Hunter schools among state's worst for teacher-to-student ratios

A NSW government report has found above average student-to-teacher ratios for public schools in Charlestown, Wallsend, Swansea, Maitland and Port Stephens electorates.

Public schools in the Newcastle electorate and Catholic schools in Cessnock were the region's worst, with an average of 15.1 students per teacher in Newcastle's public schools and 15.3 in Catholic schools in Cessnock. This compared with the state average of 13.4 students per teacher.

Numbers were slightly better in Catholic schools in the Newcastle electorate, where there were 12.1 students per teacher, while independent schools in the electorate had 10.6 students per teacher.

The data was released by the NSW government as part of a three-year plan to improve school infrastructure, teacher shortages and teacher workloads.

It looks at teacher and student numbers across each electorate in both primary and secondary schools, including public, Catholic and independent.

Student-to-teacher ratios are an approximate measure because they are calculated across an entire school, rather than for each individual class.

In Charlestown, there are 14.3 public school students per teacher and 15 Catholic students per teacher.

In Wallsend, there are 13.8 public school students per teacher and 15.1 per teacher in the Catholic system.

Port Stephens has 14.3 students per teacher in public schools and 14.5 students per teacher in Catholic schools.

In its public schools, Swansea has a student teacher ratio of 14.3 and 13.1 in its Catholic schools.

Public school student-to-teacher ratios are below the state average in Lake Macquarie, Cessnock and the Upper Hunter.

The Lake Macquarie electorate has 13 public school students per teacher and 12 Catholic students per teacher.

Independent schools in Lake Macquarie have an average student-to-teacher ratio of 13.6.

Maitland has an average of 13.8 students per teacher in the public sector, while there are 14.1 Catholic school students per teacher.

In the Cessnock electorate there are 13.3 public students to one teacher, while it's a higher 15.3 Catholic school students per teacher.

In the regional Upper Hunter electorate there's an average public student-to-teacher ratio of 13.1 and similarly 13 in the Catholic system.

In comparison, Sydney's Castle Hill electorate is ranked the worst in the state with an average student-to-teacher ratio of 17.1

Late in 2023, the NSW Teacher's Federation endorsed a state government offer for increased pay in a bid to combat teacher shortages. The starting salary for NSW teachers has increased by 12 per cent to $85,000.

NSW Teachers Federation regional organiser Jack Galvin Waight said the agreement was an important step, but that "unmanageable teacher workloads" also needed to be addressed.

"In the Upper Hunter, the situation is particularly bad as split classes, and minimal supervision are prevalent in many schools," he told the Newcastle Herald late last year.