❓ Question requests detailed staffing and enrolment data for South West Education region schools. Answer provides a general explanation of funding model changes and their impact on staffing decisions, referencing a tabled paper for specific data.
AnsweredQoN 2996Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
For each of the years 2014 and 2015 and for each school in the South West Education region: (a) what was the total student enrolment; (b) what was the total teacher allocation by FTE and head count; (c) what was the total education assistant allocation by FTE and headcount; (d) what was the total special needs education assistants by FTE and head count; and (e) what was the total Aboriginal and Islander Education Officers by FTE and head count?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
17 June 2015
Responded by
Minister for Education
Response time
43 days
a. - e. Please refer to Tabled Paper.
From 2015, funding is now delivered through a one-line budget, providing principals with flexibility to determine how they use their budgets to deliver the education programs and support that their students need, including the level of teacher FTE provided, so long as all industrial and legislative requirements are met, including class sizes. Each school makes their own decisions about the most effective way to expend their available resources to meet their individual need.
There are a number of schools which experienced a decrease in student enrolments, but maintained or increased the number of their teachers. Adam Road Primary School for instance, had a decrease of 43 students between 2014 and 2015 but an increase of 1.00 teacher FTE. The school has evidently made the decision to employ more teachers to deliver the education programs and support, with the resources available to them.
There are schools which experienced an increase in student enrolments, but have employed fewer teachers e.g. Kojonup DHS. The decision to employ fewer teachers may be as a result of a change to the school's student profile and the class size requirements. For instance, schools with more enrolments in upper primary than junior primary would hire fewer teachers than a school with large enrolments in Kindergarten and pre-primary. This is due to the different class sizes and the need for a smaller teacher/pupil ratio for Kindergarten and pre-primary classes. These schools are meeting legislative and industrial requirements.
There are schools which experienced a decrease in student enrolments and reduced the numbers of teachers employed as a result, e.g. Maiden Park PS reduced enrolments from 223 to 186 between 2014 and 2015. The decision to employ fewer teachers likely to be as a result of the move of the half cohort to secondary school in 2015, where a primary school received fewer enrolments as a result of enrolling 8 rather than 9 cohorts and required fewer teachers as a result. Again schools with more enrolments in upper primary than junior primary would hire fewer teachers than a school with large enrolments in Kindergarten and pre-primary. This is due to the different class sizes and the need for a smaller teacher/pupil ratio for Kindergarten and pre-primary classes. These schools are meeting legislative and industrial requirements.
From 2015, funding is now delivered through a one-line budget, providing principals with flexibility to determine how they use their budgets to deliver the education programs and support that their students need, including the level of teacher FTE provided, so long as all industrial and legislative requirements are met, including class sizes. Each school makes their own decisions about the most effective way to expend their available resources to meet their individual need.
There are a number of schools which experienced a decrease in student enrolments, but maintained or increased the number of their teachers. Adam Road Primary School for instance, had a decrease of 43 students between 2014 and 2015 but an increase of 1.00 teacher FTE. The school has evidently made the decision to employ more teachers to deliver the education programs and support, with the resources available to them.
There are schools which experienced an increase in student enrolments, but have employed fewer teachers e.g. Kojonup DHS. The decision to employ fewer teachers may be as a result of a change to the school's student profile and the class size requirements. For instance, schools with more enrolments in upper primary than junior primary would hire fewer teachers than a school with large enrolments in Kindergarten and pre-primary. This is due to the different class sizes and the need for a smaller teacher/pupil ratio for Kindergarten and pre-primary classes. These schools are meeting legislative and industrial requirements.
There are schools which experienced a decrease in student enrolments and reduced the numbers of teachers employed as a result, e.g. Maiden Park PS reduced enrolments from 223 to 186 between 2014 and 2015. The decision to employ fewer teachers likely to be as a result of the move of the half cohort to secondary school in 2015, where a primary school received fewer enrolments as a result of enrolling 8 rather than 9 cohorts and required fewer teachers as a result. Again schools with more enrolments in upper primary than junior primary would hire fewer teachers than a school with large enrolments in Kindergarten and pre-primary. This is due to the different class sizes and the need for a smaller teacher/pupil ratio for Kindergarten and pre-primary classes. These schools are meeting legislative and industrial requirements.
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