More than 500,000 primary school pupils taught in 'super-size' classes

More than half a million children are being taught in “super-size” classes of more than 30 pupils as overstretched primary schools struggle to cope with the surge in demand for places, according to a new analysis of government figures.

As parents prepare for Friday’s deadline in applying for a primary place for children due to start school in September, research suggests many will face disappointment when it comes to national offer day next April.

The shadow education secretary, Lucy Powell, said the system for planning new school places was broken and blamed the government’s focus on free schools for making it harder to ensure there were enough places in areas of high demand.

Local authorities and schools have been trying to plan for years for the recent baby boom, the effects of which can already be seen in the growth in so-called “titan” primaries, which accommodate upwards of 800 children, and shrinking catchment areas.

But according to an analysis of official figures by Labour, another consequence has been an increase in the number of primary school infants being taught in classes larger than the statutory maximum limit of 30.

Department for Education (DfE) statistics revealed that almost 40,000 primary pupils are currently being taught in classes of more than 36, while 15,000 are in classes of 40 or more. In England, 520,445 primary pupils are being taught in classes of 31 or more. Of those, up to 100,000 are in reception, year one or year two, for which the government has a legal requirement to limit class sizes to 30.

And while the focus has long been on primaries, the population surge is now starting to feed through to secondary schools, where Labour says bigger classes are already a growing problem.

The Conservatives accused the last Labour government of cutting funding for school places by £150m and scrapping 200,000 places at the time pupil numbers were booming. “Rather than trying to scare parents with misleading statistics they should be backing the measures we’ve taken to clear up the mess they left behind,” a Conservative spokesman said.

Under current legislation, local authorities do not have the power to build and open new schools – only free schools or academies are allowed to open new institutions. “The government’s obsession with free schools, at the expense of opening other types of school, has made it harder and harder to ensure there are enough places everywhere,” said Powell.

“This approach is clearly not working for parents up and down the country. Come national offer day, some families applying today will go straight onto a waiting list with no offer of any school place and soaring numbers of children will continue to be crammed into ever-expanding classes, as it’s the only option left for many schools in many areas.”

Powell continued: “The current system for planning new places is essentially broken. It is now time for the Tories to abandon their unjustified fixation with free schools, which are evidently not addressing the growing pressure on school places nor driving up standards, and once and for all put the urgent need for sufficient good school places in every local area first.”

Ann Lyons, a headteacher at St John Fisher Catholic primary school in Pinner, north-west London, said schools in her area were hugely oversubscribed, with some infant classes having to exceed the statutory limit to accommodate demand.

“They are often vulnerable children who have just moved in to the area or into the country. In an infant class the level of support you need to give children is challenging,” said Lyons.

St John Fisher has expanded from one-form entry, when the school held just 240 pupils, to three-form entry which will take the number up to 650. “I’m currently overlooking a building site – we’ve got six new classrooms being built,” she said.

Lyons described timetabling as a “logistical nightmare”, with lunch and play times staggered. “But the children love it. We’ve worked hard to create opportunities to make sure the school still has that community feel.”

As parents submitted their last-minute applications, those who went through the process last year shared their stories. Steph Douglas, writing on Mumsnet, described visiting six local schools for her son.

“While a lot of people seemed to be a bit panicky about not getting a place, I was confident in the system – and with so many good schools near us, and all our neighbours at our most local school, I thought we didn’t have anything to worry about,” wrote Douglas.

When it came to national offer day, Buster did not get a single place. “The main issue for our closest school was that of 60 places, 42 were taken up by siblings and a further six went to church places. That left 12 places, so the catchment was a tiny 399 metres.”

Her son eventually took up a place in a free school. “I was surprised at how emotional I felt about it. I resented the people now talking to their kids about big school, getting excited about uniforms and moving on with their lives.”

Meanwhile, local councils, who are legally responsible for providing a school place for every child, are urging academies to expand and offer more places. Roy Perry, of the Local Government Association, which represents 370 councils, said: “If they are not willing to expand, then powers to create new schools should be returned to local authorities themselves.”

The government defended its record on places and class sizes. A DfE spokesperson said: “Despite rising pupil numbers, 95% of parents received an offer at one of their top three preferred schools last year and the average infant class size has remained stable. Any suggestion to the contrary is nonsense.

“Despite an increase in pupils numbers we have been able to keep the average infant class size the same, at 27.4, and the number of unlawfully large infant classes actually has fallen – down 137 compared to 2009.”

Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: “A key duty of government is to ensure there are sufficient school places and enough qualified teachers. The government has failed on both, thereby letting down children and parents.”

Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, added: “There is a limit to how far existing schools can expand. Many are already using school halls, music rooms and gyms for classrooms and building over their playing fields to accommodate extra children.

“Children are being taught in PortaKabins and increasingly large classes, and until the government tackles the lack of school places these problems will get worse.”