Falling pupil numbers should lead to smaller class sizes, says union

Falling pupil numbers successful England's schools should beryllium utilized to chopped people sizes, the largest acquisition national has said.

Daniel Kebede, the wide caput of the National Education Union (NEU), told the BBC astir a cardinal pupils are being taught successful classes of much than 31 children.

Between 2023 and 2029 superior pupil numbers are expected to autumn by 6.8%, with secondary numbers stable, according to the Department for Education.

New authorities figures amusement a humble autumn successful the fig of schoolhouse teachers overall, and advancement towards the government's people of 6,500 other teachers which covers secondary and peculiar schools, arsenic good arsenic further acquisition colleges.

The latest statistic amusement 4,654 teachers successful those settings, which represents coagulated advancement against their people of 6,500 by the extremity of the parliament.

Overall, determination was a autumn successful 2025 of 1,900 afloat clip teachers successful schools.

The authorities clarified successful April 2026 that its manifesto committedness of other teachers does not screen superior schools oregon aboriginal years.

With superior pupil numbers falling, the authorities has chopped its people for recruiting caller teachers for the adjacent schoolhouse twelvemonth by 23%.

Kebede said alternatively of cutting its teacher recruitment, the authorities should usage the "historic opportunity" of falling pupil numbers to marque people sizes smaller.

"At the infinitesimal we person the largest people sizes successful Europe, a cardinal children taught successful classes of 31 oregon more", helium said, adding that nether the past Labour authorities teacher numbers fell much dilatory than pupil numbers.

He said teachers were needed to present connected authorities plans to enactment galore much children with peculiar acquisition needs successful mainstream schools by 2030.

At North Mead Primary Academy successful Leicester, astir fractional the pupils are connected escaped schoolhouse meals due to the fact that they are from the lowest income families. Many besides person peculiar acquisition needs.

Ben Burpitt, the main astatine North Mead Primary Academy, said recruiting those specializer teachers was the challenge.

"We person had peculiar occupation trying to find a peculiar trained teacher for our radical of astir susceptible children," helium said.

With the fig of children coming into the schoolhouse falling, helium is besides expecting his fund to driblet arsenic backing is per pupil. So helium is juggling to find the close premix of teachers and enactment staff.

The wage connection for enactment unit has been confirmed for 2026-27 astatine 3.3%, which schoolhouse leaders money retired of the schools budget.

Part of the solution astatine schools successful this radical of academies is grooming their ain staff.

Sara McAdam, who is successful complaint of the grooming institute, said they were adapting to the falling commencement rate.

"We're going to person to look astatine that and marque definite that we're not recruiting excessively galore superior trainees truthful that they aren't past capable to beryllium employed by the extremity of the year."

One of the caller teachers astatine the superior schoolhouse this year, Joseph Brown, trained done the academy trust's strategy aft moving arsenic a teaching assistant.

His net person taken a leap onto the bottommost of the teachers wage scale, which successful England is astir £32,000, and helium is blessed with that.

Brown said: "It's not needfully thing that you bash for money. You bash the occupation due to the fact that you bask it."

All of this is the inheritance for the teachers' wage wrangling, with the menace of a onslaught ballot connected the skyline successful the autumn.

The authorities is expected to denote the wage grant wrong weeks, and the NEU volition ballot if it isn't backed by backing alternatively than coming retired of schoolhouse budgets.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We person already made important advancement connected our committedness to enlistee and clasp an further 6,500 teachers truthful each kid has entree to the adept teachers they need."

The connection added the authorities had acted to reconstruct teaching to a "highly valued profession" and wage had been boosted by astir 10% implicit 2 years.

Additional reporting by Hope Rhodes