£200m expected for new primary school places

An extra £200M could be made available to provide new primary school places in parts of England struggling with shortages.

The Government is expected to announce the extra cash on Wednesday in a bid to solve the primary school crisis. To get the cash councils will have to explain why, four years after birthrates started rising, they have not already acted to increase capacity. The news comes as Camden LBC announced it is to rent a church hall in which to teach some of the 93 children who have nowhere to go to school.

Twenty-five of London’s 33 local authorities are reporting problems with a lack of places. The majority say that between seven and 13 additional classes are required, with one borough forecasting the need for 25 more classes.

Schools are coping with the current shortfall by using temporary classrooms or, in some cases, expanding class sizes to take more than 30 pupils.

The problem has been compounded by the effects of the recession. Fewer parents are now opting to place their children in independent schools, and mobility out of London has declined as people find it hard to sell their homes.

The National Union of Teachers says too many schools were closed when the birth rate was falling, meaning there is no capacity in the system now.

A spokesman for the Department for Children Schools and Families said: ‘It is clear that some [councils] simply did not plan for the rise in local birth rates, despite having four years to provide the extra places needed.

‘But we accept others face exceptional rises in demand for new primary places through a range of local circumstances, which will put great pressures on their capital funding over the next two years.

‘We have been working closely with individual authorities and representative bodies including London Councils, the Association of London Directors of Children's Services, on how to assist those with the greatest needs - and we plan to set out the next steps in full to Parliament very shortly.’