FAMILIES are finding it harder to get their children into the primary school of their choice because of the Scottish Government's policy of reducing class sizes, a parent group has warned.
The Scottish Parent Teacher Council (SPTC) said SNP legislation limiting P1 classes to 25 was leading to a reduction in parental choice for some.
The warning came after it emerged a parent cannot get all of her children into the same primary school. Julie Wales, from Dalry in North Ayrshire, works in Glasgow, where she lectures at Langside College, and chose to send her eldest daughter Xanthe to nearby Battlefield Primary School, on the south side of the city.
However, when she applied for her second child Orlaith to attend the same school her placing request was rejected because classes are now capped at 25 and priority is given to children in the catchment area.
It is unlikely her youngest daughter Laureli, who is currently at nursery, will be able to get into Battlefield when she reaches school age.
That has left the 42-year-old senior lecturer with the prospect of either splitting her children up or moving her eldest daughter out of Battlefield, where she has been happy for the past two years.
The Scottish Government has defended the policy arguing smaller class sizes are beneficial to education.
However, Eileen Prior, executive director of the SPTC, said there was no evidence 25 made a difference.
"We have long challenged the value of the Government's class size policy because there is little or no substantive research which demonstrates that reducing the number of children in a class to 25 will make any significant difference to outcomes for those children," she said.
"While most people would instinctively support the notion of a lower pupil to teacher ratio, the policy as it currently stands, makes little or no difference to the experience of most children – but it has had unintended consequences.
"Placing requests – particularly in the first year of primary – have been made increasingly difficult and this has been further exacerbated by the population growth we are experiencing."
Ms Prior said the situation could be confusing to parents who had siblings at the school or whose child attended the associated nursery.
"It can leave parents in a very difficult situation and with very testing choices to make – to find a way to organise their lives with children at different schools or disrupt the life of one or more by finding a school which can accommodate all," she added.
"The harsh reality is that families in a school's catchment are entitled to places at their local school and this clash of rights is where the challenge lies."
The Scottish Government introduced the legal limit of 25 for primary one classes in 2010.
In 2007, the SNP had promised to reduce class sizes in the first three years of primary school to just 18 but progress was limited, partly because the legal maximum remained at 30.
That meant local authorities were unable to reduce class sizes in popular schools where parents used placing request legislation to ensure entry for their children.
Education Secretary Michael Russell argued the move to 25 would put local councils "on a more sound footing" when dealing with placing requests from parents. However, opposition MSPs said the regulations fell far short of the SNP's election pledge and the move was also blamed for a rise in the number of parents being refused the school of their choice.
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