Infant class size legislation

The School Admissions Code 2021 (2.16) limits infant class sizes (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) to no more than 30 pupils per teacher.

In some exceptional circumstances, a child may be admitted to a class that already has 30 pupils. These children are known as excepted pupils and can be admitted above the class size limit where the law allows.

Categories of excepted pupils are:

• children admitted outside the normal admissions round with Education, Health and Care Plans specifying the school
• looked after children and previously looked after children admitted outside the normal admissions round
• children admitted after initial allocation of places, because of a procedural error made by the admission authority or local authority in the original application process
• children admitted after an independent appeals panel upholds an appeal
• children who move into the area outside the normal admissions round for whom there is no other available school within reasonable distance
• children of UK service personnel admitted outside the normal admissions round
• children whose twin or sibling from a multiple birth is admitted otherwise than as an excepted pupil
• children with special educational needs who are normally taught in a special educational needs unit attached to the school, or registered at a special school, who attend some infant classes within the mainstream school

School appeals and infant class size

You can make an appeal if your child has been refused a place because admitting them would breach the infant class size limit of 30 pupils per teacher. Infant class size appeals are subject to very limited grounds and appeal panels can only uphold an appeal in exceptional circumstances.

As a result, most infant class size appeals are unsuccessful. We ask parents to consider carefully the reasons for the refusal of a place and whether an appeal is likely to be successful.