Infant class size limits: reception and KS1

Last reviewed on 15 November 2021
School types: All · School phases: Nursery, Primary
Ref: 1487

Get to grips with the rules on infant class sizes.

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Contents

  1. Each infant class must have no more than 30 pupils
  2. Some pupils don't count towards the limit 
  3. If you have mixed-age classes 
  4. Definitions of 'infant class' and 'school teacher'

This article is based on The School Admissions Code (page 24), which applies to all maintained schools. If you're an academy, your funding agreement will likely require you to adhere to 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 it's taught by more than one school teacher, the class may not have more than 30 pupils for every one of those teachers. 

Some pupils don't count towards the limit 

You can admit additional, 'excepted pupils', to a class even if this means you end up with more than 30 pupils -  you won't need to employ an additional teacher in these cases.

Children with education, health and care (EHC) plans who are admitted to the school outside the normal admissions round Children with special educational needs (SEN)

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