Thousands of extra schoolplaces needed

LEICESTERSHIRE needs to add an extra 3,700 school places by September 2018 to meet growing demand.

That is on top of additional numbers already planned according to Department of Education figures.

The area is set to see primary pupil numbers rise by 16% between May 2010 and September 2018, up from 48,310 to a projected 56,127.

Between 2010 and 2016, an extra 2,294 places were created in schools in the area, and a further 1,865 are planned.

But an estimated 1,140 are still needed by the 2018/19 school year to meet demand, according to the DoE.

Secondary school pupil numbers in the county are expected to rise by six per cent from 36,480 in May 2010 to 38,557 in September 2018.

Within the area an extra 2,364 places were created between 2010 and 2016 to help meet demand, with another 562 planned.

But 2,560 are still needed by the 2018/19 school year.

Seven per cent of the new secondary places created so far have been in schools with well below average Progress 8 scores, a measure of how well pupils progress through secondary school, with 50 new places at poorly performing schools.

New places in the area are proportionally more likely to be created in schools that are inadequate or that require improvement, as just three per cent of existing places are in schools with well below average Progress 8 scores.

So if new places were being distributed equally the proportion should be similar.

Nationally, England is set to see primary pupil numbers rise by seven per cent between May 2010 and September 2018, up from 3.8 million in to a projected 4.6 million.

Between 2010 and 2016, an extra 552,740 places were created in schools across the country, and a further 163,207 are planned.

But an estimated 63,000 are still needed by the 2018/19 school year to meet the rising demand. demand, according to the department.

Secondary school pupil numbers are also expect- ed to rise by seven per cent from 2.6 million in May 2010 to 2.9 million in September 2018.

Across England, an extra 171,258 places were created between 2010 and

2016 to help meet demand, with another 78,100 planned.

But 32,200 are still needed by the 2018/19 school year.

New places created so far are slightly more likely to be created in schools rated good or outstanding by Ofsted.

For new primary places, 92% are in good or outstanding schools, compared to 88% of all existing places, while for second- ary places, it was 87% compared to 78%.

A new primary place costs an average of £11,182 to create, with £3.5 billion spent on 311,000 new permanent expansions to schools, £309.8 million on 53,000 temporary expansions, and £895.8 million on 55,000 places at new schools.

New secondary places are slightly more expensive on average at £15,713, with £476.2 million spent on 36,000 new permanent expansions to schools, £10 million on 1,500 temporary expansions, and £502.9 million on 26,000 places at new schools.