DD's reception class is going to be 29

[moodlumthehoodlum]

That seems enormous to me. But is this the norm, or am I being precious?

my DS (yr1) has 25 in his class.
DD is starting in sept - will be 28 in her class
All our classes have TAs so I guess it's not such a bad ratio.
it will be fine

The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (Sections 1- 4) require that all infant classes with a single qualified teacher should contain no more than 30 pupils from September 2001. The regulations relate to pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes.

Qualified Teachers
Any infant class that has a majority of Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 pupils must be limited to a maximum of 30 pupils to one qualified teacher in all ordinary teaching sessions.
An ordinary teaching session is every lesson during the school day, except for school assemblies, music, drama or sports lessons.

Any infant class with more than 30 pupils must therefore have at least two FTE qualified teachers.

A teacher must have been awarded qualified teacher status; any other adult in the class cannot be considered as a teacher

If 30 in a class and a lone teacher - what happens when teacher is bursting for the loo?

Or a child throws up or has wet pants that need changing or a hundred other scenarios ... and on top of that EYFS requires children to have access to the outdoors at all times...

Nappyzone, they have to hold it in til lunch time!

I'm a reception teacher and we don't have playtimes and often have meetings over lunch so I cross my legs until 3.30

If 30 in a class and a lone teacher - what happens when teacher is bursting for the loo? well yeah you wait for the next break, no different for secondary or junior teachers

Or a child throws up or has wet pants that need changing or a hundred other scenarios - yeah thats when it gets really fun, i had to send my entire class minus 1 into the next class where that teacher read them all a story so i could clean up a child one afternoon when there were no TA's in the infant dpt and office staff were "too busy"

and on top of that EYFS requires children to have access to the outdoors at all times... we were told at a recent course that as long as we could see the children outside they didnt need an adult out there with them, needless to say we all looked at the course tutor horrified, mine will have to be all in or all out if its only me.

hope you get the answers you wnt re ta support question what hours the tas work, eg are they in when the children are in, do they leave early for lunch duty etc??

Well aall reception teachers if female must have a fine pelvic floor . I better not re train as one!

can you tell my eldest hasn't started school yet and I haven't read the information pack properly

Sorry for tmi here, but on days when I'm in the classroom, I go to the loo at about 8.20, and then generally don't go again until 3.30!

i just dont drink much on the days i am teaching know this is not good for me but my pelvic floor is rubbish since dd

I think big class sizes is a good thing. Lots of different potential friends to choose from for the children.

yes meant to say that very thing fairy mum, before getting sidetracked by toilets!

i have had both small and large classes and there is a big diffewrence, the large classes have that buzz aboput them, much more harmonious, lots of friends to play with lots of different ideas. i would choose a class of 30 over what i had one year (11), me and the children were bored to tears with each others company by the end of the year

That is good to know. I am relieved

Lots of jobs depend on being able to keep your legs crossed though, this is not peculiar to infants teachers. The brain surgeon can't stop in the middle of the operation, leaving the inside of your skull exposed, and slope off to the loo. Bus drivers have to hold on until break time. Police officers in pursuit of a desperate criminal presumably have to cross their legs.
Even children, by the time they get to junior school, are expected to use the loo at breaktime only, unless they have genuine medical problems.
As for the big classes, my dc's were taught in an open plan classroom, with 60 children in the same (not enormous) room. But plenty of input from two qualified teachers and two TAs. And in their schools, office staff have usually dealt with medical emergencies.