(edit title) School class size in Sweden For children in year zero Options

[Essingen]

Those of you who have had children go through the school system, what sort of class size did they have when they started in year zero (6 years old)?

[byke]

A few years ago it was not uncommon to have classes in the low 30s ... However I have heard as of late of classes in the low 40s. This is sometimes justified by the hiring of extra personnel so that 1 teacher (not always qualified either) has an assistant (that is often part time)

[Puffin]

DD1 - year 0/F-klass - 8 children with 1 teacher + 1 teaching assistant
DD2 - year 0/F-klass - 20 children with 1 teacher + 1 teaching assistant

[Puffin]

Just to add that in both F classes there was a qualified early years teacher (3 year bachelor of early years education)
- in dd1s class in addition to the teacher there was an elevassistent - the numbers were smaller because of 2 children with special needs who required low noise levels

- in dd2s class in addition to the teacher was a fritidspedagog (bachelor degree) who worked in the class mornings went with them to fritids in the pm

In my kommun the kommun F classes have 15-22 kids

[byke]

I must say you have been very fortunate with class sizes.The smallest class my child has ever been in was 14 children, and that was a private school in Stockholm.
When we often see banter going back and forth regarding education in Sweden.One thing I have learnt and that is that Stockholm is so different for "education" compared to smaller rural towns in Sweden that it is hard to compare.

[Essingen]

OK well our boy will be in a class of 18 which we thought was getting a bit large, but seems to be pretty much average. Previous years in his school have been around 12 though.

[byke]

But just to reiterate, I do believe the average class in Stockholm is around 35 kids.
It's been creeping up in larger amounts each year and I have heard of some classes where there are more than that.

Especially now some schools want to tear down walls and have an open space (bullshit for "we are understaffed") where some grades such as 1+2 are clubbed together to reduce teacher costs.

[byke]

OK well our boy will be in a class of 18 which we thought was getting a bit large, but seems to be pretty much average. Previous years in his school have been around 12 though.

I know some private schools in Stockholm have a max of 18-20 per class.

[Essingen]

I am not really convinced by Swedish private schools...the appear too focused on the bottom line.

[Puffin]

Privately run free schools have on average fewer qualifed teachers - it's how they achieve their profits although this will change now that schools are required to hire registered teachers

I think that 18 is a pretty good number for an F klass

You cannot always go by the numbers. My kids have attended 4 different kommun mainstream schools where the classes ranged from 13 to 23 - ironically by far the worst was the class of 13 (down to 12 when we pulled dd out) and the most harmonious is dd1s current high school class of 23

[byke]

Privately run free schools have on average fewer qualifed teachers - it's how they achieve their profits although this will change now that schools are required to hire registered teachers

I don't know if I agree with that based on past experiences and knowing of people working in kommun schools.But again, Stockholm is very different to the rest of the country in that respect.
But by no means am I pro more one than the other ... But from what I have seen locally their both as bad as each other in that respect.

[Bender B Rodriquez]

The average class size is 24 with 12 students per teacher.
Only 0.8% of all schools have classes exceeding 30 students.
The break point for public schools is generally 30 students, after that they divide into two classes or they get complaints from the teachers' union.

[Puffin]

I don't know if I agree with that based on past experiences and knowing of people working in kommun schools.But again, Stockholm is very different to the rest of the count ... (show full quote)

I don't know if I agree with that based on past experiences and knowing of people working in kommun schools.But again, Stockholm is very different to the rest of the country in that respect.
But by no means am I pro more one than the other ... But from what I have seen locally their both as bad as each other in that respect. ... (hide full quote)

It is what the statistics on Skolinspektionens site shows - each inspected school has to show the staffing ratios which are then compared to the national average/kommun average/ and then averages for kommunal schools and free schools

In general free schools employ:
- fewer staff
- fewer qualified staff
Of course there are exceptions to this

[byke]

But what's the difference between say a league table and school inspection statistics?