When interviewing primary school teachers, two resourcing issues have been raised over and over again – adequate learning support for children that need it, and smaller classroom sizes.
Both require significant financial investment from the Government, as well as people.
They’ve been the elephants in the classroom. Access to greater learning support requires major system change and poses questions around equity of access and eligibility. Smaller classroom sizes are easier to grasp as a concept. It’s often pitched by politicians, especially in election years, but nothing has changed in over a decade.
So hearing the Government was willing to reduce primary classroom sizes in Years 4 to 8 was surprising and should be commended.
But what was announced feels like a dud.
The last time a classroom ratio was reduced was 15 years ago when another Labour government announced $215 million would be spent reducing Year 1 ratios from 1:23 to 1:15.
Back then, 762 new teachers were required, as well as new classrooms.
Jan Tinetti says there needed to be enough teachers to teach "our young people the basics well". (Source: 1News)
Over a decade later, the Government’s plan to spend $106 million to decrease Year 4-8 teacher student ratios from 1:29 to 1:28 requires only 320 extra teachers, no infrastructure funding and it won’t be in place until 2025. But still, having more teachers in the education system is beneficial.
Apart from having a detrimental effect on teachers and the way classrooms are run, research shows students in larger classrooms are more distracted, an impact that is particularly clear for lower-achieving children.
It’s important to point out ratios set staffing levels but aren’t enforced at schools.
The ratios are different across year levels as well as whether schools are mainstream, Māori immersion or have fewer than 176 students.
Depending on roll sizes and individual student make up, classrooms around the country may have less students than the set ratio or more.
Many schools won’t see any difference in funding from the announcement but whānau are pleased with the headline that class sizes will be smaller, and their child will have even a little more time with their teacher.
It’s also a symbolic win for some teachers who feel heard on a major issue when they so often don’t see classroom concerns addressed.
The reaction from staff 1News spoke to ranged from frustration and disappointment from one principal who will get funding for an extra five hours of teaching per week to teachers who are pleased it’s happened.
All said, however, it’s just a start, with greater reductions required.
The announcement came the same day a third collective agreement offer was made to primary teachers.
Despite Labour’s election policy to reduce classroom sizes back in 2014, it’s taken the Government six years to make a move on this and to some it feels like it's only being made now to improve the chances of a collective agreement being ratified, not to improve the classroom learning experience for students.
National’s education spokesperson Erica Stanford called it "cynical election year politics" that conveniently has been announced at a time the Government’s funding fewer teachers with smaller school rolls due to declining birth rates.
It comes over 20 years since a government-commissioned report recommended a ratio for Years 4-8 of 1:25.
In 2021, Pūaotanga, an independent review of primary staffing funded by the New Zealand Educational Institute, recommended by the end of 2025 the 1:25 ratio should be put in place and by the end of 2030, a ratio of 1:23 should be implemented.
Now the Education Minister’s setting up an advisory group to review school staffing and what a further decrease in size will cost.
Minister Jan Tinetti says once the terms of reference are set up, she wants to hear back in three months.
Let’s hope this work will lead to change for our tamariki quicker than the last Government review.
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