Does class size matter?

[Griffineater]

Moving areas and DS1 will be leaving a class of 16 and going into a class of 29. We like the new school but can't help worrying he will miss out on the extra attention he is currently used to in a bigger class?

Well, there are 13 more children in his new class- it makes sense he'll get less attention.

I'd try and focus on the positives: 13 more children to play with, 13 more children to bring talents and other things to contribute.

You might actually find it's a quieter environment because there are so many of them! My niece was in a small class who were encouraged to talk and to move around and she actually struggled with noise levels.

There may well be a TA and parent helpers tho

I was going to give a flat 'yes' reply and leave it at that. A larger class means more taking turns, less teacher time per pupil. I've got a much smaller class this year than normal and I am loving the fact that I feel that I can give the children more of my time (especially as the marking etc is less with fewer children) as well as the fact that I feel I know them better.

THat said, for me, a particularly small class this year is 23, not 16. Too small a class and I miss the 'spark' that a good sized group of children can give you. Bigger classes do indeed mean more children to play with, a range of children to turn to if you've had an arguement with your good friend etc.

Good teaching makes more of a difference than class size. Or. I would rather have a good teacher in a class of 29, than a mediocre teacher in a class of 16. A class of 16 is very small. Do you know what support there will be in the class along with the teacher? What year is your ds going in to?

Yes.
But 29 is ok.

35 not :(

Going into year 2 in September. There will be a TA in the class too I believe.

There have been plenty of studies on what makes a difference to a child's attainment in school. Class size comes far, far below good teaching. The most important factor in choosing a school is one you really won't know much about until your child is in the classroom: how good is the teacher?

We left the private school with 9 in a class in favour of a state school with a class of 30 and it's the best thing we ever did. She has got on really well this year. We decided having only 3 or 4 other girls in her class was not enough for her socially.

Interesting and authoritative research here: www.classsizeresearch.org.uk/results.html.

Not at all as clear cut as you might think.

Depends on the child too, surely? DS has gone from a class of 30 to a class of 20 this year - other changes too (different country, different school system) but we think a lot of the positives he has found (like getting distracted less and having more attention from the teacher) can be directly attributed to the smaller class size

DD just went from a class of 16 to a class of 33. She absolutely loves it (she is quite a shy quiet child). She's in Y3. I would not go back to a small class for anything. The benefits have been staggering in terms of her personal development and learning.

Thank you for all the replies. Fingers crossed it is a positive move for him too.