SCHOOL pupils are being ‘crammed into chairs and desks’ as children grow bigger and bigger.
That’s the message from an Oxfordshire teacher, speaking at a union conference this weekend.
NASUWT’s annual conference heard from speakers during a debate on class sizes.
Elaine Paling, national executive member of NASUWT, for Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, said the average teenage boy was shorter, slighter and had smaller feet in the 1970s.
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“It’s not just the number of pupils in the room, it’s also about the increase in size of the pupils themselves,” she said.
“When I look around now, it’s not the fact that these rooms have shrunk – it’s that the students have grown.
“Now they are crammed into chairs and desks which are absolutely not suitable for them – and where do they put their feet? In the aisle.”
Another delegate, Fergal McGuckin, of North Down in Northern Ireland, added: “The size of pupils is increasing.
“I feel like I’ve just entered the land of the giants when I walk into some of my A level classes.
“As someone who’s a standard five foot eight, I really do feel vertically challenged in those environments.”
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A survey of more than 3,000 teachers by NASUWT found that 91 per cent believe their class sizes are having a negative impact on pupils’ progress and attainment, and 90 per cent believe they are having a negative impact on pupil behaviour.
A staggering 95 per cent said class sizes are having a negative impact on their ability to meet the needs of all pupils and 78 per cent feel class sizes are having a negative impact on the adequate provision of learning resources for pupils.
Representatives at the NASUWT conference in Birmingham passed a motion calling for governments and administrations across the UK to introduce maximum class sizes in all key stages.
Meanwhile, 67 per cent think the size of their classroom has had an impact on increasing transmission of Covid-19 among their pupils.
Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of NASUWT, said: “Increases in class size numbers are having a detrimental impact on both the learning experiences of pupils, and the health and safety of teachers and students.
“Large class sizes are also contributing to increased teacher workloads, reducing teachers’ ability to provide pupils with the individual support they need.
“The damaging impact of increased pupil numbers in classes has been further exposed during the pandemic, creating the perfect conditions for the transmission of Covid-19.”
Only 21 per cent of teachers said the size of their classroom or teaching area was always adequate for the subjects they teach.
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