Outrage has erupted among North Tawton Primary School parents after the Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust (DMAT) announced plans to reduce the number of classes for the next academic year.

Last week, DMAT surprised parents with news that it will cut the number of classes from seven to five (excluding nursery) from September and introduce mixed-age classes for all years except Year 6.

The new class structure will be: Reception and Year 1, Year 1 and Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4, Year 4 and Year 5, and Year 6. Parents have expressed concern about this change, particularly the potential for larger class sizes. They fear that children needing extra support may not get the help they need, while advanced students could be held back by being grouped with younger children. Teaching assistants for the new classes have also not been guaranteed, despite DMAT's previous promise following last year's staff restructure.

On Monday (July 15), the school held a well-attended meeting to address these concerns. However, many left feeling their concerns were not fully addressed.

One parent, who preferred to stay anonymous, said: "Children are distraught. Parents are furious. This is on top of cuts made by DMAT this academic year. I don't feel any issues were resolved, and that seemed to be the general consensus. They were just trying to normalise mixed classes. They are normal in rural areas, but it's not a tiny school, and mixed classes tend to be smaller...most of these mixed classes will be 30+. There were serious concerns raised about the welfare of students, particularly those whose mental health is at most risk when going through change. No solutions were offered. DMAT is killing our schools. The non-DMAT ones are far better resourced."

In response, Lisa Paton, an executive principal at DMAT, said: "Like many schools across the South West and nationally, our school is having to deal with a significant drop in pupil numbers due to falling birthrates. Because schools are funded by the government based on pupil numbers, we must deal with funding cuts whilst remaining dedicated to delivering the high standard of education our pupils deserve. Mixed-year classes are a common way to ensure small schools are still able to preserve the quality of education and the learning experience for children. This model has proven successful at other schools both within our Trust and nationally as it makes it feasible to avoid making cuts as much as possible to front-line staffing, curriculum resources and a range of enriching opportunities despite the current tough financial climate facing schools.

"In making this decision, we worked hard to take into account the individual needs of pupils and colleagues to ensure we will continue to be able to deliver an excellent education for all our pupils. As always, our expert teachers will continue to ensure children are taught in an age-appropriate way, tailored to each individual child's ability and with any appropriate additional support in place. We were pleased to be able to answer questions from our parent community this week and provide reassurance that children will continue to enjoy their everyday school experience here with us."

Parents also question the school's claim that teaching assistants in Key Stage 1 and mixed-age classes were only guaranteed for the current academic year. When DMAT sent a letter to parents in May last year about the school staffing restructure, it stated that "TA [teaching assistant] and HLTA [higher level teaching assistant] support will now be guaranteed in the mornings for children in the mixed age Year 3 to 6 classes at Key Stage 2 and continue to be in place throughout the day for those in Key Stage 1." However, it did not explicitly mention whether this guarantee was only for the 2023/24 academic year or whether it would continue to apply for future academic years, which left parents feeling betrayed.

The National Education Union recommends that mixed-age classes be limited to 24 children, but with fears that the new class sizes are likely to be larger, parents are determined to fight the changes DMAT is planning.

One parent said: "'Parents don't have to accept this. DMAT profits while our kids are failed. We can write to our MP, complain to the Department of Education and protest, not just for North Tawton but for all DMAT's schools."