❓ Hon. Adele Farina questions the Minister for Education regarding discrepancies in reported teacher numbers in the South West region between different sources and time periods. The Minister clarifies that both figures are correct due to differing measurement times and recommends using FTE for accurate comparisons.
AnsweredQoN 4238Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
(1) The Minister was reported in the Busselton-Dunsborough Times on 8 July, 2016 as saying there were 3,263 teachers in the South West region in 2015, yet the Minister's answer to question on notice No. 3482 states the number of teachers (by headcount) was 3,031, therefore I ask which of these figures is correct? (2) Will the Minister explain the discrepancy in the two figures in (1)? (3) Will the Minister provide a breakdown, by school, of the 3,263 figure reported in the Busselton-Dunsborough Times ? (4) In the same article, the Minister was reported as saying there were 3,372 teachers in the South West Region in 2016, yet in answer to question on notice No. 4004, the Minister stated there were 3,404 teachers, therefore I ask which of these figures is correct? (5) Will the Minister explain the discrepancy in the two figures in (4)? (6) Will the Minister provide a breakdown, by school, of the 3,372 figure in (4)?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
14 September 2016
Responded by
Minister for Education
Response time
29 days
1. Both figures are correct. It is misleading to compare staffing headcount measurements at different times during the school year. The figures in question on notice No. 3482 were provided in November 2015 and the figure reported in the article was provided in July 2016.
The most accurate way of quantifying employment levels is to use full time equivalent (FTE) staffing measurements. FTE measurements take into account the paid workload of each employee converted to a percentage of a fulltime 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.
At the whole-of-Department level, there has been significant staffing FTE growth in 2016 compared to 2015.
2. Refer to question 1.
3. Refer to tabled paper.
4. Both figures are correct and refer to different times during the school year.
5. Refer to question 4.
6. Refer to tabled paper.
The most accurate way of quantifying employment levels is to use full time equivalent (FTE) staffing measurements. FTE measurements take into account the paid workload of each employee converted to a percentage of a fulltime 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.
At the whole-of-Department level, there has been significant staffing FTE growth in 2016 compared to 2015.
2. Refer to question 1.
3. Refer to tabled paper.
4. Both figures are correct and refer to different times during the school year.
5. Refer to question 4.
6. Refer to tabled paper.
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