§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether reliable information is available as to the effects of creating reduced-size classrooms in state-maintained schools for children from low-income families; and, if not, whether they will commission research to test the effects of such a policy. [HLI6]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland)The University of London's Institute of Education was jointly commissioned by my department and local education authorities to monitor the impact of class size and pupil to adult ratios on educational attainment at key stage 1. The research shows that smaller classes have a significant effect on pupil progress in maths and literacy in reception children.
The researchers found no evidence of a relationship between class size, pupil attainment and schools with a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. However, this analysis was carried out at school level rather than at pupil level.