Definition of "school teacher" in The School Admissions (Infant Class Sizes) (England) Regulations 2012

[Siblingstogether]

I am currently drafting an appeal under the infant class size regulations and in accordance with the The School Admissions (Infant Class Sizes) (England) Regulations 2012, the limit of 30 applies to an ordinary teaching session (ie not assembly) conducted by a single school teacher. However, the Act doesn't specify what is a "school teacher".

Section 122 of the Education Act 2002 says trainee teachers are consider to be "school teachers" if they are undertaking training of a prescribed kind, but doesn't specify what this prescribed kind might be.

Does anyone know the precise definition of a "school teacher" for the infant class size legislation, or know what courses constitute the prescribed kind of training for the Education Act 2002?

Desperate for my daughter's appeal to be successful!!

With QTS I imagine

What arguement are you attempting to make? I can't really see how you can make a winning argument out of this.

What arguement are you attempting to make? I can't really see how you can make a winning argument out of this.

If the class had a TA, and the TA happened to have QTS could that not be an argument (ie not employed as a teacher, so not considered a teacher by the school, but the attempted argument would be that due to the TA being qualified the regulations would not actually be broken?

(not that I think it's likely etc. just imagining)

Maybe at a stretch, but I'm not sure that's an argument likely to go anywhere either. Even if it were possible it would open a huge can of worms.

This has been tried many times before at appeal and as far as I am aware the tack taken is whether someone is being paid as a qualified teacher or not. If the TA is being paid as a qualified teacher then there are 2 school teachers in the class and the ICS regs would not apply until the class reached 60. If the TA is paid as a TA, even though qualified then they do not count as a school teacher and the ICS Regs apply at 30.

Even if you could persuade the appeal panel that a trainee teacher is a teacher for the purposes on ICS regulations (unlikely), any argument based on the trainee would only work if the trainee and another teacher were always in the room for teaching sessions (i.e. neither the trainee nor the qualified teacher ever takes a class on their own) and the trainee is going to be with this class throughout their time in infants. Bluntly, I don't see any chance of an argument around a trainee succeeding. Sorry.

The definition according to the appeals code is complex, unclear and involves several other statutes which all refer to each other, so as prh and admissions have said, it's not a helpful approach.

Panels are very likely to take the view that if they are employed as a TA, that's what their role is, even is technically they might have a teaching degree/be a QTS etc. Their presence in the classroom doesn't mean the class has another teacher responsible for their learning - that only happens if they are actually employed as a Teacher, do the work of a teacher, and are with the class full time. I can't see it working either, I'm afraid (I sit on appeals panels, as do prh and admission).