teacher has resigned)
- notify School Workforce if a beginning teacher moves to a new school during the calendar year the funds were allocated so School Workforce can transfer any unused funds to the new school.
Directors, Educational Leadership:
- monitor the implementation of Beginning Teacher Support Funding across schools.
School Workforce directorate:
- manage the distribution of funding
- recoup funds and/or transferring funds when required.
What needs to be done
From 2025, Beginning Teacher Support Funding will be replaced by Beginning Teacher Support Entitlement. For more information, refer to Beginning teacher support entitlement.
1. Determine who is eligible
Eligible permanent teachers:
- require mandatory accreditation
- have not yet achieved accreditation at Proficient Teacher level at the date they enter on duty
- are employed in their first permanent teaching appointment with the department.
Eligible temporary teachers:
- require mandatory accreditation
- have not yet achieved accreditation at Proficient Teacher level at the date they commence their temporary engagement
- are employed in their first eligible, consecutive 4-term (calendar year), full-time temporary engagement
- are employed under temporary engagements and approved in SAP by 5pm on 1 March in the year of engagement.
Ineligible teachers:
- casual teachers
- temporary teachers who have been employed for less than four consecutive terms in a calendar year
- teaching or non-teaching executives
- principals
- teachers who have previously received first year (permanent/temporary) or second year (permanent) beginning teacher support funding.
2. Determine how the funding can be used
Principals have the flexibility to design a program tailored to a beginning teacher’s specific strengths, development needs and the setting in which they teach.
Guiding principles
- Beginning teachers have reduced responsibilities or teaching loads sufficient to support the development of their skills.
- Beginning teachers are provided with ongoing feedback and support that is embedded in the collaborative practices of the school.
- Mentoring structures and collaborative practices support beginning teachers within the school or across a cluster of schools.
- Beginning teachers have access to professional learning that focuses on classroom and behaviour management, strategies to build student engagement, collaborative professional practices within the school, and productive relationships with parents and care givers.
3. Calculate the funding
First-year funding is:
- available for schools with eligible permanent and temporary teachers
- costed at the equivalent of 2 hours per week release time for the beginning teacher.
Second-year funding is:
- available for schools with permanent teachers only
- costed at the equivalent of one hour per week release time for the beginning teacher.
For schools with eligible part-time permanent teachers, funding is paid on a pro-rata basis according to the number of days worked by the teacher under their permanent appointment.
4. Finance information
Schools do not have to apply for Beginning Teacher Support Funding. All payments will be processed as budget allocations. Most payments will be made in 2 instalments (semester 1 and 2).
School Workforce directorate will notify schools via the school email address, of eligible teachers throughout the year. Principals should treat the email as confirmation of funding and begin teacher support.
For SAP finance support, please contact EDConnect on 1300 32 32 32 and select Option 1 and 1.
Carry forward information
All funds must be spent within the calendar year they were allocated.
Supporting tools, resources and related information
Policy contact
Manager, Teacher Talent, Attraction and Engagement Programs, School Workforce directorate
02 7814 3820
Beginning Teacher Support team
beginningteachersupport@det.nsw.edu.au
The Executive Director, School Workforce directorate, monitors the implementation of this procedure regularly reviews its contents to ensure relevance and accuracy, and updates it as needed.