Class Sizes Should Be Cut To 15

1.00.00am GMT Sun 8th Mar 2009

Helen Foster-Grime Supports the Lib Dems Call to Reduce Class Sizes to 15

North West European Parliamentary candidate Helen Foster-Grime, today applauded the Liberal Democrats call to cut class sizes in ALL schools for children aged 5-7 years.

Helen said, "Labour has had over a decade to close the gap between rich and poor children in this country, and it has failed. We know that smaller class sizes will make a real difference, making it easier for teachers to give young children more individual attention during these important first years at school."

"My own children are of primary school age and they have been in classes ranging in size from 28 up to 35. It is hard for teachers to give the individual attention needed to children in these circumstances."

The proposal forms part of a raft of measures to be debated at the Liberal Democrats' Spring Conference in Harrogate this weekend. Other measures in the policy paper Equity and Excellence include:

· Boosting the funding of the poorest pupils to private school levels, enabling schools to provide more one-to-one tuition and extra catch-up classes

· Replacing the rigid national curriculum with a slimmed down minimum curriculum entitlement

· Radically cutting back national testing and re-investing the savings in improving literacy and numeracy