LeadersSafeguardingCPDGovernorHubKeyGPT
Training Hub

Infant class size limits: reception and KS1

Get to grips with the rules on infant class sizes.

Last reviewed on 13 February 2026See updates
School types: All•School phases: Nursery, Primary•Ref: 1487
Contents
  1. Each infant class must have no more than 30 pupils
  2. You can admit additional pupils under limited, exceptional circumstances 
  3. If you have mixed-age classes 
  4. Definitions of 'infant class' and 'school teacher'
  5. Holiday, before and after-school care

This article is based on the School Admissions Code which applies to all maintained schools (see page 24).

Academies: your funding agreement will likely expect you to follow the code, but check yours to make sure.

Each infant class must have no more than 30 pupils

This applies when a class is taught by a single 'school teacher' (see a definition of this below).

If the class is taught by more than 1 school teacher, it can have more than 30 pupils, as long as there aren't more than 30 pupils for every 1 of those teachers. 

You can admit additional pupils under limited, exceptional circumstances 

These pupils will stay an 'excepted' pupil for the time they're in an infant class, or until the class numbers fall back to the current infant class size limit. Even if this means you have more than 30 pupils, you won't need to employ an additional teacher.

Excepted pupils are: