Edinburgh Council in threat to SNP class sizes pledge

Published on Thursday 4 March 2010 12:23

THE Scottish Government's flagship policy on class sizes is under threat following the news Edinburgh Council is on the verge of increasing pupil numbers.

The authority is considering raising the primary one class limit to the maximum of 30 for the next academic year, beyond the SNP's manifesto commitment of 18.

The Scottish Government said last September that it would bring in legislation for the next school year to cap classes at 25 as part of its drive to further lower the limit.

But with the school placement process now in full swing, the Lib Dem-SNP-led council said no legislative action has yet been brought forward.

The coalition SNP and Lib Dem authority said it could be left open to legal challenges from parents to accept more pupils if class sizes were not increased to their current maximum.

Council education leader Marilyne MacLaren said "big steps" have been taken to cut class sizes.

But she added: "However, the reality is that if we don't have a back-stop to cap classes at a maximum of 25, it is highly likely that 50 other schools will see numbers go beyond 25.

"If we aren't going to see new regulations then we will have no option but to increase the limit to 30 in line with current legislation.

"This at least should keep class sizes more manageable for teachers. This is disappointing but without legal protection from the Government we don't have any other option."

Councillor MacLaren said she "fully expects" the authority to meet the Government's target of 18 or fewer pupils in 20% of all primary one-three classes by August.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "While it is not possible to now legislate to meet the deadline for placing requests made before March 15, we still intend to consult on regulations and have them in place by

the autumn.

"It is unlikely that placing requests will impact upon local authorities achieving 20% of P1-P3 pupils in classes of 18 or fewer, as councils will be targeting schools in areas of deprivation where placing requests are less common and class-size reduction is likely to have the greatest impact."

Legal challenges have shown that schools cannot expect to stop parents making placement requests from outside their catchment area, forcing councils to accept up to the legal limit of 30.

South Lanarkshire Council has lost 19 legal challenges in the past year from parents in this position.