§ Sir W. Robson Brownasked the Minister of Educationif he will state his policy with regard to infants and primary schools, and, in particular, what action he is taking to provide well built and fully equipped infant and primary schools and an adequate staff of qualified men and women.
§ Sir E. BoyleSince the war a large part of the educational building programme has been devoted to the provision of new primary schools, including infant schools. About 1,700,000 new primary places have so far been taken into use and a further 230,000 are in course of construction or included in approved major programmes. The school building programme for 1965–68 announced last autumn will include a further large number of primary places. In this connection I would refer my hon. Friend to my Answer to the hon. Member for Huddersfield, East (Mr. J. P. W. Mallalieu) on 19th December last.
My policy for staffing the primary schools is to ensure a maximum of not more than 40 pupils in a primary class and an average class size well below this level. In the last 10 years good progress has been made towards these objectives. Some deterioration is to be expected ever the next few years, especially in the infant schools, because of the greatly increased numbers of children reaching school age and the increasing loss of young women teachers on marriage. But the supply of new teachers will be substantially reinforced by the current expansion of the numbers in training colleges to 80,000 by 1970, with an emphasis on the training of primary school teachers. I am also urging the maximum use of part-timers and married-women returners.
Last autumn the Central Advisory Council started work on a comprehensive investigation into all aspects of primary education.
I shall continue to pursue with vigour my plans for producing a sufficient supply of teachers and buildings. Measures to this end do not depend on the outcome of the Central Advisory Council's deliberations, but these, when they are available in about three years' time, will be of the greatest significance in the further development of primary education.