§ 89. Mr. K. Lindsayasked the Minister of Education in how many areas the double shift system is being employed in infant schools; and in how many areas the size of classes is increasing in infant schools
§ Mr. TomlinsonI am not aware that this system is being employed generally in any area, though I have recent information that in London some 350 infants are on half time owing to temporary staffing and accommodation difficulties. Between January, 1946, and January, 1947, the latest dates for which I have figures, the ratio of children per full-time teacher in Infants Departments in England and Wales fell from 33.4 to 32.2. It is possible that there has been some increase in the size of classes since then owing to the rise in the birth rate and the shortage of women teachers of infants, but I shall not have figures for some months.