State MP for Rockdale Steve Kamper has told State Parliament that St George teachers are going "above and beyond" to provide additional services to students "for little or no reward".
Mr Kamper addressed State Parliament on May 6 to speak about valuing the teaching profession and the independent Gallop inquiry.
It comes after the vice-president of St George Teachers Association said teachers were spending too much time on compliance and managerial procedures, taking them away from students.
Glenn Hokin is calling on teachers to be given an increase in hours for collaboration, planning, assessment and monitoring student progress - a key recommendation of the Gallop Inquiry - the independent inquiry into the work of teachers and principals.
He said the current state government was ignoring key recommendations of the inquiry.
Mr Hokin, who said the current state government was ignoring key recommendations of the inquiry, recently led teacher delegations who met with state MPs Steve Kamper, Mark Coure (Oatley) and Chris Minns (Kogarah).
Mr Kamper told Parliament he recently had the privilege to sit and meet with a group of St George teachers representing the NSW Teachers Federation.
"I thank them profusely for taking the time to come to brief me on the findings of the independent Gallop Inquiry," he said.
"Teachers are the backbone of our education system.
"We depend on them every day to teach, to care for and to mentor our young people. It is not an easy job.
"The incredible local teachers I met with raised a number of issues.
"They spoke of a significant increase in their workload over the last decade, with no extra support measures or time to plan and prepare, a lack of funding and resources for English as an additional language or dialect programs, and a deeply concerning lack of mental health and counselling provisions within in our schools.
"The lack of counsellors and mental health support means kids are not able to develop a consistent relationship with a support worker, reducing good outcomes and leading to burnout for staff and teachers who are stepping up and taking extra roles and work that they are not trained to do.
"The Rockdale teachers I met with stressed the importance of increased and consistent counselling services in schools, which is highlighted as a key recommendation in the Gallop Inquiry."
Mr Kamper said schools were at the centre of communities, and many families relied on local schools for a broad range of support.
"Like teachers everywhere, St George teachers and staff go above and beyond their call, providing additional services that make our public schools so great, and they do so for little or no reward," he said.
"They use their own time to get kids involved in sport, art or extra study sessions.
"Our expectations of teachers, and the pressure we place on them, have continued to rise despite providing them with less resources and lower pay."
He said teachers across the state had contacted state MPs and he found it hard to believe "anyone could hear the stories and pleas, and not feel determined to do all they can to support and invest in our teachers and schools".
"The Gallop Inquiry clearly shows a need for a reset of the chronic underfunding of public education in this state," he said.
"Six key recommendations have been outlined for immediate action.
"It is all about providing fair and reasonable working conditions and pay to these invaluable employees of the state.
"Local teachers in my electorate of Rockdale believe this government needs to back up its words and support our teachers by seriously and immediately considering these six recommendations from the Gallop inquiry."
