Planning school places in the future

14 May 2012

Thousands of additional school places may be needed in Kent between now and 2017.

That is the estimate from Kent County Council’s new Commissioning Plan for Education Provision, which looks at predicted birth rates and new housing over the next few years – using information provided by district councils, the health service and others.

KCC wants to make sure there are enough high quality places available for children and young people by expanding good schools, securing investment in new ones and providing additional places in the areas where there is growth in numbers.

Forecasts suggest the number of primary school-aged pupils is expected to rise significantly from 116,600 to 127,300 over the next few years. The secondary-aged population, while reducing between now and 2015, will rise through the latter part of this decade, peaking to about 83,200 in 2021.

The current indications are that, by 2016, the equivalent number of places for 18 new primary schools and two new secondary schools will be required. However, many of these places will be provided by expanding existing good and outstanding schools.

Cabinet Member for Education, Learning and Skills, Mike Whiting, said: “This document attempts to capture all known births and housing developments and development proposals, by district, to forecast how many early years places, primary places and secondary places we will need from 2012 to 2017. It looks at each district separately, so that we can plan local school places where new houses are being built, and not by simply enlarging a school the other side of the borough.

“The plan is a draft and we are actively seeking feedback from our district council colleagues, headteachers, GPs, house builders, parish and town councils and others. It will be reviewed every six months so that forecasts can be amended to take into account new housing proposals as they come forward.”

Good or outstanding schools in the right place

The plan is much more than just number crunching. It sets out the ambition for Kent to be one of the best places for children and young people to grow up, learn, develop and achieve. Key to this is improving the quality of schools. The aim over the next few years is for at least 85% of primary and secondary schools, and all special schools, to be judged as good or better.

Mr Whiting added: “Good and outstanding schools are the basis of strong communities and a strong local economy. Our aim is to make sure that there is a good choice of local schools for parents and that we increase the number of parents who are satisfied with the school places offered for their child. Securing good quality school places in every community is essential for every young person to have the best start in life.”

To view the draft Commissioning Plan for Education, and submit comments by 19 June 2012, please visit our pages about education provision. Feedback from this consultation will contribute towards the final version of the plan, which will be published in the autumn.

The plan will support Kent’s aim to make sure there is a surplus of primary and secondary school places (at least five percent) and to increase the percentage of parents securing their preferred school(s).