When she moved to Tanja from Sydney 15 years ago, she said she had no idea small schools like Tanja existed.

“It was alternative to what I knew, and had a strong sense of community which gives value to the school,” she said.

After teaching at the school in 2011, and after stints at Wolumla, Quaama and Central Tilba public schools, Ms McGrath understands the inner workings and benefits of a small school education.

“Both of my kids went to this school and I think they learned the skills to be independent and talk to anybody about anything,” she said.

“It’s a privilege to be back here.”

She said small schools like Tanja and Wyndham should be supported and continue to exist.

“We offer outdoor learning, environmental and sustainability education along with a strong literacy and numeracy focus,” she said.

“I think having diversity within the public system is great.

“Because there is no one size fits all solution, we offer something different.”