Noticeable was the pairing of yellow and red posters and clothing as both members of the NSW Teacher's Federation and the Independent Education Union joined in the industrial action.

Held in the Keystone Building on Keppel Street those present completed the day's rally with a protest march to Member for Bathurst and deputy premier Paul Toole's office on Howick Street.

Orange High School PDHPE teacher Anthony Wharton has been teaching for 20 years and said that the lack of action from the State Government, particularly around the increasing workload, means that students are missing out.

"Teachers need to teach," he said. "We're stuck down with the administration and many other aspects of the role and we simply don't have the time for our core job."

Mr Wharton also acknowledges that some aspects of the data collection directives are necessary, but said that ultimately students are missing out.

"We can't take them on excursion anymore because the logistics and the paperwork are far too great," he said. "This is all caused by the teacher shortages. There are not enough coming into the profession and too many are leaving it."

The overwhelming demands of the DOE bureaucracy is what Mr Wharton believes means that the students in the end are the ones who are suffering.

"Teachers want the best outcomes for their students and at times we are unable to facillitate this because of other aspects of the job that get in our way," he said.

"We're crossing the Ts and dotting the Is and meanwhile some of the kids that actually need the help and assistance are going by the wayside," he said.

NSWTF representative at Blayney Public School Kaysy Sutton said that the overwhelming workload of a modern teacher means that they are going without the remuneration and recognition teachers deserve.

"We're constantly doing all these extra things without the recognition and pay and with the teachers shortage being so severe as it is at the moment we are having to split classes and take other measures to ensure that students are being supervised,' she said.

With six years of teaching experience Ms Sutton is one of the younger teachers at the rally and said that outside of the six hours of face-to-face teaching, the day continues completing a range of extra duties that are required.

"We have to do all our data entry, our reporting, mark the students work and make sure the classroom is set up for them,' she said. "Then in our own time attend school discos, parent teacher nights and talk to parents so it's not unusual to be at school until 6.30 at night."

The Department of Education's obsession with data and the time it takes teachers to collect and collate it was a recurring theme from speakers throughout the meeting.

Apart from a rethink on how school's operate in the 21st century, having extra teachers will allow extra time for them to complete the numerous reports and administration required by the DOE.

"Some aspects of the data are important and we do need it, but sometimes we seem to be collecting data just for the sake of collecting data," Ms Sutton said. "A lot of the data is just helping the department, not in our teaching."

As with Mr Whaton, Ms Sutton feels that the emphasis has gone from working for the kids, to working for the DOE.

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