An independent survey, commissioned by the Australian Education Union Tasmanian Branch, shows an alarming number of classes in our schools and colleges with over thirty students.

“Years of cuts and underfunding of the public system has meant there simply isn’t enough teaching staff in our schools and this has resulted in larger class sizes,” said AEU Tasmania President Helen Richardson.

“We call on all political parties to commit to addressing this growing crisis with an immediate injection of staff in our schools and colleges”, said Ms Richardson.

“Education must be a priority for any future government. The Greens, Labor and the Jacqui Lambie Network have all committed to significantly boosting staff as part of a commitment to quality education.

“The pressure is now on The Liberal Party to prioritise education this election and commit to properly resourcing our schools, colleges and TAFE,” said Ms Richardson.

“The ACER (Australian Council of Education Research) survey revealed a concerning trend in the education system amongst educators.

“The ACER survey showed that in 2017, 139 Tasmanian secondary classes had over 30 students, and one third of primary classes have 26 or more students. The average class size in primary school, for Year 2, is 27 students.

“The ACER survey results confirmed what we’ve been hearing from teachers, principals and support staff that larger class sizes mean that some students are missing out on the support they need and are being denied a quality education,” said Ms Richardson.

“One teacher I spoke to today from a southern Tasmanian Primary School told me that all Year three to six classes have 29 plus students in each class. Each class has at least one child with a diagnosed learning difficulty and students requiring additional resources and support.

“Members are telling me that smaller class sizes mean that they can give each child more time and personalise their learning in more depth to help them reach their potential.

“Alarmingly, less than half of the teachers surveyed in the ACER survey believe they can meet all students’ individual learning needs. Larger class sizes mean that some students don’t get the ‘one on one’ support they need if they fall behind. In smaller classes, teachers better know the strengths, weaknesses, and needs of each student,” said Ms Richardson.

“Secondary Science and Arts subjects, where individualised instruction and student safety is paramount, had a state-wide average of 29 students in 2017,” said Ms Richardson.

“Cuts to staff have resulted in our public schools running on the goodwill of teachers, principals and support staff. The Hodgman Government cut $148 million and more than 260 teachers and other staff from schools, colleges and TasTAFE and now there are 116FTE less base grade teachers in schools than when Will Hodgman became Premier. Significant additional resources are needed to give our children a quality education,” said Ms Richardson.

“Not only are class sizes growing, there are now more students with high and complex needs in our schools. 81% of classes have at least one student with a recognised additional educational need,” said Ms Richardson.

“We are calling on the Liberal Party to commit to addressing this crisis in our schools and colleges. Our kids can’t wait.

Download details …

ACER_Survery_one_page_summary_FINAL_24_November_2017.pdf

AEU_ACER_survey-_Class_sizes__Workload_.pdf
Molly Frankham Communications Advisor