Petition presented to Minister for Education

This year the Public Service Association has been running the Students Need Us campaign, aimed at raising professional standards for all School Administrative and Support Staff (SAS Staff) in NSW public schools.

Support staff in schools include:

They help students in the classroom, ensure the school environment is safe, and that all students are enrolled, their records are up-to-date and parents are kept informed.

But because of chronic under-funding and a lack of support from the State Government, many students in NSW schools simply aren’t getting the help they need. There simply aren’t enough SAS staff to help students and assist teachers.

As part of the Students Need Us campaign, we asked supporters to sign an online petition and on November 3 the PSA Schools Team delivered the petition with over 4,000 signatures to Education and Training Minister Verity Firth. We asked her to raise professional standards for all School Administrative and Support Staff.

Students Need Us Petition: PSA President Sue Walsh presents the Students Need Us petition to Minister for Education and Training Verity Firth

The petition is the first step in our campaign to achieve permanency for the thousands of SAS staff who help our students every day – many of whom, like Elizabeth, have been long-term temporary staff for over 10 years.

We know that making more SAS staff permanent would ensure students can always get help when they need it, and we want to hear your ideas for a better education system too. This is your opportunity to get involved.