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Will the governing body support me if I refuse to teach classes over 30? (19/07/06)
Question: I have been asked to teach a class of 33 in year 1 from September. I understood that classes over 30 in KS1 required an additional teacher. Is this still the case and am I within my rights to refuse? Will the governing body support me if I do refuse? Also, what is your view on staff planning for PPA cover? Is this acceptable as we were told in the beginning that the person covering the class had to do the planning?

Joan Sallis replies: There is a legal limit of 30 per class at ages 5 to 7 and exceptions are only allowed in very special circumstances. You are right in saying that the school must otherwise take steps to put this situation right by means of staffing and accommodation, so the governing body should be watchful that children are just not admitted above this level. Make sure you know whether an exception has been allowed for special reasons. For older classes a maximum of thirty should always be an aim but I think you will find that many schools are forced by one circumstance or another to go a little above this limit sometimes.

As for PPA cover I’m not sure that I understand your question correctly but in my experience a school will have an overall plan to ensure that the required PPA opportunities are available and built into teachers’ timetables for the school as a whole.

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