And in the lead-up to the federal election,Queensland teachers are calling for more resources,saying the state should no longer be “left short”.
The majority of the disciplinary absences across the state were boys.Supplied
New data released in state parliament this week shows the grade with the highest number of disciplinary absences was year 8,at 15,322,followed by year 9,with 14,103. There were also 12,880 suspensions among year 7 students.
Across the three grades,there were more than 42,000 suspensions from a total of 130,758 enrolled students,some of whom accounted for multiple suspensions.
The disciplinary absences were in addition to thousands of student and teacher absences due to COVID-19.
The majority of the disciplinary absences across the state were boys – 60,307 compared to 22,786 girls.
Queensland Teachers’ Union president Cresta Richardson said schools were workplaces and,as such,the state’s 90,000 school staff should feel safe.
“The QTU have been encouraging members to recognise,report and respond to known incidences of occupational violence and near misses,” Richardson said.
“Schools need to have access to the right resourcing to support all students in schools,so teachers can teach and school leaders can lead.
Queensland Teachers’ Union president Cresta Richardson.Fairfax Media
“As we approach a federal election,the QTU is reminding everyone that Queensland cannot be left short any more. Our teachers,school leaders and communities deserve better.
“Our schools are the model for how we want our future societies to be.”
The data on absences was also broken down into regions,with the south-east recording the highest number of school disciplinary absences across the state,at 19,000.
More than 1070 prep students were also suspended in 2021.
Meanwhile,NSW teachers are expected to strike next week over pay. It will be the second strike in less than six months as part of the NSW Teachers Federation’s campaign for a 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent pay rise.