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In the Herald today:

and:

Ah, just secondary teachers, eh? What’s their ratio then?

12.6 to 1 – https://www.gov.scot/publications/summary-statistics-for-schools-in-scotland-2024/documents/

So, with by far the lowest pupil contact workload in the UK, Scottish heidies can’t organise things?

Says who?

School Leaders Scotland. They’ll know about those ratios.

You have to feel for the heidies in Wales, England and Northern Ireland don’t you?

How important is the funded level of staff per pupil cohort size ratio for effective school management?

In short, the funded staff-per-pupil (and staff-per-leader) ratio is a foundational constraint on effective school management. Insufficient funding relative to cohort size and complexity makes the job of leading a school unsustainable and reduces the time available for the activities that actually improve teaching and learning. Adequate, well-targeted staffing is necessary; how those staff are organised and supported determines how far the investment goes.

International peer-reviewed evidence:

• Filges, T., Sonne-Schmidt, C. S., & Nielsen, B. C. V. (2018). Small class sizes for improving student achievement in primary and secondary schools: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews. Meta-analysis of international studies; small positive effect on reading, weaker/mixed for maths. Large reductions matter more than small ones.⁠https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8428040/
• Bowne, J. B., Magnuson, K. A., Schindler, H. S., Duncan, G. J., & Yoshikawa, H. (2017). A meta-analysis of class sizes and ratios in early childhood education programs. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. Nonlinear: extra benefit mainly when ratios/class sizes are already relatively small. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0162373716689489

With only 3 days left, support Talking-up Scotland's work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at:

Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going

Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421