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

New analysis shows schools being forced to exceed statutory limit of 30 to meet demand, with Labour blaming situation on Tory ‘fixation’ with free schools

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.
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The free market works, but not when it comes to schools

Our education system is becoming an inefficient, socially segregated mess – all because central government stripped councils of their powers

The free market is the best way of allocating scarce resources in 90% of cases. The other 10% includes schools.

Britain’s headteachers today claimed the blindingly obvious. If the government funds private organisations to set up “free” state schools wherever parents do not like existing ones, provision will be “wasteful, fragmented and confusing”. There will be too many places in some neighbourhoods and too few in others.

That has duly happened. Half a million children are now in “super-sized” classes, while British schools are slithering back to the selection and social segregation of the old days. This has nothing to do with free schools and academies as such. It has to do with allowing them to expand – or not expand – at will, and allowing them to choose their pupils, which means choosing their parents. Ever since primary schools were supposedly “local” and secondary schools “comprehensive”, parents at least in city centres struggled to get their children out of unpopular schools. Local councils struggled to police the resulting competition.More...

Almost half of English school students failing to make the grade, says report

Forty-three per cent of children leave primary school without adequate reading, writing and maths, according to research

Almost half of all students at certain stages of education in England are still not achieving expected standards of success, a report has found.

About 43% of children are not leaving primary school having reached adequate levels of reading, writing and maths, according to analysis from the thinktank CentreForum and research body Education DataLab.

This level is set at achieving a 4b grade – sometimes referred to as a “good” level 4 – or higher in the three key subjects at the end of key stage 2, which usually lasts from the ages of seven to 11.

Forty-four per cent of pupils finishing secondary school are not achieving the national standard of five A* to C in GCSEs, the report finds. But the level of attainment has risen over the course of the past decade, the report adds, recommending a higher “new benchmark standard” to which pupils can be held.
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campermon wrote:Teacher 'burnout' and recruiting crisis.

But that's already happening!

Scot Dutchy wrote:

Almost half of English school students failing to make the grade, says report

Forty-three per cent of children leave primary school without adequate reading, writing and maths, according to research

Almost half of all students at certain stages of education in England are still not achieving expected standards of success, a report has found.

About 43% of children are not leaving primary school having reached adequate levels of reading, writing and maths, according to analysis from the thinktank CentreForum and research body Education DataLab.

This level is set at achieving a 4b grade – sometimes referred to as a “good” level 4 – or higher in the three key subjects at the end of key stage 2, which usually lasts from the ages of seven to 11.

Forty-four per cent of pupils finishing secondary school are not achieving the national standard of five A* to C in GCSEs, the report finds. But the level of attainment has risen over the course of the past decade, the report adds, recommending a higher “new benchmark standard” to which pupils can be held.
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