KEY POINTS:
Secondary school students may be returning to oversized classes this year which contribute to a number of students falling through the cracks, the Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) says.
PPTA president Robin Duff said parents may be less than pleased to find their children in classes of more than 30.
Parents wanted each subject teacher to spend at least 15 minutes a week one-on-one with their child, according to a 2007 Windshift survey on parents' perspectives of secondary school teaching.
Currently students in average-sized classes could expect fewer than four minutes, Mr Duff said.
"Classes of 30-plus students are helping contribute to a situation where a number of young people are falling through the cracks."
However, Mr Duff said he was hopeful a staffing review promised by Education Minister Chris Carter last year would help address the issue of overstretched classes by putting more resources towards teachers.
The teachers' collective agreement required schools to endeavour to provide class size averages of 26 for teachers with two or more classes, but this needed ministry-level support to work effectively, Mr Duff said.
He hoped the review would focus on encouraging more graduates and skilled tradespeople into secondary teaching to address subject shortages schools were suffering.
"Improved staffing resources will mean more students will have the chance to work in smaller classes, and that can only be good for them," Mr Duff said.
"By eliminating large classes the Government will help create greater engagement in learning and more opportunity to cater for diversity and difference.
"It will give teachers the chance to pay greater attention to each individual student."
The PPTA believed the average maximum class size should be 25 students, and fewer in practical classes where there were health and safety risks.
Parents in the survey wanted to see them down to between 20 and 25, Mr Duff said.
Teachers could monitor student progress better in small classes, there were higher levels of physical safety and students felt more positive about themselves, he said.
"We have been promised that the issue of staffing would be addressed for quite some time and are looking forward to seeing it happen."
- NZPA
