With 640 new schools needed across the UK over the next couple of years to meet projections for pupil demand, the government, local authorities and developers need to make a concerted effort to work collaboratively, according to a report from Scape Group New research has revealed that an additional 12,835 school classrooms will be needed in England by 2021/2022 in order to meet rising demand. According to the Scape Group’s School Places Challenge 2019 report, more than 385,000 additional pupils will enter the primary and secondary school system by 2021, while the school-aged population in England is expected to increase by 5.5 per cent over the same period. With 640 new schools needed across the UK over the next couple of years to meet current projections, the report argues that government, local authorities and developers need to make a concerted effort to work collaboratively. The report points out that local authorities, that are required to make sure there are enough school places for their areas, should have a say on where free schools go, and suggests that perhaps government funding would be put to better use by refurbishing and extending existing schools. Mark Robinson, Scape Group chief executive, said: “The current government believes free schools are the answer, but I would argue that this standpoint has been born out of ideological stubbornness, rather than a genuine effort to tackle the school places crisis. Deploying government resources to existing school structures instead would enable local authorities to refurbish and extend current schools to provide additional school places. This would be a much more efficient way of spending taxpayers’ money.”
Design & Build
Building to meet demand will see very limited school-age population Local authorities growth, and for some, the number of Local authorities hold the responsibility of primary and secondary school pupils under providing enough school places for residents, their jurisdiction will actually decline. As however the process for establishing and we have seen in previous years, remote funding schools is often outside councils’ locations such as the Isles of Scilly, Isle control. Local authorities have no direct of Wight and Cumbria all fall within the control of free schools, grammar schools top ten local authorities with enough or academy places, despite the fact these school places to meet current demand. types of schools make up the bulk of the current government’s school places strategy. The picture in Birmingham But the report points out that some free Birmingham City Council will need to schools are being delivered in areas where build 111 new primary school classrooms, demand is low, and that government 319 new secondary school classrooms, funding would be put to better use by or a total of 25 new schools to meet refurbishing and extending existing schools. demand from the additional 12,904 Birmingham City Council is faced with the school-age children expected to be most substantial projected increase, with living in Birmingham by 2021/22. Manchester City Council coming in a close Birmingham is the second largest city in second. Both cities can expect more than the country by population, with over 1.1m 12,000 extra secondary school pupils by residents, 23 per cent of whom are children. 2021/22. Between them, they will need to In the coming years, thousands of primary build the equivalent of 53 new schools by and secondary school pupils are 2021/22. It is not just densely populated likely to be affected by the cities which are affected. shortfall of places, as the The areas surrounding London city struggles to keep are also experiencing More pace with demand. a significant strain. than 38 To tackle the Essex, Kent, Surrey and additio 5,000 current demand for Hertfordshire all rank additional school within the top ten will ent nal pupils e r places, Birmingham areas which will be t h ep and sec City Council plans most impacted by the ondary rimary school to deliver 1,035 new growth of the schoolsystem b school places by the age population. the rep y 2021, next academic year On the other hand, a ort says (2020/21). E number of local authorities
The regional picture Although all regions will experience an increase in pupil growth above three per cent over the next two years, London, the South East and the South West can all expect to see the largest increases, the report predicts. Local authorities in the South East will have to build the most primary school classrooms (568), but local authorities in London will have to build the most secondary school classrooms (1,872). Overall, London needs to build the equivalent of 89 schools. The number of primary school classrooms needed in each region has reduced since Scape Groups last report in 2017, but every region (except for the North East) will still have to build more than 100 primary schools in the next two years to accommodate projected pupil increases. The problem is more significant for secondary schools however. On average, each region in England will need to build 1,100 new secondary school classrooms to meet the projected demand.
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