To combat this issue regional, rural and remote schools will have access to a dedicated local pool of relief teachers to help cover classes when teachers are away.

Julie Kennedy, relieving executive director, regional north and west school performance directorate said the Department of Education were aware of the regional staffing challenges that existed in the Dubbo area.

To try and combat these challenges, 260 regional, rural and remote schools will now have a dedicated local pool of relief teachers that can be called on to help cover when teachers are away.

The Casual Supplementation Program offers teachers a three year, full-time role as a relief teacher with job security, professional learning and leave entitlements.

"It supports schools in geographic clusters with commute times of about an hour from a central hub school where a relief teacher is based," Ms Kennedy said.

Ms Kennedy said the benefits of this program help both the teachers and the school.

"The hub teachers get the security of having a prime contract of up to three years and the nominated schools have ready access to qualified staff to cover teacher absences," she said.

Ms Kennedy explained there could be circumstances for rural and remote schools where the Casual Supplementation Program might not meet their needs due to location or the size of the school.

"For them they might not have their casual, day to day needs met but they might have relief needs for a week or a term at a time and that could be due to illness, leave or professional development and the Department [of Education] will always look to support schools through the casual connect program to address those needs," she said.

Minister for Education and Early Learning, Sarah Mitchell said the Casual Supplementation Program was already proving a big success.

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"Staffing our schools, particularly our regional ones, is complex and I am very pleased to say that we are seeing great results where the program is already up and running, including in very remote areas across the state that are traditionally hard to staff," Ms Mitchell said.

"The program is being implemented in schools with the highest need for casual teachers in regional and rural areas from the North Coast to the Central West and the Riverina, as well as in hard to staff areas on the outskirts of Sydney."

Ms Mitchell said the Department's program was part of its Teacher Supply Strategy to create new pathways into teaching, place high-quality teachers where they were needed most, and ensure a steady pipeline of teachers entering the workforce.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said the expansion of the Casual Supplementation Program was a win for schools in the bush.

"As a former teacher, I know that regional schools can often struggle to source relief teachers at the last minute to cover absentees. This has been exacerbated during COVID-19," Mr Toole said.

Ms Kennedy praised Dubbo teachers for not needing any learning from home this school term.

"This is great and the staff in our schools and the principals are absolutely committed to making sure that we have teachers in front of students everyday," she said.

"That might be a bit different on some days but having teachers in front of students with meaningful work to do is an absolute priority."

Ms Kennedy said there were a large number of staff calling in sick at the same time due to local outbreaks of the flu or COVID-19.

"It's a challenge facing all schools especially those in the regions and there isn't a quick fix, but teachers are doing everything they can to make it as safe as possible for students to be at school and to ensure that learning continuity is in place," she said.

If students do need to be at home, they are instructed to make best use of the resources that were developed when those isolation rules first came in where they may be necessary.