Mixed Aged Classes & Class Organisation

“The majority of schools in Caerphilly CBC have classes where the children’s age range is larger than a year. This is not a new situation for Caerphilly schools who have successfully educated children in mixed aged classes for many years. The reason for organising classes in this way is because schools are funded per pupil and there is also a class size limit of 30 pupils. A year group will often be either more or less than this number and so for educational and financial reasons pupils will need to be grouped with either older or younger pupils.”

Mixed Age Classes, Caerphilly County Borough Council

Rationale

In Pontllanfraith we have cohorts ranging from 16 to 27 (correct March 2025) and therefore we need to reorganise our classes every year. The school’s motivation when organising classes is to protect the teaching and learning interests of the whole school, making the decision in the interest of all pupils, not one chid or indeed one year group. This policy has been written to outline the reasons for our organisation and the process used.

Context

Surplus places in schools are an issue across Wales and Welsh Government has recommended that there should be no more than 10% surplus places across primary and secondary schools. The reasons for this are explored in the document ‘How do surplus places affect the resources available for expenditure on improving outcomes for pupils?’ ESTYN (May 2013). When the Local Authority was inspected in 2012, ESTYN they found that ‘since the last inspection in 2009, there has been little progress in reducing the significant number of surplus places in both secondary and primary schools’ and therefore one of their recommendations was that they should ‘take urgent action to reduce surplus capacity in schools generally and secondary schools in particular.’ Since then surplus places have fallen across secondary schools however Estyn (2024) noted “In primary schools, despite a few school closures, the proportion of surplus places has increased.” A falling birth rate in recent years has contributed to this. Admission numbers are reviewed and revised each year, with our current admission number having fallen to 24.

Pontllanfraith Primary, like many other schools across the authority, has seen its admission number fall in recent years as the number of children coming into the school has fluctuated, but overall, reduced, resulting in the current situation (which we have had for several years) where we have less than 180 pupils between Reception and Year 6. 

There is an expectation in Wales that children be organised into classes of no more than 30 pupils (it is a legal requirement for pupils in Reception - Year 2). This means that the position in Pontllanfraith is that if we have 180 pupils or less (Reception to Year 6) we need 6 classes and if we have 181 pupils or more, we need 7 classes. We do not have the budget to sustain 7 classes in years when we have less than 180 pupils. 

Therefore, in Pontllanfraith, we need to reorganise our classes each year. Very occasionally, a class of children may stay together for a number of years, but it is unlikely that one class of children will be able to remain together as one class throughout their time in the school; the size of cohorts below or above them may be bigger. Very rarely we may have 7 classes of single year groups (which had in 2022/23). 

NB numbers in a class may occasionally exceed 30 after 1st September under certain circumstances, please see admissions information. 

Impact

This uncertainty means that often we cannot announce classes for the following year until the very end of the summer term as a late admission or departure can mean a need to reorganise. 

Sometimes we are aware that children or parents may be unhappy with the organisation for the following year.

To address this Governors have created a policy for placing children in mixed age classes which is reviewed annually. It details the process and answers many of the questions that parents have raised over the years.

Summary

Foundation Phase children are organised according to date of birth with no one boy or girl separated from the rest of the cohort, exceptions being made for children with Additional Learning Needs (ALN).

When organising children in Years 3 - 6 we look at a number of factors e.g. gender balance, ALN, MAT, friendships and parental views.

Parents are asked to communicate anything they would like to be taken into consideration to the child's current class teacher by 31st May. 

Parents are asked to be mindful of the fact that ensuring that the classes do not exceed 30 in number and the consideration of confidential issues that the Headteacher will not be able to share with other parents, may mean that it has not been possible to address all of the parental concerns that were submitted to the school before the classes were organised.

Ultimately, the responsibility for the organisation of classes lies with the Headteacher who may have difficult decisions to make. The organisation of classes is carefully considered to ensure the best chances of educational success for all pupils in the school. The Headteacher’s motivation, when organising classes, is to protect the teaching and learning interests of the school, making the best decision in the interest of all pupils, not one child or indeed one year group.

However, whilst there is no formal right to appeal against a decision on a child joining a mixed age class, parents are always welcome to discuss their concerns. If parents have any questions following the announcement of classes, they should approach their child’s class teacher in the first instance, particularly if they wish to alert us to any worries that they would like addressed. 

If a parent feels that the school has not adhered to the Mixed Age Group Policy they can raise this in the first instance with the Headteacher, at Stage A of the school’s Complaints Procedure and, if still not satisfied, they should put their concerns in writing to the Chair of the school’s Governing Body (Stage B).

CCBC Mixed Age Classes Leaflet

Policy for the Placement of Pupils in Mixed Age Classes