Schools need more funding after Government figures showed more than 900 London children are taught in unlawfully large classes, an MP has warned.

Labour has broken a pledge to ensure all infant pupils are taught in classes of no more than 30, said Sarah Teather (Lib Dem Brent East).

The promise was part of Labour’s election manifesto back in 1997, and enshrined in the law by the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

Although the overwhelming majority of pupils in key stage one, aged five to seven, are now taught in classes of 30 or less, a total of 940 London children are still in larger classes.

The phrase “unlawfully large” is used in the official statistics published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

These show that 217 children are taught in unlawfully large classes in the borough of Richmond upon Thames, as well as 189 in Kensington and Chelsea and 101 in Brent.

But the figures also show that 224,370 London children in Key Stage One are taught in classes within the 30-pupil limit.

Ms Teather said: "Parents concerned about their child's future will be alarmed to hear that the number of children in unlawfully large classes has doubled in only two years.

“The Government's failure to tackle this issue has left Brent at the thick end of the wedge, with over 100 children in unlawfully large classes.

"With classrooms bursting at the seams, teachers are unable to give the individual attention that our children need. Teachers should be teaching, not struggling to referee noisy and cramped classrooms.

“We urgently need to give schools extra cash so that infant classes can be cut to private school levels of only 15 children.”

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