Other LEAs forcing schools to take one extra pupil in Reception (31 children)?

[BlueberryPancake]

A new little boy started in my son's already full reception class - they are now up to 31 children. I thought maybe it was because the parents successfully appealed or something like that, but another parent told me that our local authority (Redbridge in London) has such a shortage of places that they are forcing every school in the borough to take an extra pupil, taking all the reception classes to 31 children. The little boy started last week. I don't know if it's true, I will ask the school tomorrow, but if that were the case, is this happening in other parts of the country too?

My DS started reception with 33 in the class, three successful appeals.

Under the infant class size (30 pupils per teacher ) rules there are a number of permitted exceptions one being children moving into the area outside the normal admissions round for whom there is no other available school within a reasonable distance (the regulations require that admission authorities must check with local authorities before determining that a child falls into this category). It isn't a case of the LEA forcing schools to take an extra pupil it is the law.

but you might be interested in
www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/jan/05/michael-gove-infant-class-size?CMP=twt_gu

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16432732

I would be very surprised if they were tackling a shortage of places in that way. Unless the child moved into the area outside the normal admissions round they would be required to employ an additional teacher for Reception. There is no way the funding the school gets for one child would cover that. If they have a shortage of places the only sensible approach is to get some schools to create a bulge class.

As Mrz indicates, it is far more likely that the child falls into one of the "excepted" categories.

I remember reading something in TES recently which said that, based on international studies, having a couple more pupils as the typical class size (32 rather than 30) made no difference to outcomes, but that it would be politically unacceptable to change ICS regs here. So you don't need to worry about the quality of the education your DC will receive in a slightly larger class.

It is one way of making inroads into the woeful shortfall of school places, and perhaps one we'll be seeing more of in coming years if pressure on numbers continues and physically space for school enlargements and bulge classes runs out.

Admitting additional pupils is governed by the Fair Access Protocol, which covers the placement of newly arrived children when all schools are full (plus certain other specified children).

If this is true that is really silly thing to do. The pupil admitted under a fair access protocol is an excepted pupil for the rest of the academic year.We only have about a month and a half left and come september the school will have to meet the infant class size regs, that is be at 30 or employ another teacher. I hope the school realise this.

If Redbridge LA have also done this for all the schools for Reception in september then that is just a massive cop out and I am sure that the school adjudicator would have something to say about it. They clearly should be providing more classrooms not trying to get around the system.

I'll speak to the deputy head tomorrow to try to figure out what's happening. My DH is a primary school teacher in another borough and thinks that this is outrageous, but another mum told me the same today - all reception classes have been asked to take on another pupil. My DS is on the special needs register and although he receives help in the classroom, the more pupils there are, the less help he will receive.

Our school has just had to take on an extra pupil in Year 1, so is up to 31 pupils. as the Borough ( Harrow) is so desperate for places. It doesn't sound like they were given a lot of choice to be honest.
The new girl is from the Ukraine, speaks no English and has never been to school before so you have to feel a bit sorry for her. She is being taught with the class as much as possible but is taken out for literacy and numeracy.

My daughter's school took on 33 (or 34?) Reception pupils at the start of the year. They have taken two more during the year. Three days a week they have an extra TA and four of the pupils go out for extra English classes so it isn't too much of a problem. When my daughter moves up into Reception next year, there'll be a whole extra class of 30 so hopefully that will absorb the extra numbers.

It was confirmed this morning I had a chat with the teacher. THere were about 40 children in the LEA that didn't have a school place, so all schools have had to accept one or more extra child in reception! Our school is one-form entry so the child is in my son's class. They are now 31 children in Reception, and if we assume that no children will leave the school (unlikely I know) he will have 31 children in his class for primary school. Outrageous, isn't it? I can't believe really but it was confirmed by the teacher this morning. Many parents were complaining about it.

Also, it's a CoE school and we have been going to the church associated with the school for the last 6 years, since we moved in this area. There are sets of rules to be accepted at that school and one is that the family has to attend church for at least two years prior to applying. The new family has not had to attend church at all. The ruling from the local authority overrules the admission criteria of the school.

There is no extra staff in the classroom, no extra time from a TA, no extra resources, no extra teacher. And no extra room (it's a physically small school, with small old classrooms and very small play area). Surely 30 is the limit for a reason, and 30 should stay the limit! I am properly cross now!

Also my DS is on the register for special education needs, he has a recognised, diagnosed mild dissability. The help he receives from the TA will even more diluted now. Grrrr

Its one extra child, what do you suppose they do with the children who have no places??? get real and offer your services as a helper

There is a legal limit for a reason and the legal limit is 30. The local authorities are imposing a new space to a school and giving absolutely nothing extra in terms of funding or resources. The school place is associated with not a single penny extra this year as the budget for the classes has already been distributed. There is no extra TA time, no extra support or resources. If you have 27 children in a class, you get funding for 27 children. If you have 31, you get funding for 30 places (in this case anyway because the child is starting after the budget has been assigned).

How strange! Have these 40 children all had to wait this long into the academic year for a school place? That is not on. But neither is taking every reception class over the infant class size.

Yes I do sympathise with the children and their family on a personal basis, but this is not a problem that has just popped out of the blue - This statement is from April 2011 London Councils has warned that the shortage of school places across the capital has become critical with a predicted shortfall of around 70,000 over the next four years.

www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/news/current/pressdetail.htm?pk=1281

I have just been told that over the past year, 12 new Reception classes have been opened across the borough but there were still a large number of pupils without places. Putting an extra child per reception class is not going to solve the problem on a permanent basis.

If they want to put another child in an already full class, fine but not without the funding or resources!

My DS was denied a Statement of Special Educational Needs (he has Dyspraxia, Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia and Hypotonia) saying that his needs were not complex enough and that the school will provide. If the only TA available in the classroom has to spread her time across more kids, children with special needs are the one who will suffer. There are I believe three children on the SEN list in his class, one with a hearing loss, one with mild cerebral palsy, and DS.

Hi Tiggytape, thanks for hte info, it's very interesting and I am learning a lot from this thread.

Do you know the 'name' of the rule for an extra teacher funded from September? I would like to read more about it but I can't find it online as I don't know what it's called.

Thanks!

blueberry - really? have 12 new classes been opened? I hope so! Last I heard there were 11 classes too few in the borough so if that has happened it should have made a difference. I know a few schools have gone from 1.5 to 2 form entry so i guess that goes a bit of a way! And the new Hindu school on the IJPS site should make a dent too..... hmm.

In Waltham Forest, which is next door to Redbridge, there are 200 pupils looking for school places.

Do the Tories not want to get rid of the maximum class size rule?

Its not like its going have any impact on their kids is it?

TBH I wouldnt be worried about one extra child in a class. I cant see it will make a huge deal of difference.

Why isnt your school using it's SN budget to provide more support for the children in the school? Your child may not have a statement but the others might. Where is the money going if there is only one TA in the class?

yes ds gets extra help outside the classroom for speech therapy and occupational therapy stuff, but nothing official in the classroom. It was always assumed by me and the school that he would get a bit of extra support from the TA whenever he needed it, but that doesn't come out of the (super tiny) SEN budget. Maybe i will ask for that help to come out of the sen budget.

The headteacher at his school said that 12 new classes had been opened (I haven't confirmed that with the council) but still 40 children had no school place!

The school gets a SEN budget according to how many children in the school have SEN.
The trouble is that it is not always ringfenced and can find its way into doing other things.

This is one of the reasons some schools resist statementing. If your child gets a statement the money will have to be diverted to meet the requirements of the statement. Unless the statement brings extra funding. Most do not.

If the class has at least three children with significant SEN, one TA is simply not good enough.