An anonymous learning support assistant at a primary school says around 20 per cent of rostered assistants are on sick or personal leave on any given day, leaving remaining staff to absorb extra duties and grow fatigued.
The assistant says teachers who are absent are routinely replaced with relief staff, but learning support roles are not usually covered. School days run without major disruption only when every assistant on the roster turns up.
The worker also reported that taking up the topic with colleagues is taboo, and they would not raise the issue with peers for fear of appearing unwilling to help. Sick leave and personal leave remain entitlements for employees.
Associate Professor Meghan Stacey, an ARC DECRA Fellow at the University of New South Wales, says schools rely heavily on staff goodwill and that can make support workers vulnerable.
"Learning support staff, like teachers, are attracted to their work because they see it as inherently worthwhile and valuable, which quite frankly makes it an easy target for exploitation," she said.
Stacey added that the issue has not received the same level of attention as teacher workload despite being widespread.
"This is a huge problem, and one that education systems have only recently started to show a serious interest in tackling. But while teacher workload has been getting some well-deserved attention in media and policy recently, the plight of learning support staff does not tend to get as much airtime," she said.
High absence rates point to deeper budget and workforce problems, according to Stacey: stretched funding, stress, and the risk of burnout can push more staff to take leave or leave the sector entirely, and similar patterns are likely in other schools.
"If around 20 per cent of support staff are away on any given day, then this indicates a problem that is bigger than any one individual. And, given problems of attrition and retention in the education workforce, the problem is likely to be happening in other schools, too," Stacey said.
On practical steps, Stacey suggested staff with a good relationship with their principal could raise whether any existing budget could be used to hire extra support assistants, noting that some funding is targeted to particular students while other funding is more general.
"Some funding for support staff is tied to particular students and should be used primarily for that purpose. Other funding is more generalised," she said.
Stacey also recommended union membership as another option, with the appropriate union depending on location and the education sector. She cited the Public Service Association as an example for learning support officers in NSW public schools.
For broader change, Stacey advised lobbying for fairer funding arrangements by writing to local members, while warning that such reforms are likely to take time. The combination of immediate workplace conversations and longer-term advocacy were presented as the main avenues available to staff affected by persistent high absence rates.
