NSW rolls out permanent teaching and school staff roles

About 1400 teachers and support staff could receive job certainty by mid-July amid a broad recruitment and retention drive in NSW.

The state education department will this week write to some 250 public schools about moving temporary teachers and staff to permanent contracts.

Once principals confirm the eligibility of their staff, they will receive formal offers from the department with an expectation the first day of permanent duty will be the start of term three on July 17.

It's the first stage of a scheme to move at least 10,000 temporary teachers and about 6000 support staff to permanent contracts, a NSW Labor election promise.

"For young teachers without a permanent position, it makes it more difficult to get a home loan and lay down roots," Premier Chris Minns said on Tuesday.

"This will give teachers the job security they need to stay in the profession and help turn around teacher shortages."

The choice of the first 250-odd schools focuses on some of the highest-need students and communities, the government said.

It also includes Aboriginal Education Officers, and schools that have struggled to find staff.

Resignations outstripped retirements for the first time and principals were clocking up to 70 hours a week, a parliamentary inquiry was told in February.

A NSW government-commissioned survey of teachers in 2022 found two-in-three respondents felt burnt out and one-in-five expected to quit within two years.

A permanent position would provide teachers with security and peace of mind, allowing them to do the job that they love, Education Minister Prue Car said.

"We want to send a message to teachers that they are valued and appreciated for the important work they do," she said.

"I am so happy to be able to bring about such positive change within the first weeks of my taking on the job as the state's education minister."

Staff who have worked at a single school for at least three years, and are still engaged at that school, will be eligible in the first stage of the scheme. That group numbers about 1400, the government estimates.

The government expects to fulfil its promise by the start of the 2024 school year.

The offers will not depend on there being a current permanent vacancy at the school, the government said.

Principals can seek to fill existing permanent vacancies as the initiative progresses.