Reports show that 72.4% of Australian teachers are planning to, or considering, leaving the profession before retirement. This comes at a crucial time as the education sector grapples with significant challenges, including existing teacher shortages and high turnover rates.
According to the most recent Teacher Workforce Shortages Report, workforce issues have arisen for several reasons, including an ageing workforce, increased student population, and decreased commencement rates for Initial Teacher Education qualifications.
With final year teaching students undertaking school placements, it is critical that those about to enter the profession receive as much support as possible to ensure long careers in education.
Recognising this, educational publisher Twinkl recently launched an initiative offering over a million free teaching resources to students in the final year of their teaching degree, paving the way for a long career in the education field.
The company is now reaching out to universities in Australia to support students graduating with a bachelor’s or postgraduate degree in Early Childhood Education, Primary, and Secondary teaching in 2024-2025.
“Our Bachelor of Education (Primary, Pasifika) programme at Manukau Institute of Technology is a special field-based teacher education programme,” Kylie Smith, Head of School of Education at the Manukau Institute of Technology, said.
“Our third-year student teachers have enjoyed having access to teaching resources that support their practice and engagement with Tamariki.”
Lacey-Rae Giumelli, Twinkl's University Liaison for Australia, said the most transformative aspect of the new resources is that they will free up valuable time for teachers.
“We know that significant time is spent making resources and documenting teaching plans, especially for early career teachers. So, by sharing our platform with those about to graduate, we hope to prevent the overwhelm and burnout,” Giumelli told The Educator.
“For final year teaching students, being able to access detailed lesson plans and full unit studies through our PlanIt resources, can be a game changer.”
Twinkl also provides an Australian Curriculum browser for teachers to sift through the company’s 1,000,000+ resources and find exactly what they need for their own context.
“Plus, we have resources to support pre-service teachers in completing their LANTITE exams,” she said. “There is a range of practice tests to help build confidence, plus webinars and blogs with handy tips and tricks.”
Looking ahead, Giumelli said Twinkl will be building on the support it is offering to ensure educators and leaders in Australia have the resources they need to support teaching and learning in their classrooms.
“Twinkl Australia is always growing and developing new products and resources to support our teachers,” she said. “Our new decodable Rhino Readers are available for pre-order now, with availability to schools and educators from early 2025, complimenting our Twinkl Phonics program which has been a popular download for schools Australia-wide.”
Giumelli said Twinkl’s segments produce and promote resources for all areas of the profession and will continue to build its communities.
“Keep a lookout on social media for announcements, webinars, new resources and more. Our one-month trial will continue - this is available to everyone, giving them a taste of our Ultimate subscription and all that Twinkl has to offer.”