Payments of $40,000 and 10,000 new high-paying head teacher jobs are part of a push to attract the best and brightest to teaching.

The measures come as part of a $330 million federal government plan to ease critical school staff shortages.

Of that, $56 million will be allocated to scholarships worth up to $40,000 to encourage high-achieving school leavers, mid-career professionals and people from culturally diverse backgrounds to take up teaching, and $25 million will be spent trialling ways to reduce workloads.

Education expert and principal at McKinnon Secondary College, Pitsa Binnion, says the profession is “facing a crisis”.

“I think we’ve got to do all that we possibly can to attract more people to the profession,” she said.

Press PLAY below to hear what Ms Binnion thinks is behind the escalation in teachers leaving the profession