The following table provides the pupil to teacher ratios, calculated using both qualified and unqualified teachers, in state funded secondary schools in Wallasey constituency and East Hampshire constituency from November 2011 to 2017. These figures are not available for 2010. The figures show that there were more teachers per pupil in Wallasey secondary schools than the national average for all the available years.

The following table provides the pupil to teacher ratios, calculated using both qualified and unqualified teachers, in state funded primary in Wallesey constituency from November 2011 to 2017. These figures are not available for 2010. The figures show that there were more teachers per pupil in Wallasey from 2013 onwards than the national average.

The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 limits the size of an infant class to 30 pupils per school teacher. There is no statutory limit for other primary school class sizes.

The average infant class contains 27.3 pupils, below the statutory limit for infant class sizes. The School Admissions Code lists categories of children eligible for admission as exceptions to the infant class size legislation. There are only eight such exceptions, including looked after children and children of multiple births. In the small number of cases where infant classes are above the limit, it is almost always as a result of admitting a child under a prescribed exception. The vast majority (96.7%) of infant classes with more than 30 pupils have only one or two additional pupils.

Where an infant class exceeds the limit and no exceptions apply, the local authority and the school, where it is its own admission authority, will be in breach of their legal duties. It is expected that most instances of unlawfully large classes can be resolved locally. However, where a school or local authority fails to carry out a duty imposed on them by the Education Acts, the Secretary of State has the power to direct a school to comply with the law.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The latest data[1] shows there are fewer pupils in excess of their school capacity when compared with 2010; reducing from more than 97,000 in May 2010 to 54,000 in May 2017.

[1] The annual school capacity survey 2017, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-capacity-academic-year-2016-to-2017.

In the north-east, as class sizes continue to grow, the number of teachers has fallen by almost 500 in the past year alone. When can we expect to see Ministers getting to grips with the growing crisis that we face in teacher retention?

We have record numbers of teachers—450,000, which is 10,000 more. The number actually fell this year, but there are 450,000 teachers in our school system—10,000 more than in 2010. The average class size in secondary schools has risen only slightly since 2010 despite the fact that there are 32,000 more secondary school places, and similarly in primary schools, despite the fact that there are over 500,000 more primary school pupils in our schools. We are working in areas around the country, including the north-east, to improve teacher recruitment and retention in those areas.

The Department published information on average class sizes in state-funded schools in England from the January 2018 school census in the annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ statistical release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2018.

Information on pupil teacher ratios (PTR) is published in tables 17a and 17b of the publication, School Workforce in England, 2017 available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2017.

The PTR is calculated using the November teacher data from the School Workforce Census and the pupil data collected in the following January School Census. Only those schools that provided both pupil and workforce information are included in the calculations. The pupil numbers used in the calculation of the PTR statistics include dual registered pupils. Full time equivalent (FTE) figures are used for both pupils and teachers in each school phase. The PTR is calculated by dividing the total FTE number of pupils on roll in schools by the total FTE number of teachers regularly employed in schools. Figures are rounded to one decimal place.

The average class size for state-funded secondary schools in Portsmouth is 21.5, which is in line with the national average of 20.8. It is up to secondary schools to decide on the organisation of classes based on local needs and circumstances, ensuring they are consistent with raising attainment and helping pupils to achieve their potential.