Staffing the Secondary School

Abstract

LEAs have traditionally determined the number of teachers to be allocated to schools on the basis of pupil‐teacher ratios (PTRs). This method was appropriate and advantageous in a period of growing pupil numbers. It allowed schools to expand curricular provision and to develop pastoral and administrative structures, especially in larger schools. Falling pupil numbers, which will affect secondary schools for the next decade, make the PTR no longer an appropriate method of staffing schools, for it cannot take account of the needs of schools of different sizes and types and of the problems of transition as schools become smaller. Many LEAs have, therefore, adopted the approach of staffing schools according to their curriculum needs—Curriculum Based Staffing (CBS). This article examines the various approaches that have been adopted in order to implement CBS. It also attempts to draw out some of the implications of CBS for the management of schools, for teachers and for the control of the curriculum. The article is based upon research conducted into the way that LEAs are managing the problem of falling school rolls, sponsored by the Department of Education and Science.