Education Secretary Michael Russell today confirmed that regulations to legally limit primary one class sizes at 25 will be laid in Parliament on Thursday.
During a visit to Letham Primary in Livingston, where all primary one to three pupils are in classes of 18 or fewer, Mr Russell highlighted work to drive down class sizes and said the regulations would help make sure further progress is made.
The regulations follow a consultation earlier this year and are designed to help local authorities to keep class sizes down when faced with placing requests.
Mr Russell said:-“Low class sizes through the increased teacher contact time they bring can play a key role in both raising pupil attainment and improving behaviour in the classroom. As our teachers put Curriculum for Excellence into practice, this is more important than ever.
“I am absolutely committed to making sure an increasing number of pupils benefit from smaller class sizes. Good progress is being made and our work with COSLA has shown that we can continue to drive down class sizes through the flexibility in our agreement to deliver 20 per cent of primary one to three pupils in class sizes of 18 or fewer.
“We are confident that councils will deliver on the shared deal and I would like to praise Renfrewshire Council for their confirmation last week of what they have achieved on class size reduction. Other councils such as West Lothian have also made progress, which means many more pupils are now reaping the rewards of low class sizes in early primary, as I’ve seen today at Letham Primary.
“Councils have asked us to make sure there is a better balance between parental choice as to which schools their children attend and many parents’ wish for smaller classes. That’s why we will lay regulations this week to limit primary one classes to 25, putting Local Authorities on a more sound footing when they are considering placing requests from parents.
“I will also be considering the recommendations from the independent review into class size control mechanisms, which we have published today. There is certainly food for thought in the report and I plan to discuss the content with councils and other interested parties before announcing any further steps.”
The Education Secretary will lay regulations to limit primary one class sizes at 25 on Thursday, September 16, 2010. Subject to Parliamentary approval the regulations will come into force on October 11, 2010 and apply for the 2011-12 academic year.
