Class Sizes (Hansard, 9 December 1998)

§ Mr. Willis
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if infant schools which continue to operate admission limits in excess of 30 or multiples of 30 will receive additional resources to meet the class-size pledge. [62608]

§ Ms Estelle Morris
Whether individual schools receive additional resources to meet the class size pledge will depend on the implementation plan submitted by their local education authority and the costings to support that plan, as approved by the Secretary of State. A school that continues to operate admission limits in excess of 30 or multiples of 30 may receive additional resources to meet the class size pledge if it is judged reasonable for it to continue to operate those limits in the context of the authority's plan, taking into account the circumstances of the school.

§ Mr. Willis
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he has taken to ensure the education in subsequent years of an exempted pupil admitted as a 31st child consistent with the class size requirements of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. [62606]

§ Ms Estelle Morris
An excepted pupil falling within paragraphs 2 to 5 of the Schedule in the Education (Infant Class Sizes)(England) Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/1973) will cease to be treated as such a pupil after the end of the school year in which he/she is admitted to the school. This does not apply to an excepted pupil falling within paragraphs 6 and 7 of that Schedule because that exception permits a pupil with special educational needs, normally educated in a special school or a special unit attached to a mainstream school, to gain the benefits of being able to join in a mainstream class for some lessons.
Every governing body and local education authority will be under a legal duty to comply with class size legislation. We will be monitoring closely all aspects of that legislation, including the operation of the limit.

§ Mr. Willis
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if, where an exempted pupil is admitted to an infant class in excess of 30, additional resources will be made available from his Department to meet the class size pledge in subsequent years. [62607]

§ Ms Estelle Morris
We will be providing sufficient resources to enable all local authorities to meet the class size pledge. We intend to make resources available to deal with contingencies which arise when, exceptionally, a child is lawfully admitted to a school, taking an infant 235W class above 30 pupils. Whether an authority will require additional resources to deal with a case of that kind will clearly depend on the particular circumstances of the case.