Private school class sizes going up? AIBU?

[Meepme]

Our class is now at 16, but when my daughter started, it was 10. I'm debating what I'm actually paying for if they keep increasing the classes. AIBU?

17 is still small! 8 in a class is way too small
to work in groups or do peer to peer learning. What happens if the attainment of dc is very different? Who would they work with? What about music and collaborative learning? I’d think a school with 8 in a class would be going bankrupt! Of course it has to be 16 plus. My DD went to a well known boarding prep. 18 in a class and many getting scholarships. They even learnt to read as other DD did in a state school with 30 in the class. Great teaching is what matters. Anyone can hear a child read. Most teachers want reasonable sized classes and in fact, don’t object to 20!

Tiny classes seem great in reception but as they go up the school you definitely want larger, esp as tiny classes often also means a tiny school. I agree 15-20 is ideal for prep age with min 2 form entry, ideally 3. Enough for friendship options not to be too limited and to be reasonably competitive in sport/ be able to put on musicals etc. but still small enough for individual attention.

I don’t think 8 is great in Yr. It’s still the early years curriculum which has a lot of practical and play based learning. Cooperative tasks and group learning are important. With 8 it’s very curtailed.

ds2 in a coed prep school has 22 in a class - and three classes per form. enough boys across the from to field 4 rugby and football teams for fixtures and the class is big enough to find boys of a similar temperament and interests.

Context is important here. If you mean in her Maths set or tier then maybe 20 would be quite a broad range of skills and a high-ish number. If you mean over a year as a whole, I think you need to be worrying about the school's funding options as that isn't enough pupils for most schools to affordably function.

When I was at my private we had 36 in the year broken into 3 tutor groups then broken down again into 3 for Eng/Maths/Lang. I know these days schools can have far more sets - one I know has 5 - so in a year of say 60, you really only have 12 children in each set. Your OP isn't hugely clear.

I think all independent teachers should do a few years in state to learn how teaching is done properly.

Erm no. I trained in the state sector (PGCE). The school was attrotious and the behaviour was shocking. I wasn't going to work for ever one year in the state sector after that. Been in the independent sector for 14 years now... and I do know how teaching is done 'properly' thanks - a million times better than the school I trained in, that's for sure!

My child's Reception class size is 12 and it's working really well. It's 2 form intake though and they do combine the classes at time for activities.

2 form entry in a private school needs more than 24 to be viable if employing 2 qualified teachers for each year. Of course private schools don’t have to employ qualified teachers. I would prefer to see at least 16 in a class and 18-20 is better. To pay for staff when there are not enough dc, something else has to go.

Tbh that’s still a small class size. The prep my kids go to are capped at 24 and I do think that’s a bit high but considering our other local schools have 32-38 I’ll deal with it! I would honestly be delighted with 16

2 form entry in a private school needs more than 24 to be viable if employing 2 qualified teachers for each year. Of course private schools don’t have to employ qualified teachers.

Well, my school seems to manage it anyway. Teachers are all qualified.

As a teacher who's only taught in state, my only experience of class sizes this small is in sixth form, so it is a different vibe. I've taught classes of 10, and I don't think they're too small if there are other social opportunities. I don't think there's a massive advantage of a class of 10 over a class of 16, but once you start getting to 20+ I feel like the students do get less individual attention and support. 16 students with a teacher and a TA is a child to adult ratio of 1:8, which is pretty good in terms of adult attention, I would hope.

As others have said, it's getting harder to recruit teachers, and TAs as well. I guess the school has a point in mind where they would open another class in the year group, but 8 in a class probably isn't viable. I would ask them if they have a maximum class size in mind. If it's more than 20, on a personal level I probably wouldn't be especially happy.

Staffing costs and other running costs are all going up for schools, so I think you will have to suck up larger class sizes or massively increased fees.