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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

30 in a class just seems so big

26 replies

Clare123 · 05/01/2010 22:13

My daughter started school today and I couldn't help but feel worried/anxious about how big her class is. There is 30 in her class. She goes to an an over subscribed (oftsted "outstanding" and excellent stats), BUT....they are so little and there are so many of them!!

Does anyone else feel this way? What has your experience of such big classes?

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TheWorldFamousKewcumber · 05/01/2010 22:17

isn't 30 fairly normal - I went to a 30 size class all my school life

rabbitstew · 05/01/2010 22:29

I think a child can feel just as overwhelmed in a slightly smaller class - it depends on how well the class is managed. My ds1 is an extremely shy, bordering on anxious, child, yet he absolutely loves going to school (now in year 1) and adores his teacher. She also seems to have a very good understanding of my son. I see the fact that he is in a class of 28, with another intake of 28 in his year in the adjoining classroom, as a greater opportunity for him to find a kindred spirit, rather than as a dreadful quagmire of other children in which he will get lost. But that's just because I am happy with the school and with his current teacher. Either it works for your child or it doesn't - the size of the class is not the most vital part of the happiness or otherwise of the classroom experience.

AitchTwoOhOneOh · 05/01/2010 22:30

same here, kewk, thirty was a small class in my day. thirty seven in my reception class and we were all fine. tbh i'd say it would test the mettle of your teacher, but it meant we got a good, disciplined education imo.

paisleyleaf · 05/01/2010 22:34

Any teaching assistants?
Like Kewcumber, my own classes were 30, maybe even 32 I think all through primary, and there were no TAs then.
It's natural to feel worried about them though - I worry for my DD in reception too - mostly that she will not be too shy to ask for help if she needs it.

Original poster

Clare123 · 05/01/2010 22:34

May be it is just first days nerves (mine not my daughter) and getting used to her going to school.

OP posts:

paisleyleaf · 05/01/2010 22:39

Cor yes. It's a big thing.
Mine started sept, and I was gutted about it.
The school sounds good though (outstanding) - I'm sure your DD will have fun.

AitchTwoOhOneOh · 05/01/2010 22:42

och yes, i am in torment about my little dd starting in august this year...

jaded · 05/01/2010 22:52

It is a big class, I agree. I remember being in a class of 24 in reception in the eighties so class sizes have definitely been getting bigger. And I don't like the idea of my daughter's class mixing with another class as that's sixty very young four and five year olds between six members of staff. How can the teachers really get to know the children in their care?

HellBent · 05/01/2010 22:56

That seems like a big class. DS's class has 2 full-time primary teachers as they have 28 and this is over the 25 cut off point in Scotland for Primary 1

CardyMow · 05/01/2010 23:05

Big classes are awful. My DD ( 5 years ago now) spent a year in a class of 37 in Y2, when the school was going from a year group of 45 to a year group of 60 (it's now at a 3-form intake, 90 per year!), her class still only had one teacher and one TA, but all the parents kicked up such a stink that they split the class when she went into Y3. 30 is just about do-able, IF there's a teacher, a TA and a parent helper, less adults than that and it can be quite stressful for the younger children, IMO....(and the adults!). I often help out at my DC's school as do a lot of the other parents. I'm finding this year my DS2 is struggling a little, he's in a class of 30, he's SEN, and they've got 2 TA's in his class, but there is a profoundly deaf girl waiting for cochlear implants, 2 asd boys, and 2 children with english as a second language. He's not getting enough input and is falling even further behind.

mimsum · 05/01/2010 23:07

it depends on the teacher ime - ds2 had a lousy teacher in y2 - at the first parents' evening every question was batted away with an impatient "I can't do that, I've got 30 kids in the class"

It also depends on whereabouts in the country you are - in my dc's primary (London) the class sizes drop as they go further up the school - when my dd was in reception they'd already lost 2 by the end of the first term and this was a highly oversubscribed school with tiny catchment area - by the time ds1 left there were only 17 in his class which tbh wasn't big enough to give opportunities to socialise, plus they were all sick of the sight of each other by that stage!

smee · 06/01/2010 11:31

Clare she'll be fine - I'd bet there's a TA too isn't there, so that's one adult to 15 kids which is far from bad.

Original poster

Clare123 · 06/01/2010 13:31

Yes, there is a teacher assistant. we are going to see how she gets on and go from there. She seemed very happy yesterday!

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ShoshanaBlue · 09/01/2010 11:16

I'm afraid it gets even bigger. The class size limit of 30 only applies to the infants so it is set to grow from the juniors...

LynetteScavo · 09/01/2010 11:19

Most school try to keep to only 30, though.

Yes, 30 is a lot, but with a TA or two, and a decent teacher, it's usually managed very well.

paulaplumpbottom · 09/01/2010 11:19

I haven't had any experiance of a class that big but I don't think its fair on the students or the teachers. My dd has 14 in her class. I think thats more reasonable.

foxinsocks · 09/01/2010 11:28

mine had 30 in infants and both have over 30 in juniors (32/33)

it is fine imo until there's disruption. Once you have 2 or 3 difficult children in a class, with 30 it quickly becomes impossible to teach. Ds's teacher spends most of her time on crowd control than teaching poor woman because they have a fair few disruptive souls in their class!

LynetteScavo · 09/01/2010 14:02

Which is why I'm strongly in favour of a TA in every class. IME they make a big differnce.

MightyAphrodite · 09/01/2010 14:23

30+ kids in a well managed class are no problem. I teach English in a primary school in Greece where 28 in a class is the absolute max, but lack of facilities, decent teaching materials, respect for the system etc, etc means very little is ever achieved. It can be hard work here getting anything done with a class of just 11. Size is not the issue.

Runoutofideas · 09/01/2010 14:23

It's a big jump from pre-school/nursery because of the child/adult ration. My dd1 started an oversubscribed ofsted outstanding school in Sept, with 3 classes of 30 so 90 in reception. Whilst the school does seem very good, I do think my dd is still a bit anonymous because she generally does as she's told and has no specific issues. I understand how you feel as it is a lot to get used to. The children however don't seem to bat an eyelid about it and at least with so many to choose from they should be able to make friends more easily.

thecloudhopper · 11/01/2010 21:29

When my mum 1st started to teach many moons ago her 1st class had 56 children in it, and no TA this was in iner city Birmingham even then not easy,

bebumba · 13/01/2010 14:32

My ds is now in year 6. His class number has varied between 30 and 34 since reception. I was concerned initially by the large number but he has done well throughout his primary schooling. The only downside has been the number of birthday parties he has been invited to......

jaded · 13/01/2010 17:18

Yes, it is a lot. Nick Clegg from the lib democrats wants to reduce class sizes so vote for him! It is more of an issue when they are very young - 4,5 and 6 when they need more individual attention. My DD probably gets to speak to her teacher 5 or 10 minutes a week.

Travellerintime · 14/01/2010 09:30

There are 28 in my dd's class (Scotland) - something which really worried me, but I would agree that if the teaching is good and it's handled properly it doesn't need to be a problem. My dd's class have a classroom asst 75 % of the time, and they seem to do a lot of activities in smaller groups within the class. The teacher seems to know my dd really well.

NoahAndTheWhale · 14/01/2010 12:32

When I was at school in the 1980s there were 35 in each class from reception onwards (two form entry) apart from the year above which had 40 children in just one class.

And I don't remember there being teaching assistants at all - there was a nursery nurse for the smallest children.

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