Half of councils 'unable to meet school place demand' within five years

Analysis of Department for Education figures and local pupil forecasts by the Local Government Association (LGA) found that, based on current projections, 66 councils will be unable to meet demand by 2022/23 - representing 49 per cent of all local authorities.

The representative body said this could mean as many as 125,000 children missing out on a secondary school place by then.
 
The LGA has called on government to give councils powers to force academies and free schools to expand if additional places are needed in a local area and voluntary agreement cannot be reached.
 
It said that, in light of the fact that two thirds of secondary schools are now academies, this represents the only way to make sure councils can fulfil their statutory duty to ensure every child has a school place.     
 
The LGA also wants councils to be given back powers to build new schools in areas where they are needed if it is logistically impossible for local academies or free schools to provide the required number of places needed.
 
It said that councils have successfully helped deliver an additional 600,000 primary school places since 2010 to cope with a surge in demand, achieving this mostly by expanding existing council-maintained primary schools, where councils have the powers they need to require schools to expand.
 
The LGA analysis found that unless more secondary school places are created, 12 local authorities will face a secondary school place shortfall in 2018/19. This will rise to 23 in 2019/20, 41 in 2020/21, 57 in 2021/22 and 66 in 2022/23.
 
Richard Watts, chair of the LGA's children and young people board, said: "As the LGA has previously warned, the school places squeeze is now about to hit secondary schools. More and more families will face growing uncertainty when trying to secure their child's secondary school without action.
 
"Councils have worked hard to help create almost 600,000 additional primary places since 2010. This is no small feat. However, as those children move on to secondary schools, the majority of which are now academies, securing new secondary places in the areas where they are needed is becoming increasingly difficult.
 
"Councils are working with one hand behind their backs to help as many pupils as possible receive a place at their first choice school.
 
"If we are to avoid this looming secondary school places crisis, councils need to be able to force existing academy schools to expand if voluntary agreement is impossible and must be given back powers to open new maintained schools themselves."