Gardenvale Primary assistant principal says high student-teacher ratio not an impediment

Melbourne’s inner southern schools with the highest and lowest student-teacher ratios have been revealed, but at least one says a more crowded classroom is not an impediment. How does your school compare?

The schools with Inner Southern Melbourne’s most crowded and best resourced classrooms have been revealed.

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

The figures show in 2018 in the Inner Southern Melbourne region there were more students per teacher at Hester Hornbrook Academy than any other school.

According to the data, the most up to data that includes all state and private schools nationally, Hester Hornbrook Academy had 22.1 students for every teacher, the highest in the area.

The second highest student-teacher ratios were at Ormond Primary School where there was an average of 18.7 students for every teacher at the school.

At Gardenvale Primary School there were 18.5 students for every teacher, the Inner Southern Melbourne region’s third highest.

Assistant principal Janine Hall said class sizes at the school were much smaller than they were five years ago and the student teacher ratio was not an impediment.

“Gardenvale is a high performing school with great NAPLAN results,” she said.

“We have an outstanding student population and excellent teaching staff. I think our point of difference is that we still work on the old classroom model with dedicated teachers to each. The quality of our teaching is what makes us a great school.”

In contrast there is one teacher for every 2.7 students at Japanese School of Melbourne, the region’s lowest ratio of students per teacher.

The second lowest ratio was at Katandra School where there were 4.3 students per teacher.

The figures show at Bayside Special Developmental School there were 4.5 students per teacher, the third lowest ratio in the Inner Southern Melbourne region.

INNER SOUTH MELBOURNE’S FASTEST GROWING SCHOOLS

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.