SASSLA President supports Jay Weatherill maintaining his Education Minister portfolio

EDUCATION stakeholders want premier-in-waiting Jay Weatherill to keep his portfolio as Education Minister.

Principals and teachers say Mr Weatherill has been a "high quality" minister for the sector and hope he continues to champion the education and early-childhood agendas.

Next year school staff will enter another enterprise bargaining cycle and all are hopeful it will be different to the drawn-out industrial dispute that ended last year.

It took two years for teachers to resolve issues about pay increases and work conditions.

Australian Education Union SA branch president Correna Haythorpe said battling with the Education Department through the Industrial Court damaged the relationship between workforce and government.

"There is no doubt the long dispute left a nasty taste in people's mouths," Ms Haythorpe said.

"Jay Weatherill has addressed these concerns and been out there quite actively, listening to teaching and non-teaching staff.

"He has got their feedback and rebuilt that connection and that bodes well for when he takes on the premiership."

South Australian State School Leaders Association president Jeff Wait said along with addressing teacher salaries, there were several other priorities.

These included supporting principals through professional development and greater job incentives, increasing school autonomy and implementing new technologies.

Mr Wait said the greatest success of Mr Weatherill's time as minister had been his communication with the workforce and the streamlining of bureaucracy.

"We hope that agenda is maintained and improved," he said. "We trust Mr Weatherill will certainly keep an eye on (education). It would be unreasonable probably to expect the current minister to ... hold on to the portfolio. But we would like his guidance."

South Australian Secondary Principals Association president Jim Davies said having the Education Minister elevated to Premier would be positive.

"We now have an advocate  ... he has a quality understanding about what schools do, what teachers do and what principals do," he said.