The Chief Executive of a council in greater London has suggested that infant class sizes should be raised from 30, which is currently the legal limit in England, to 32, and has written a letter to other councils asking if they might consider a joint approach to the government for a change in the law in England.

Lee Elliot Major, Head of Policy and Research at the Sutton Trust, says class size reduction does not have much impact, unless it is reduced below 20. What matters, he explains, is the quality of the teachers.

Christine Blower, General secretary of the National Union of Teachers, disagrees saying that every extra child is further work for the teachers and it therefore "does make a difference".

However, she adds, the NUT agree with the Sutton Trust on the objective of getting all children in classes of 20 by 2020.

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