High Teacher-to-Child Ratio Gives Learning Tree Point of Difference

Having the right balance of teachers to children is important in early childcare and it's important to the Learning Tree. While there are many factors that can impact on a childcare centre's performance, higher teacher-to-child ratios, or a smaller number of children per staff, is found to have key benefits for children. 

A report prepared by the OECD cites evidence indicating that high staff-child ratios are considered particularly important for younger children; infants and toddlers especially benefit from the high staff-child ratios that a childcare centre like the Learning Tree provides. 

Higher teacher-to-child ratios are associated with less stress and better staff-child interactions. Staff are found to be more supportive when they are responsible for a smaller group of children. When the teacher-to-child ratio is well balanced, the teachers have the time to respond effectively with positive, caring and meaningful interactions with the children.

Studies also show that children in childcare benefit from high teacher-child ratios by performing better in developmental assessments including being more co-operative in group activities. 

Overall, a higher staff-child ratio makes it easier for children to gain and hold a teacher's attention, form relationships with other children, and generally engage in lots of shared interaction and collaborations. 

Of course, every child has different needs, and effective, engaging teaching is also associated with quality childcare. At the Learning Tree, we find our high child-teacher ratios create the right environment to enable our staff to attend to each child's individual needs and facilitate the best, most effective teaching. It's our point of difference.