Supplementary memorandum by the Department
for Education and Employment (UWP 113A)
INFANT CLASS SIZE
THE FIGURES
1. The Committee asked for information about
the geographical distribution of large infant classes in 1997
and now. The two tables attached show:
Table 1: A comparison between key stage 1 classes
in January 1997 and January 1999 by each region and local education
authority in England.
Table 2: Large infant classes as at September
1999 by region and LEA.
2. It should be noted that a direct comparison
between the January and September figures is not possible because
of differences in coverage. The January figures relate only to
key stage one classes. The September figures include mixed key
stage infant classes. The January figures are derived from the
Schools' Census exercise carried out each year. The January 2000
figures will be available before the end of April.
COMMENT
3. The Government is committed to raising
the standard of education in all schools. Reducing the size of
infant classes is one of a range of measures put in place to achieve
this. The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 ensures that
the size of infant classes for 5, 6 and 7 years olds taught by
a single qualified teacher will be 30 or below by September 2001
at the latest.
4. A total of £620 million has been
made available to implement the pledge. In March 1999, Ministers
announced the allocation of £150 million to local education
authorities for 1999-2000. This funding is for the 2,500 extra
teachers and 1,000 additional classrooms needed to implement the
pledge. This money is on top of the £67 million which paid
for 1,500 teachers and 600 new classrooms in 1998-99. Details
of LEAs' funding allocations for 2000-01 will be announced shortly.
5. Progress towards implementing the Government's
infant class size pledge has been good. In January 1997 there
were around 477,000 infant pupils in KS1 classes of over 30 pupils.
In January 1999 the comparable figure was around 356,500. In September
1999 there were 171,000 pupils in infant classes of over 30. The
Department is continuing to work with local education authorities
to ensure that large infant classes will be eliminated in virtually
all schools by September 2000.
Department for Education and Employment
March 2000
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