❓ Hon. Adele Farina questions the Minister for Education regarding teacher and education assistant numbers in the South West Development Commission region, seeking confirmation of specific figures derived from previous answers. The Minister refutes the accuracy of point-in-time headcounts and provides FTE data instead.
AnsweredQoN 4237Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
(1) I refer to the Minister's answer to question on notice No. 3482, in which the Minister states there were 3,031 teachers in the South West region in 2015, and I ask if the Minister agrees that, based on the information provided in the Minister's answer to question on notice No. 3482, and excluding the schools that fall within the Peel Development Commission region and the Great Southern Development Commission region, that the total number of teachers in 2015 in the South West Development Commission region is 2,302? (2) I refer to the Minister's answer to question on notice No. 3482, in which the Minister states there were 1,362 education assistants in the South West region in 2015, and I ask if the Minister agrees that, based on the information provided in the Minister's answer to question on notice No. 3482, and excluding the schools that fall within the Peel Development Commission region and the Great Southern Development Commission region, that the total number of education assistants in 2015 in the South West Development Commission region is 1,025? (3) I refer to the Minister's answer to question on notice No. 4004, in which the Minister states there were 3,404 teachers in the South West region in 2016, and I ask if the Minister agrees that, based on the information provided in the Minister's answer to question on notice No. 4004 and excluding the schools that fall within the Peel Development Commission region and the Great Southern Development Commission region, that the total number of teachers in 2016 in the South West Development Commission region is 2,053? (4) I refer to the Minister's answer to question on notice No. 4004 in which the Minister states there were 1,362 education assistants in the South West region in 2016, and I ask if the Minister agrees that, based on the information provided in the Minister's answer to question on notice No. 4004 and excluding the schools that fall within the Peel Development Commission region and the Great Southern Development Commission region, that the total number of education assistants in the South West Development Commission region is 817?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
14 September 2016
Responded by
Minister for Education
Response time
29 days
1. QON 3482 refers to a headcount of teachers as at 22 October 2015. The total number of teachers in the South West Development Commission for the 2015 calendar year cannot be accurately measured based on a single point-in-time measurement.
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 full-time employee. Further, staffing levels can fluctuate significantly throughout a year, due to the timing of vacation periods. For the eight months from January to August 2016, the Department has employed an average 1,792 teaching award FTEs in the South West Development Commission Region (excluding the Peel and Great Southern Development Commissions), which is 92 or 5.4% higher than the same period in 2015.
2. The QON 3482 refers to a headcount of education assistants as at 22 October 2015. The total number of education assistants in the South West Development Commission for the 2015 calendar year cannot be accurately measured based on a single point-in-time measurement.
For the eight months from January to August 2016, the Department has employed an average 627 FTE education assistants in the South West Development Commission Region (excluding the Peel and Great Southern Development Commissions) which is 41 or 7.0% higher than the same period in 2015.
3. QON 4004 refers to a headcount of teachers as at 7 April 2016. The total number of teachers in the South West Development Commission for the 2016 calendar year cannot be accurately measured based on a single point-in-time measurement.
For the eight months from January to August 2016, the Department has employed an average 1,792 teaching award FTEs in the South West Development Commission Region (excluding the Peel and Great Southern Development Commissions), which is 92 or 5.4% higher than the same period in 2015.
4. QON 4004 refers to a headcount of education assistants as at 7 April 2016. The total number of education assistants in the South West Development Commission for the 2016 calendar year cannot be accurately measured based on a single point-in-time measurement.
For the eight months from January to August 2016, the Department has employed an average 627 FTE education assistants in the South West Development Commission Region (excluding the Peel and Great Southern Development Commissions) which is 41 or 7.0% higher than the same period in 2015.
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 full-time employee. Further, staffing levels can fluctuate significantly throughout a year, due to the timing of vacation periods. For the eight months from January to August 2016, the Department has employed an average 1,792 teaching award FTEs in the South West Development Commission Region (excluding the Peel and Great Southern Development Commissions), which is 92 or 5.4% higher than the same period in 2015.
2. The QON 3482 refers to a headcount of education assistants as at 22 October 2015. The total number of education assistants in the South West Development Commission for the 2015 calendar year cannot be accurately measured based on a single point-in-time measurement.
For the eight months from January to August 2016, the Department has employed an average 627 FTE education assistants in the South West Development Commission Region (excluding the Peel and Great Southern Development Commissions) which is 41 or 7.0% higher than the same period in 2015.
3. QON 4004 refers to a headcount of teachers as at 7 April 2016. The total number of teachers in the South West Development Commission for the 2016 calendar year cannot be accurately measured based on a single point-in-time measurement.
For the eight months from January to August 2016, the Department has employed an average 1,792 teaching award FTEs in the South West Development Commission Region (excluding the Peel and Great Southern Development Commissions), which is 92 or 5.4% higher than the same period in 2015.
4. QON 4004 refers to a headcount of education assistants as at 7 April 2016. The total number of education assistants in the South West Development Commission for the 2016 calendar year cannot be accurately measured based on a single point-in-time measurement.
For the eight months from January to August 2016, the Department has employed an average 627 FTE education assistants in the South West Development Commission Region (excluding the Peel and Great Southern Development Commissions) which is 41 or 7.0% higher than the same period in 2015.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.