
The Liberal Democrats have said they would aim to cut class sizes in England if they were in power.Party leader Nick Clegg said money being put into schools would allow young children to start school in classes of "just 20 pupils".
Launching its manifesto for the general election, the party committed itself to one-to-one catch-up lessons and the phasing out of university tuition fees.
It says £2.5bn pledged for poor pupils could be used to cut class sizes.
This is what they call the "pupil premium" scheme - where schools would get more money if they had more disadvantaged pupils.
The Liberal Democrats said its manifesto plans would give a "fair chance for every child".
This was one of "four steps to a fairer Britain", said Mr Clegg.
"There will be more money in your local school to give your children the individual attention they need to thrive, cutting class sizes and providing more one-to-one tuition.
"Money that will allow young children to start in your local primary school in classes of just 20," he said.
"Teenagers who fall behind at the secondary school in your town will find themselves in one-to-one lessons, evening classes or Saturday school to help them catch up."
The party argues that head teachers could choose to use extra money from the pupil premium to reduce class sizes, "attract the best teachers, offer extra one-to-one tuition and provide for after-school and holiday support".
Legal limit
There is now a legal limit of 30 children per infant class (five to seven-year-olds) in England.
Data released by the government in May last year showed the average class size for infants in England was 26.2 pupils.
Among juniors (eight to eleven-year-olds) there was an average of 26.8 pupils per class.
But the picture is patchy. Rural schools can face falling numbers, while in some urban areas parents are facing a shortage of school places.
Tuition fees
The Liberal Democrats also announced they would guarentee assessments for all five-year-olds to diagnose any special educational needs and would improve training for specialist teachers.
They re-stated their committment to phase out university tuition fees in England over six years for all students taking their first degree, including those studying part-time.
They would immediately scrap fees for final year students.
Other proposals include scrapping the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency and the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual).
In their place would be a "fully independent educational standards authority with real powers to stand up to ministers and restore confidence in standards", the party's manifesto says.
This would would oversee the examinations system, the systems of school inspection and accountability (taking in Ofsted), and the detail of the curriculum.
The party says it would replace "the rigid national curriculum" with slimmed down "minimum curriculum entitlement" to be delivered by every state-funded school.
It says it would "scale back" children's Sats tests at 11 and use teacher assessment, with external checks.
It pledges to give 14 to 19-year-olds the right to take up a course at college, rather than at school, saying this would enable them to study a vocational subject or separate sciences or modern languages.
It would scrap plans to make teenagers stay on at school or in training until they were 18.
Academies would be replaced by what the Liberal Democrats call "sponsor-managed schools" - which would be commissioned by and accountable to local authorities and not central government, which is the case with existing academies.This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

