Class Size Legislation

The Education (Infant Class Sizes (England)) Regulations 1998 provide that, subject to certain limited exceptions, infant classes may not contain more than 30 pupils with a single qualified teacher.

The class size legislation makes sensible allowance for the entry of an additional child in certain circumstances where not to admit the child would be prejudicial to his or her interests. These children are known as "excepted pupils". These circumstances include:

where a child moves into the area outside the normal admission round and there is no other school which would provide suitable education within a reasonable distance of his or her home;
where a child receives a statement of special educational needs naming the school or a pupil with a statement naming that school moves into the area, in each case outside the normal admission round;
where a pupil is initially refused admission to a school but is subsequently offered a place there for one of two reasons: the person making the original decision recognises that an error was made in implementing the school's admission arrangements; or an admissions appeal panel upholds an appeal;
in addition, to preserve the important benefits for children with special educational needs which may be derived from attending mainstream classes, a child normally educated in a special educational needs unit attached to a mainstream school or in a special school will be treated as an excepted pupil for any time when he or she is in an infant class in the mainstream school.

In the first three of these cases, the class may only be above 30 for the remainder of that school year.

Further Information

Local Authority Admissions Policy

Class Size Legislation

Further Information

further information