All children deserve a quality education and the individual attention they need to thrive.
But, for many year groups in Western Australian public schools, class sizes are the highest in the nation.
Class sizes matter.
Smaller classes mean more individual attention for our children. They mean fewer distractions while they learn. And they would make it less likely for conflicts to arise in our classrooms.
Plus, smaller class sizes mean a more manageable workload for our teachers. This would lead to fewer cases of burnout, and fewer people leaving the profession.
There are more than 10,000 registered teachers in Western Australia who are not currently teaching in our schools.
We’re calling on the WA government to implement a long-term plan to reduce the maximum class size for Years 4-10, from 32 to 27.
This will mean building new classrooms and recruiting new teachers. But, with more and more children having complex needs, this is an investment we need to make as a community.
And, in a wealthy state like WA, this is also an investment we can afford to make.
From the experts: What teachers say about class sizes
My classes have recently been increased to capacity and it is having a big impact on the students' behaviour and learning outcomes. The students who have joined have very poor literacy, and there is not enough time to help them and manage challenging behaviours each lesson. I feel they are not getting the support necessary for improving. A smaller class would mean I could help with their individual needs.
It is rare that I get a chance to provide individualised learning support and feedback to every child in class. I constantly worry about the students who fly under my radar due to others with greater behavioural/ academic/ social/ emotional needs that take time from them. If I were to spend equal time with every child in my class, it would still be less than two minutes an hour.
Classes over the agreed class sizes are harder to manage with more behavioural issues and less opportunity to help individuals.
Smaller class sizes are more manageable, less behaviour as you have more time and awareness of your class.
Students are happier and your relationship building is better.
Listen to the podcast
Hear from SSTUWA President Matt Jarman as he goes into detail on the Target27 community campaign for reduced class sizes.
