Primary school crisis could leave children without a place next year
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Version 0 of 1. Children due to start school next year may find themselves without a primary place, with two in five councils warning they expect to have more pupils than spaces, according to council leaders. In a stark warning to politicians, the Local Government Association (LGA) said the country was facing an escalating national crisis, with more than half of councils warning that they will not have enough primary school places in 2017 and three in five predicting a shortage in 2018. David Simmonds, chair of the LGA’s children and young people board, said the shortage of primary school places was the biggest challenge facing the next education secretary and called on the new government to give councils sufficient long-term funding to address the crisis. “Mums and dads rightly expect their child to be able to get a school place where they live,” said Simmonds, “but our fear is that we will reach a tipping point when councils or schools cannot afford the massive cost of creating places or find the space necessary for new classes.” The warning comes two weeks before parents are due to hear whether their children have a primary school place for this coming September. According to LGA analysis of government data on school capacity, 66 of the 152 council areas with responsibility for schools will have more primary-age pupils than places for them in 2016-17; the figure rises to 85 areas in 2017-18 and 94 areas in 2018-19. The LGA, which represents councils in England and Wales, says local authorities have been struggling to cope with growing demand, creating more than 300,000 new primary school places since May 2010 to cater for a bulge in the birth rate and diverting £1bn from their own funds to respond to the crisis. Money has been taken from maintenance budgets, while class sizes have increased to accommodate growing numbers. Now council leaders are calling on the new government to give them powers to open new schools; they want money to be allocated for five-year terms rather than annually to help with long-term planning; and they want to be able to compel academies who are outside local authority control to admit extra pupils. Simmonds said: “As we approach a new parliament, the next government must commit to fully fund the creation of all new school places and give councils the powers to open new schools once again, before time runs out and we are faced with a national crisis “Councils face an uphill battle creating places where they are needed when their hands are tied by red tape and they are short of money to do so. “This tipping point is the biggest challenge the next education secretary will face and councils need a firm commitment that politicians will do everything necessary to ensure no child goes without a place. “Councils and schools have been doing everything they can to provide school places, in some cases going to extraordinary lengths by expanding schools where possible through additional classes or new buildings. “However, if councils are not given powers to open new schools we could see extreme measures taken, such as converting music rooms into classrooms and putting portable buildings on their playgrounds, which will compromise the quality of education children receive.” According to the Department for Education, since 2010 the coalition government has invested more than £5bn to create 445,000 new school places across the country, with £2.05bn more already allocated for 2015 to 2017. But the shadow education secretary, Tristram Hunt, said the Tories’ free schools policy had diverted money away from areas in need of extra primary places. “David Cameron’s crisis in school places is yet more evidence that the Tory plan is failing children and working families,” he said. “Make no mistake, his decision to plough hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money on free schools into areas where there are no shortages of school places comes at the expense of the families in the areas where there is a desperate need for more school places. “This is leading to soaring numbers of young children in large classes – up 200% since 2010, more temporary and unsuitable classrooms and children forced to travel further and further to get to school. “We will end the flawed free school programme, and prioritise spending for new places in areas where there are shortages. This will allow us to cap class sizes for five-, six- and seven-years-olds at 30, supporting great teaching and improving classroom discipline, and raising standards for all children so that the next generation does better than the last.” The scale of the problem can be seen in areas such as Harrow, north-west London, where the authority is spending £100m in 23 schools to provide almost 5,000 brand new places – which amounts to more than 160 new classes. “Even then, to keep up with demand, the council still needs to create yet another 2,500 places by 2018 – which shows the sheer scale of the challenge,” said Chris Spencer, Harrow’s director for children and families. “This is a long-term problem that needs long-term solutions, and with local authority budgets falling all around the country, the next government must have the vision to give councils the power and the funding to invest, innovate and educate future generations.” |