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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Is it totally forbidden to have 31 in a class?

21 replies

emkana · 12/06/2011 22:10

dd would love to change classes within her year, but the other class has 30 in it already. Is it at the head teacher's discretion or a law?

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hester · 12/06/2011 22:12

I thought it was, but there seem to be 31 in my dd's reception class.

Goblinchild · 12/06/2011 22:12

Heads discretion, but that's a pretty powerful selling point for a school
'No classes more than 30' If it's part of school policy, then you are going to have to present very good reasons for your DD needing to change.

elphabadefiesgravity · 12/06/2011 22:13

In infants you can only have 31 in if there has been an exception and a child has been admitted on appeal.

Goblinchild · 12/06/2011 22:13

If there's 31 in reception, what are the staffing levels like?

LawrieMarlow · 12/06/2011 22:13

What year is your DD in? If she is in KS2 there is no limit on the number of children in the class although they can only have as many as will fit. Is there any chance the classes may get reorganised anyway?

If she is in KS1 then having more than 30 can only happen in exceptional circumstances.

MrsShrekTheThird · 12/06/2011 22:13

I thought 30 in EYFS and KS1, and 35 in KS2

if she desperately wants/needs to, isn't there a child in the other class that wants to swap?

Original poster

emkana · 12/06/2011 22:14

She's in year five.

OP posts:

mrz · 12/06/2011 22:17

The school can't legally create a class of 31 to move a child from one class to another (reception Y1 or Y2) there is no limit in KS2 (in theory)

Goblinchild · 12/06/2011 22:18

Why does she want to move?
Any reason other than her friends are in the other class?

EllenJaneisnotmyname · 12/06/2011 22:18

Shouldn't be a problem, legally then, but the school aren't going to want 31 in one class and 29 in the other.

Goblinchild · 12/06/2011 22:35

It is also the idea of setting a precedent that will send a cold shiver down the collective spine.
If you do it for one, then all have the right to ask and expect. Which is why I wondered on what grounds she wants to swap.
Parents might not be happy about the lack of balance either, and as a teacher you can split the class 2/15 3/10 5/6
31 is a pain.

prh47bridge · 12/06/2011 23:51

The class size limit only applies to classes where the majority of children are in Reception, Y1 or Y2. As your daughter is in Y5 there is no legal limit. That does not, of course, mean that the school will agree to your request.

Hormoneoverload · 13/06/2011 07:33

I think it is really unlikely that a school will move a child because "she wants to" unless there are strong social reasons , eg bullying issues of some seriousness to contend with. It would set the cat among the pigeons with other pupils and parents. The class size thing is irrelevant in ks 2. Why does your dd want to move classes?

Original poster

emkana · 13/06/2011 07:35

She's very unhappy in her class due to friendship issues.

OP posts:

RickGhastley · 13/06/2011 07:43

One of the schools near me has 33 in each class in some years (area has big shortage of school places) but this was an agreement between the school and local EA for which the school got an extra teacher or teaching assistant.

IndigoBell · 13/06/2011 10:00

I can't understand why classes aren't mixed up every year anyway.

But, I've learnt from here, that there are some schools that insist on keeping classes the same throughout the school.....

It's very normal (although apparently not in your school) to move kids between classes every year. So speak to the HT about it. Now's the right time of year to do it. They don't have to just move your DD - they could (if they wanted to) totally mix up the classes...... (If you ask NOW, while they still have time...)

That is one of the huge benefits of going to a larger school. They can remix the classes every year to address any problems

clam · 13/06/2011 15:14

"It's very normal (although apparently not in your school) to move kids between classes every year."
Not in my experience. Have you any idea how massively complex it is to balance, say, 60 children between 2 classes? To take into consideration gender, ability, SEN, friendship groups, personality clashes (i.e. between children) and so on. After hours with post-it notes and lists, you think you have a balance and then a couple of parents go bananas because their pfb wants to be with so-and-so, which might be one of the very mixes you've sought to separate.
Few schools take on this task more often than they have to.

2BoysTooLoud · 13/06/2011 15:20

Classes mixed up every year in our primary - 2 form entry.
Bit stressy for the kids but most seem to settle eventually....

IndigoBell · 13/06/2011 15:21

Far less work to take into consideration all what you mentioned and plan your classes, than sorting out issues arising from all that without moving the kids ........

If they had kept my DS in the same class as X, when they have 2 parallel classes they could have put him into I'd be absolutely furious.....

I haven't got any statistics on how many schools do remix them every year - but it's a huge selling point of my school. And one of the reasons it's so much better than a one form entry.......

clam · 13/06/2011 15:24

"Far less work to take into consideration all what you mentioned and plan your classes, than sorting out issues arising from all that without moving the kids ........"

There will be issues in any group of kids.

"Bit stressy for the kids" And for the teachers!

admission · 13/06/2011 17:46

No head who has any sense will move a child simply for their "friendship issues", the can of worms it opens up is enormous and once you have doen it for one you have to keep doing it. Yes there will always be exceptions when there is a sensible reason to make such a move but it will stand out and it will be commented on by other parents.

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