Schools have teachers also learning in the classroom Teacher Mary-Anne Stenning with Year 3 students at Our Lady of Angels Catholic school in northwest Sydney. FACED with the choice of a class of 35 students taught by the world's best teacher or a class of five students with the worst teacher, parents will choose the big class with the best teaching. As primary principal Eva La Rocca says: "It's not about class size, it's about the capacity of the teacher. A good teacher will teach well in a paper bag. Governments have spent large amounts on smaller class sizes, but research shows it is not cost-effective and has little effect on student achievement. President-elect of the Australian College of Educators and education professor at the University of Melbourne, Stephen Dinham, said the biggest impact on student learning was the quality of the teacher in the classroom and the smallest impact was the number of students in the room. Professor Dinham said the money spent cutting class sizes would be better invested in professional learning for teachers. "There is a positive effect, if not we would have classes of 100 or 1000 . . . but the international research says the effect is too small to measure," he said. If teachers know their stuff, know how to teach it, are confident in the things we know make a good teacher and establishes good relationships with students, it's far more powerful than having fewer students in the class. At Our Lady of the Angels Catholic primary school at Rouse Hill, in Sydney's northwest, this is being put into practice. Rather than sending teachers away to seminars, teachers' professional learning is embedded in the classroom. Teams of three or four teachers work together teaching classes three times the average size, rising from 75 students in kindergarten or prep, to about 90 in Years 3 and 4. The collaboration and feedback provided by colleagues in the classroom means the teachers are learning as they teach, and improving their practice. Ms La Rocca said every teacher knew and taught every student in the room, effectively giving every child three teachers rather than one. In our school, teachers work collaboratively, have accountability to each other and work with all students. It ends the situation of one teacher in a room with a shut door and those kids are with that teacher all year regardless whether their learning style suits or whether the teacher is capable," she said. Year 3/4 teacher Sarah Lenane, who has been teaching for 10 years and came to Our Lady of the Angels when it opened four years ago, prefers this approach to the more traditional classroom. "The flexible learning space and collaboration between staff helps us to know the learning needs of the children, and to differentiate the curriculum to meet those needs," she said. Executive director of Catholic education in the Parramatta diocese in western Sydney, Greg Whitby, said many schools in the region were pursuing similar approaches that emanate from the schools and are not mandated by head office. Dr Whitby said the approach was based on research evidence that the only way to improve student learning was to have good teachers teaching them. The only way to have good teachers teaching them is to make sure they're continually involved in professional learning. That will best happen when they're in constant dialogue with colleagues, working in collaboration," he said. But deputy federal president of the Australian Education Union Correna Haythorpe said class size was an issue for teachers coping with students with complex needs. "For many teachers, students come to school with a greater level of complexity than in the past," she said. It does require a high level of intervention and the capacity to provide individual one-on-one attention is very important. Opposition spokeswoman on education Kate Ellis said claims that funding levels and class sizes did not matter were "at best an irresponsible oversimplification and at worst, laying the ground for cuts to education funding." Ms Ellis said educational research showed that no single action would improve schools; rather a range of actions were required addressing resource levels, teaching, leadership and accountability. But Education Minister Christopher Pyne said decisions about class sizes were entirely a matter for the states and territories. "Our aim is to focus on areas where we can have an impact, such as teacher training and the curriculum," he said.