§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many additional teachers would be required in maintained schools in England and Wales to ensure that no classes have more than 30 pupils.
§ Mr. DunnIn January 1984 average class sizes in England were 25.0 pupils for primary schools and 20.9 pupils for secondary schools; at the same time 20 per cent. of primary classes and 8 per cent. of secondary classes contained more than 30 pupils. Corresponding figures for Wales are not available. It is not possible to estimate with any confidence how many additional teachers would be required to eliminate classes with more than 30 pupils as this would depend crucially on the extent to which local education authorities and headteachers gave priority to reductions in class sizes over other calls on the time of teachers. Whilst my right hon. Friend recognises that there are still some classes which are too large to permit adequate attention to the needs of individuals, he believes that in general the fall in class sizes has reached a point where more non-contact time for teachers who currently have little, and more flexible teaching arrangements, should have priority over further decreases in the size of regular teaching groups.