Number of children in plus-30 classes almost doubles

THE number of infant school children taught in “supersize” classes has almost doubled in the past seven years.

In England, 43,130 five to sevenyear-old children were taught in classes of more than 30 in 2011, but this had increased to 82,358 by 2018.

This represents 4.9 per cent of all infant school pupils, compared to 2.9 per cent in 2011, according to a Labour analysis of Commons research.

There is a statutory limit on class sizes for children aged between five and seven, meaning that any classes above 30 are falling foul of the law.

School admission regulations dictate that “no infant class may contain more than 30 pupils while an ordinary teaching session is conducted by a single school teacher”.

Every region outside London saw a growth in the number of infant class sizes over 30, the research found.

Overall, the number of children in Years One and Two who are taught by a single teacher in classes over 30 has increased by 91 per cent since 2011.

Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, said the situation was “totally unsustainable”.

She added: “If ministers really wanted to give every child the education they deserve, they wouldn’t pack so many five, six and seven-year-olds into classes of this size.”

A report published by the public accounts committee earlier this year warned there was a “growing sense of crisis” in teacher recruitment against a backdrop of soaring pupil numbers.

Ministers had failed to “get a grip” on teacher retention, MPS said, adding that it was “particularly worrying” that the number of secondary school teachers had been falling since 2010.

The report found that the Department for Education (DFE) had a “disparate collection of small-scale interventions” to address the crisis in teacher retention, but these were “inadequate” and failed to address the underlying issues.

A DFE spokesman said: “The Government has driven the largest creation in school places in two generations and by 2020, there will be one million more new places than there were in 2010.”