It could be termed the new West Lothian Question. A last-minute climbdown by the SNP-run West Lothian Council in a landmark placing request case has put the spotlight on the legal standing of attempts by all schools in Scotland to reduce class sizes.

As usual with such cases, it is far from straightforward.

In line with government policy, and councils across Scotland, West Lothian has been reducing its P1 class sizes to 25, as the previous Scottish Executive wanted. It further intends to move towards a maximum of 18 in P1-P3, in line with current Scottish Government policy.

Indeed, a press release from the council last week highlighted its drive, with Fiona Hyslop, the Education Secretary, stating: "I'm delighted to hear about the progress West Lothian has made to reduce class sizes. This shows what can be done when local and central government work together in partnership."

Behind the scenes, however, the picture was not so clear-cut. Louise Forrest, a parent from Fauldhouse, was taking a case against the council to get her five-year-old daughter Mairin Stewart into a Roman Catholic primary in the area.

Ms Forrest had already been refused a placing request on the grounds that the P1 class had the maximum of 25 pupils in it.

The council's argument was that legal regulations restricting class sizes to a maximum of 30, passed in 1999, had been "superseded" by a circular issued by the Labour-run Scottish Executive in April 2007 calling for all P1 classes to be capped at 25.

Ms Forrest then took the case to the council's appeals committee, but was again defeated, with the judgment stating: "Admissions had been made to the P1 class up to the class size limit now in place and the admission of further pupils would mean that more than 25 pupils would have to be taught in one classroom."

This, the appeal committee argued, would mean the council either having to employ an additional teacher or build an extra classroom if class size limits were to be adhered to.

Not satisfied with this response, Ms Forrest decided to take her case all the way to the sheriff court, with her lawyer, Iain Nisbet, of the education law unit of Glasgow's Govan Law Centre, convinced she could win.

His argument was the simple premise that a guidance letter from the Scottish Executive held no weight when compared to the statutory regulations which state a maximum class size of 30.

"It is important that parents are aware that the right to make a placing request to a school of their choice cannot be defeated by guidance. The law currently states class sizes can go up to a maximum of 30 in the first three years of primary school,"

he said.

In the event, the case was never heard in full in court, with West Lothian Council offering Mairin a place and, eventually, payment of her legal expenses.

The council's official position is that more places could become available at the school but Mr Nisbet believes there was a realisation it could not win the case and so decided to take the path of least resistance, even if it meant accepting a class size larger than 25.

Either way, the council has now accepted a P1 class which is larger than the 25 limit they have been fighting for which could have far-reaching implications for all councils.

Class size reductions have been pursued with vigour by the SNP and former Labour-led Scottish Executive because they are seen as a mechanism to drive up standards and are popular with parents.

Scotland's largest teaching union, the Educational Institute of Scotland, has also fuelled the call, running a strong campaign and petition to push class size reductions up the political agenda.

Not everyone is convinced class sizes deliver significant improvements in education and the policy is expensive but there seems to be a consensus that small class sizes in the early years of schooling do make a difference.

In some authorities, where population is falling, it will be easier to accommodate smaller class sizes, but the issue becomes a critical one in areas where population is rising, or with local authorities whose schools are oversubscribed.

The difficulties faced by some authorities was one of the reasons why the concordat agreement between the Scottish Government and local authorities did not make hard and fast demands on progress, calling for the reductions to be made "as quickly as possible".

However, if the implications of the West Lothian case are that any parent can get their child into any primary school as long as the class size is less than 30, more robust measures to enforce class size changes may have to be introduced.

If that is the case, the whole basis of the concordat agreement which allows councils to progress at their own pace could be undermined.

The numbers game

Education (Lower Primary School Sizes) (Scotland) Regulations 1999: "No lower primary class at a school shall contain more than 30 pupils while an ordinary teaching session is conducted by a single qualified teacher."

Labour-run Scottish Executive circular dated April 2, 2007: "From August 2007, P1 classes will have a maximum of 25 pupils."

SNP Concordat signed November 2007: "The Scottish Government and local government will each do what is required to ensure delivery of key government policies and programmes including ... reducing class sizes in P1 to P3 to a maximum of 18."