❓ Hon Adele Farina questions a reduction in Education Assistants in the South West region. The Minister clarifies data discrepancies due to differing regional definitions and measurement methods, highlighting an overall increase in FTE Education Assistants.
AnsweredQoN 4232Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
The Minister's answer to question on notice No. 4004 states the total number of education assistants (including special needs education assistants), by headcount, in the South West region in March 2016 was 1,379, and the Minister's answer to question on notice No. 2996 states the total number of education assistants (including special needs education assistants) in the South West region in March 2015 was 2,194. Does the Minister agree this shows a reduction in the number of education assistants (including special needs education assistants) of 815?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
14 September 2016
Responded by
Minister for Education
Response time
29 days
1. The figures in Question on Notice (QON) 4004 cannot be compared with the figures in QON 2996. This is because QON 4004 provided data for schools in the South West Electoral Region , while QON 2996 provided data for schools in the Southwest Education Region .
Importantly, the 2015 data provided in question No. 2996 for Education Assistants Special Needs by headcount is already included in the total education assistants and, therefore, adding them together causes duplication of data.
The most accurate way of quantifying employment levels is to use FTE staffing measurements. FTE measurements take into account the paid workload of each employee converted to a percentage of a full-time employee. Further, because staffing levels can fluctuate significantly throughout a year, due to the timing of vacation periods, it is more accurate to report average FTE levels over a number of pay periods.
For the eight months from January to August 2016, the Department has employed an average 1,088 FTE education assistants in the South West Electoral Region, which is 61 or 5.9% higher than the same period in 2015.
For the eight months from January to August 2016, the Department has employed an average 825 FTE education assistants in the Southwest Education Region, which is 56 FTE or 7.3% higher than the same period in 2015.
At the whole of Department level, there has been significant staffing FTE growth in 2016 compared to 2015. For the eight months from January to August 2016, the Department has employed an average 7,352 FTE education assistants, which is 367 or 5.3% higher than the same period in 2015.
Importantly, the 2015 data provided in question No. 2996 for Education Assistants Special Needs by headcount is already included in the total education assistants and, therefore, adding them together causes duplication of data.
The most accurate way of quantifying employment levels is to use FTE staffing measurements. FTE measurements take into account the paid workload of each employee converted to a percentage of a full-time employee. Further, because staffing levels can fluctuate significantly throughout a year, due to the timing of vacation periods, it is more accurate to report average FTE levels over a number of pay periods.
For the eight months from January to August 2016, the Department has employed an average 1,088 FTE education assistants in the South West Electoral Region, which is 61 or 5.9% higher than the same period in 2015.
For the eight months from January to August 2016, the Department has employed an average 825 FTE education assistants in the Southwest Education Region, which is 56 FTE or 7.3% higher than the same period in 2015.
At the whole of Department level, there has been significant staffing FTE growth in 2016 compared to 2015. For the eight months from January to August 2016, the Department has employed an average 7,352 FTE education assistants, which is 367 or 5.3% higher than the same period in 2015.
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