1. Mixed age classes At Broadstone Hall Primary School
A practical explanation of how this works

2. Mixed Age Classes in Stockport
Some schools in Stockport operate mixed age classes due to their agreed pupil intake
There is no evidence to suggest that mixed age classes have a detrimental affect on children’s learning
Broadstone Hall Primary School managed mixed age classes successfully for many years when our intake was 45 children
During this time our SATs results were comparable with our results as a straight age class schools
Some Local Authorities such as Cumbria, have to have mixed age classes in almost every school, due to the nature of their populations and they produce resources that cater for this

3. Rationale
School expansion of 2011/12 changed the school’s intake from 60 to 75 pupils in a year group
An intake number of 90 was considered but Stockport LA planners said that there was not enough room onsite to build enough classrooms to accommodate this at the time
75 intake equates to 2.5 classes a year, not 3, based on 30 pupils in a class
The school is not in a large enough budget surplus to be able to run 3 classes of 25 pupils across the whole school and we do not have enough classrooms to do this anyway.

4. Rationale
3 classes of 25 pupils in reception offers the pupils a good start in the school and we will hope to continue this as long as possible
It is important to realise that schools are financed on the model of 30 pupils in a class
We are in the same situation as many schools nationally where our costs are rising, but our income based on pupil intake has now reached its optimum amount
In 2016/17 after managing to maintain classes of 25 in KS1, a Y3/4 class was created in lower KS2 as we no longer had the space or a viable budget surplus to maintain classes of 25 pupils in this phase
Due to budget pressures, it became necessary to reduce KS1 to 5 classes of 30 in 2017/18 so a mixed age class of Y1/2 was created
In 2018/19 we now have 75 pupils in each year group from Reception to Y6 so it has become necessary to have a Y5/6 class so we will have three split age classes; Y1/2, Y3/4 and Y5/6
This fits in with the original funding plan put forward by the LA in 2011

5. Organisation for Mixed Age Classes
The class population for the Y1/2 and Y3/4 and 5/6 classes will be based on the pupils’ educational ability, resilience, social skills and friendship groups to create a well balanced class in which the children are also of a similar academic ability
Each year the same selection process is repeated to ensure that the class is well balanced both socially and academically
These classes will be given extra support when appropriate
Due to the curriculum organisation, the pupils in the lower year group will stay in this class for two years to avoid repetition of curricular content

6. BHPS Mixed Age Class Flow Diagram

7. Curriculum Delivery in Lessons
The classes will follow a two year topic cycle for geography , history, science and other subjects so that all content of both school years are taught over a two year period
Through careful planning and differentiation, pupils can work towards their relevant end of year expectations, whilst using a shared theme or focus as a vehicle to do this
The use of success criteria (which the children have used since the start of school) identify learning outcomes that are based on the relevant end of year statements in English and maths
These link to the specific year groups that the children are currently working in
Success criteria are used as a focus for learning outcomes in each lesson
They are discussed by the teacher and the children at the start of a lesson so that pupils are clear about what they need to do or show in their work

8. Curriculum Planning
The 2014 curriculum for English and maths is based on similar content for consecutive year groups in Y1/2, 3/4 and 5/6
There is some overlap in content to ensure that pupils get more than one opportunity to learn key concepts and core skills
The core skills for each year group are the main focus for teacher assessment over the year
There are also some corresponding end of year statements for these year groups
Planning will be carried out with the other classes in their phase depending on the year group topics that are being followed in a school year

9. Curricular Opportunities and Tests
Each year group must have the same curricular opportunities as the children in the straight age classes
Opportunities for the teachers to work with single ages in the class will arise in the timetable
Focus will be on the national curriculum end of year expectations but also on what skills and knowledge the children need to develop next
Teachers will also take opportunities to focus on one year group during a lesson whilst the other works more independently
It is highly likely that there will be some overlap in groupings depending on the pupils’ current attainment in different subjects
We ensure that Y6 and Y2 pupils in mixed age classes have the opportunity to access all the curriculum aspects needed to succeed in the SATS tests
This is achieved by creating extra teaching groups using additional staff during the build up to the tests
This is a system that we have used for many years and it has a good track record of success

10. Y1/2 Class Example
We aim to ensure that no child should be disadvantaged by being placed in a mixed aged class
The Y1/2 class was set up in September 2017
The class was made up of a mixture of Y1 and Y2 pupils
The pupils were selected by the teachers using a similar process that we use for the Y3/4 class and the Y5/6 class
The class followed the Y2 topics in
They will follow the Y1 topics in
Success Criteria used in lessons ensured that Y1 and Y2 pupils worked towards the end of year expectations for their particular year group
Overall results for Y2 teacher assessment in the summer of 2018 were:
Reading: 71% Writing 67% Maths 70%
Y2 teacher assessment results in the mixed age class were
Reading 86% Writing 79% Maths 86%
Attainment was higher in this class than Y2 overall because the teaching catered for both year groups and also the make up of the class ensured that the pupils were more likely to meet end of year expectations

11. In the Future
It seems likely that Broadstone Hall will stay at an intake level of 75 pupils
Mixed age classes will therefore become a permanent feature of our school
National School Budgeting Formulas, based on class sizes of 30 pupils, are the reason why mixed age classes have become necessary in Y1/2, Y3/4 and Y5/6
We have had positive feedback from the children, teachers and parents about the way that our mixed aged classes work
Our Ofsted report from 2017 made no issue out of the mixed aged class provision in the school
We hope that we will always be able to maintain 3 classes in our reception years
Trust us, we have done it before and it works!