No reduction in class sizes in the Scottish Borders
Thursday, November 22 2007
Class sizes in primary 1-3 in the Borders will not be reduced, due to lack of Government funding.
Executive Member for Education at Scottish Borders Council, Councillor Catriona Bhatia, said: “The deal which was struck with COSLA asks Councils to reduce class sizes in P1-3 to 18 on the basis that school rolls are falling.
“In the Scottish Borders, however, our primary school rolls are projected to rise by at least 15 per cent over the next six years - from the current level of 8602 in 2007 to 9864 in 2013.
“There is no extra money to employ additional class teachers to reduce class sizes and no extra capital money to extend or build new schools. As a result, we will not be able to implement reductions in class sizes in P1-3. Having said that, many of our class sizes are already 18 or below because of our rural schools.”
Councillor Bhatia continued: “We strive to improve education for all of our children, but there has been no evidence put forward about how or why the number of 18 was arrived at. The latest research published by the Scottish Government drew no firm conclusions, although a maximum class size of 20 pupils was suggested as best practice for low achieving children
“In my experience, teachers and parents are more concerned with large classes in the higher primary classes. We will continue to do our very best to improve education despite there being no additional funding from the Government.”
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