Chamber and committees

We have not conducted research into the views and attitudes of pupils in composite classes and have no such plans. It is unclear why the views and attitudes of children in composite classes should differ from those in other types of class formations.

The Scottish Executive commissioned the Scottish Council for Research and Education (SCRE) in January 2000 to undertake an evaluation of the classroom assistant initiative.The evaluation had three main aims. These were to:explore the association between pupil attainment and the use of classroom assistants comparing different models of deployment; determine whether the Initiative enabled better utilisation of teachers' time, and document the effects of the Initiative on classroom interaction and the learning experiences of pupils.SCRE published their report More than an Extra Pair of Hands in October 2002.A copy of the full report can be obtained from http://www.scre.ac.uk/resreport/rr111/index.html.

The Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) commissioned The Scottish Council for Research and Education (SCRE) Centre in Glasgow University to review the research literature on composite classes in 2002. Copies of that report are available at: http://www.scre.ac.uk/cat/1860030734.html.The SCRE paper concluded that:"...it seems reasonable to conclude that, at least in Europe, there is no evidence to show that composite classes affect pupils' academic performance adversely. It is possible that pupils may gain socially from the experience and show non-cognitive benefits which to date have not been quantified." Currently we have no further plans to commission research into the impact of composite classes on pupil attainment or teaching practices.

Any guidance that is judged helpful will be issued, if required, in advance of local authorities being expected to reduce class sizes. However, the transition between P1 and P2 is a matter for individual education authorities taking into account the needs of their schools and pupils. In addition authorities already have experience of the transition of classes of 30 in P3 to classes of 33 in P4.

Through the National Framework for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) we are encouraging existing teachers to identify their professional developmental needs and to undertake appropriate training to meet those needs. Prospective teachers will receive appropriate training for the environments they are likely to encounter.However, many teachers already possess the skills required to teach in smaller classes as more than 60% of all P1 classes already contain 25 or fewer pupils.

From 1 October 2004, where a school is being used for purposes other than education or associated services it is the duty of the service provider to meet the requirements of Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. In relation to these services the school or education authority does not have a duty under Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Initial accessibility strategies plan for improvements to be implemented in access to the curriculum, physical access and access to school information for a period of up to three years. All subsequent accessibility strategies will cover three-year periods so improvements to accessibility will continue.

The commitment to recruit 1,000 additional teachers was met through Excellence Fund programmes for Education Authorities. Advice offered to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) on the number of teachers required reflected this commitment. Specific funding for additional teacher training was not separately identified within the overall level of grant in aid to SHEFC.

The requirement to increase the teacher workforce to 53,000 by 2007 will require additional teachers to be trained. The precise number can only be identified through the annual teacher workforce planning exercises that will take place between now and 2007. Funding will be made available to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council as appropriate.

The information requested is not held centrally.