Can VA infant classes exceed 30 pupils?

[marialuisa]

Does anyone know what the legal position on infant class sizes in voluntary aided primary schools is? My Dsis is in Y1 at a VA RC school, she started the year in a class of 28 but it has now risen to be a class of 33. It is a single form entry school.

When questioned the form teacher has said that it's because the Pope has said every RC child who wants a place in an RC school must be given one, but would the LEA really accept this as a valid reason for the class to exceed 30 kids? In the past the school has turned away RC kids when the class size has reached 30. My mum is amongst a group of parents who are uneasy to say the least, but because the school is VA they are not sure if the max. class size of 30 rule applies.

Seems a bit odd to me, where would they stop if that was the case? Our local RC primary has a max of 30, is very oversubscribed and has to turn people away.

Have just found the legal position on the net and it seems they can exceed the class number on certain grounds, but only for the remainder of the school year. They are also supposed to have a planned response if challenged by parents, DFES etc. as to why they have gone over 30.

The max class size can be overuled by any school (even in infants) with LEA approval- unless there is no physical space to get another child in. You could ask the LEA- my friend went thorugh all this when her dd moved to a new (church) school- the LEA had to go in and make sure that the classroom could physically accomodate her (she has SN and a statement though which would probably change the situation slightly). It is much easier to increase the numbers in juniors. No idea where the pope fits in though!

Jimjams-when they hit 32 the form teacher said she hoped they's be no more as they couldn't get enough chairs in the class room! The approval from the LEA is intriguing though as it looks as if the kids have been admitted because they have moved into the area outside the normal admissions round and are RC (hence the Governors taking the Pope's views on board) but the rules say there should be no alternative school within a reasonable travelling distance of the child's home and given there is an undersubscribed RC school 0.5 miles from my DSis's school it does seem against the spirit of the rules IYSWIM.

We used to have about 35 to 40 in some of our classes at (RC) school. 3 kids to a 2-person desk. Sorry, not relevant, just reminded me.

My understanding is that you can exceed the 30 limit if you know for example that another child in the school will be leaving soon, or the school is named as the most appropriate one on a Statement of Special Needs. There may be other reasons, but I've certainly never heard the Pope excuse before.

I would phone the LEA.