class sizes

I am not sure enough has been done to work out the spatial dimension of the current challenges facing rural schools in overview. This makes this a very interesting article. In speaking of local school funding challenges it tells us:

A senior leader in a large multi-academy trust, speaking anonymously to avoid alarming parents, said: “We will be forced to collapse classes. I’m looking at going from 10 sets to eight in maths and English, with a top set of up to 50 or even 60 kids in a big space.”

The leader said they were already having to “double up classes” to cover absences, and this would get worse. One of their secondary academies had 15 staff off last week, with stress-related illness noticeably on the rise.

“The senior team has been teaching 100 kids a time in the hall to relieve pressure on teachers,” he said. “Cover lessons make behaviour worse.”

As well as cutting less popular sixth-form subjects and increasing A-level class sizes – in some cases to twice the optimal number of pupils – he is considering cutting costs by starting the school day late or finishing early once a week.

He said: “If we have another year of this underfunding, by next year I think you’ll have lots of schools going to a four-day week because they can’t afford to teach for five.”