Child being taught in class of 35 for last term of year 2. Is this allowed?

[starpatch]

Just that really we have been very lucky up to this point my son has been taught in a small class around 20 due to school being undersubscribed. Now we have received a letter stating the 2 year 2 classes will be amalgamated next term with one qualified teacher and apparently 1 full time TA. There will be 35 in the class. I suspected the two classes would be put together at some point. But are they actually allowed to do this as the children are still infants until September?

[prh47bridge]

That sounds like a clear breach of the infant class size regulations. If these are all existing pupils being taught in two classes, none of them are excepted. The law is therefore that there must be a maximum of 30 pupils when an ordinary teaching session is conducted by a single qualified teacher.

[admission]

I would agree that it is a breach of the infant class size regulations.

The question I think you need to ask as a priority is what is to happen from September. I am guessing that it is going to remain as one class of 35 but you really need to get that in writing from school, so that you can argue that this is unacceptable in the future. You will probably end up with mixed aged classes but mixed age and smaller class of 30 or less is better than 35 in the class.
There is also the little matter that if any more pupils for the year group apply for a place that the school is going to have real difficulty defending only having one class when their PAN is obviously higher than 35.

[starpatch]

If it's a breach who would I potentially complain too? thanks

[DippyAvocado]

Is it an academy or LEA school? This happened when I taught Year 2 in a MAT - they said they didn't have to adhere to ICS rules as an academy, but that may have been BS.

[admission]

All schools have to give due regard to the infant class size regs, so it was BS that you were told that it does not apply.
If you wish to complain it would be using the schools complaint procedure which is a written complaint to the head teacher and then having got a reply you were not happy about to a panel of the governing board.

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

I’d want to know him w many excepted children are in the class.

[prh47bridge]

I’d want to know him w many excepted children are in the class

Since they are currently being taught in two classes that are both below 30 pupils there are no excepted pupils. An excepted pupil is only excepted until the class size drops to 30. The pupil then ceases to be excepted and cannot regain that status.

[starpatch]

Thanks for the replies. To be honest I don't think I will complain, due to DS having been in a small class for sometime, obviously there is an impact on school funding.

[BubblesBuddy]

The school are obviously having to deal with budget issues obviously brought about by having 40 children and two teachers which must be unaffordable or they have been awash with money! They should be thinking about better management of resources and amalgamate year groups. 80 children with 3 teachers, for example, is reasonable. Could they not have mixed the children with y1? Much earlier!

[Russell19]

There is nothing you can do about y3 onwards in terms of class size but I have never heard this happen in y2. For the sake of a term it's probably not worth complaining. Plus the majority of the y2 curriculum would have been taught before May SATs anyway.