Citation, commencement and application

1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the School Admissions (Infant Class Sizes) (England) Regulations 2012 and come into force on 1st February 2012.

(2) Paragraph 4 of the Schedule to these Regulations applies in relation to the 2013-2014 school year and subsequent years.

(3) These Regulations apply in relation to any maintained school in England which contains an infant class( 2 ).

Interpretation

2. —(1) In these Regulations—

“EA 1996” means the Education Act 1996( 3 );

“SSFA 1998” means the School Standards and Framework Act 1998;

“child with a statement” means a child in relation to whom a statement is maintained by a local authority under section 324(1) of EA 1996( 4 );

“suitable education”, in relation to a child, means efficient full-time education suitable to the child’s age, ability, and aptitude and any special educational needs that child may have.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations a child is to be treated as having been admitted to a school outside a normal admission round where paragraph (3) or (4) applies.

(3) This paragraph applies where, at the time the child was admitted to the school, that child did not fall within an age group in which pupils are normally admitted to that school.

(4) This paragraph applies to a child where—

(a) at the time of that child’s admission to the school, the child fell within an age group in which pupils are normally admitted to the school;

(b) the number of pupils in that age group seeking admission to the school in the school year in which the child was first admitted to the school was greater than the number of pupils which the admission authority intended to admit to the school in that age group in that year; and

(c) the child was offered a place at the school after the time when the admission authority had determined, in accordance with the school’s admission arrangements, which children in that age group were to be admitted to the school.

(5) In paragraphs (2) to (4) references to a child’s admission to a school are references to the child’s admission to an infant class at the school.

Regulations revoked

3. The following Regulations are revoked—

(a) the Education (Infant Class Sizes) (England) Regulations 1998( 5 );

(b) the Education (Infant Class Sizes) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2006( 6 ).

Limit on infant class sizes

4. —(1) No infant class may contain more than 30 pupils while an ordinary teaching session is conducted by a single school teacher.

(2) Where an ordinary teaching session is conducted by more than one school teacher, the class may not contain more than 30 pupils for every one of those teachers.

(3) Where an infant class contains any excepted pupil (as defined by regulation 5), the limits in paragraphs (1) and (2) apply as if the excepted pupil were not included in the class.

Excepted pupils

5. —(1) An excepted pupil is a child to whom any of paragraphs 2 to 11 of the Schedule applies.

(2) A child is not an excepted pupil at a school if suitable education could be provided for that child in an infant class at that school without relevant measures having to be taken.

(3) In paragraph (2) “relevant measures” means measures which would—

(a) be required to be taken to ensure compliance with the duty imposed by section 1(6) of SSFA 1998, and

(b) prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.

Regulation 5

SCHEDULE Excepted Pupils

1. In this Schedule—

(a) “child” means a child who is a pupil in any infant class;

(b) “the school” means the school of which that class forms part;

(c) “armed forces” means the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the regular army or the Royal Air Force;

(d) “the regular army” means any of Her Majesty’s military forces other than—

(i) the Army Reserve;

(ii) the Territorial Army; and

(iii) forces raised under the law of a British overseas territory.

2. A child with a statement admitted to the school outside a normal admission round as a result of the local authority specifying the school in the child’s statement under section 324(5)(b) of EA 1996( 7 ).

3. A child who is looked after by a local authority (within the meaning of section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989( 8 )) and is admitted to the school outside a normal admission round.

4. A child who was previously looked after by a local authority but ceased to be so because they were adopted( 9 ) or became subject to a residence order( 10 ) or special guardianship order( 11 ), and who is admitted to the school outside a normal admission round.

5. A child admitted to the school outside a normal admission round who was initially refused admission to the school owing to a failure properly to implement the school’s admission arrangements, but was subsequently offered a place by virtue of a determination by the admission authority that there had been such a failure in relation to the child.

6. A child admitted to the school outside a normal admission round by virtue of a determination of an appeal panel in accordance with section 94(6) of SSFA 1998( 12 ).

7. —(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), a child admitted to the school outside a normal admission round—

(a) in relation to whom the school is the only school (apart from any school to which the childhas already been refused admission or from which the childhas been permanently excluded) which—

(i) is within a reasonable distance from the child’s home, and

(ii) provides suitable education; and

(b) who did not, at the relevant time, ordinarily reside at a place which was within a reasonable distance from the school.

(2) In sub-paragraph (1)(b) “the relevant time”—

(a) in relation to a child to whom regulation 2(3) applies, means the time when the majority of pupils in the age group in which the child falls were admitted to the school; and

(b) in relation to a child to whom regulation 2(4) applies, means the time referred to in sub-paragraph (c) of that paragraph.

(3) A child is not an excepted child under this paragraph unless the local authority who maintain the schoolhave confirmed in writing that they are satisfied the child fulfils the criteria listed in sub-paragraph (1)(a).

8. A child whose parent is in the armed forces and who is admitted to the school outside a normal admission round.

9. A child whose twin or other sibling from a multiple birth is admitted in the same age group otherwise than as an excepted pupil.

10. A child who is a registered pupil at a special school( 13 ) but, by arrangement between the school and the special school, receives part of their education at the school.

11. A child who is normally educated in a unit which forms part of the school and is specially organised to provide education for pupils with special educational needs, but spends a minority of their time in the infant class.

12. Paragraphs 3 to 9 do not apply to a child with a statement.