East Renfrewshire Council considers larger class sizes in English and maths

A council is considering having larger English and maths classes to help it balance its budget.

The proposal for larger classes in the first and second year of secondary school comes from East Renfrewshire Council.

The council says having bigger classes could help it save nearly £750,000.

Overall, the local authority aims to save £8m from its education budget by 2018.

Budget consultation

It currently has an average of 20 students in S1 and S2 English and maths classes - well below the national average.

A relatively prosperous area, East Renfrewshire has some of the most academically successful state schools in Scotland.

The council says the increase would bring it into line with many other local authorities

In its budget consultation, the council says: "This proposal will bring East Renfrewshire Council in line with many other Scottish councils and will increase class size to 30.

"We are confident that attainment will not be affected by this proposal and will continue to focus on improving the quality of our teaching and learning experiences to maximise pupil attainment and not class size."

Senior pupils

A series of proposed cuts and savings to the education budget is detailed in the council's ongoing consultation on ways to save money between now and 2018.

Another option involves using senior pupils to help run school libraries and having fewer dedicated full-time librarians. This could save £131,000.

Reducing the number of classroom assistants in primary schools could save a similar amount.

The council says half of the £8m education savings will come from internal efficiencies, with the rest coming from changes to services.