§ 15. Ms HoeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what proposals she has to reduce the numbers of pupils per class in primary and secondary schools.
§ Mr. ForthDetermining the size of a class is a matter for the school concerned. Last year, teacher numbers increased by 1,300 and education support staff increased by more than 6,000.
§ Ms HoeyThe Minister said recently that the number of children in classes made no difference to the performance of those children. Would he prefer his child to be taught in a class of 30, 25 or 20?
§ Mr. ForthThat would depend entirely on the quality of the teaching, the quality of the school, the dedication of the staff and so on. The hon. Lady is quite correct; I have said, and I repeat today, that there is no proven causal connection between class size and educational output. If the hon. Lady thinks otherwise, I should be glad to see any evidence that she can produce.