Sunshine Coast’s best and worst resourced schools revealed

The schools with Sunshine Coast’s best and worst teacher resourcing have been revealed. SEE HOW YOUR SCHOOL COMPARES

In 2018 in the Sunshine Coast region there were more students per teacher at Stella Maris School than any other school. Photo: File

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>> QLD's 50 best resourced schools revealed

THE schools with Sunshine Coast's most crowded and best resourced classrooms have been revealed.

An analysis of national data from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has revealed the schools where teachers have the most students to teach.

The figures show in 2018 in the Sunshine Coast region there were more students per teacher at Stella Maris School than any other school.

According to the data, Stella Maris School had an average of 19.3 students for every teacher, the highest in the area.

The second highest student-teacher ratios were at St Thomas More Primary School, where there was an average of 18.8 students for every teacher at the school.

At Siena Catholic Primary there were 18.5 students for every teacher, the Sunshine Coast region's third highest.

In contrast, there was one teacher for every four students at Currimundi Special School, the region's lowest ratio of students per teacher.

The second lowest ratio was at Nambour Special School where there were 4.2 students per teacher.

University of Southern Queensland School of Education lecturer Tania Leach said more kids in a classroom resulted in a higher level of workload for teachers, which could lead to "teacher burnout" and "wellbeing issues".

She said vast numbers of teachers were managing "complex classrooms", which may include students with English as a second language, students with social or behavioural issues, or learning difficulties.

"We have a large number of students in our schools with social or emotional needs, much more than we would have seen in the '90s, and those sort of things are not taken into consideration with the current staffing model," she said.

"I feel quite strongly we need to review some of our models for how resources are allocated into schools, however we need to look at it from a holistic perspective.

"If we are serious about improving student learning outcomes then we need to put in resources at the ground level."

The figures show at Blackall Range Independent School there were 8.4 students per teacher, the third lowest ratio in the Sunshine Coast region.

According to ACARA, the national student-teacher ratio was 13.5 students for every teacher.

Across the country independent private schools had the lowest student to teacher ratios with 11.7 students to every teacher.

Government schools had an average of 13.8 students for every teacher, while Catholic schools had an average of 14 students for every teacher.

Student-teacher ratios do not take into account teacher aides or non-teaching staff at schools, only the full-time-equivalent teachers.

Independent Schools Queensland executive director David Robertson said between 2017 and 2018 staffing levels at Queensland independent schools had increased at a higher rate than student enrolments.

"Research has shown that the teacher at the front of the classroom and their expert practice, have a far greater impact on student learning than the size of class a child is sitting in," he said.

He said the data did not reflect the high proportions of additional specialist support staff such as counsellors.

Originally published as Sunshine Coast’s best and worst resourced schools revealed