The Foundation Phase, for three- to seven-year-olds, originally insisted on a 1:8 staff to pupil ratio but headteachers said the £25m allocated to roll out the curriculum this September wasn't enough to pay for this. Hutt has now made the ratio non-statutory.
She also announced an extra £5m in funding for the curriculum but the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said this had done little to allay the fears of headteachers.
Iwan Guy, acting director of NAHT Cymru, called the extra £5m "wholly inadequate" and insisted that full implementation would not be possible for all schools in September.
He also voiced his concern over the change to the staff-pupil ratio, which would have applied for three- to five-year-old pupils.
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