30 September 2015 weekly update

Dear Colleagues

School Places

I am pleased to say that all of the additional new school places we needed have been delivered for September this year, the majority of which were for Primary school places. We expanded 24 Primary schools, including 19 new forms of entry added to schools for Reception year classes and 300 temporary Reception places that will not be needed in the long term.  In addition, we opened seven new Primary schools. A small number of places have also been added to Secondary schools. In total, over the last year, more than 2500 places had been added to the Primary schools in Kent. 

The growth in pupil numbers continues and will shortly feed into Secondary schools. Before 2023 we need to add a further 33,000 school places to our provision in Kent. At present we face particular pressures in Dartford, Gravesham and Swale as we go forward although growth continues right across the County.

We will shortly be producing the next version of the Education Commissioning Plan 2016-20, which sets out our analysis of needs for the future and identifies in more detail what we need to do in the next couple of years to expand provision. The Area Education Officers continue to work hard to keep pace with the increasing demand for places through population growth and migration into Kent.  They are meeting with individual schools to discuss proposals for expansion and this will now begin to involve more Secondary schools. At the same time we have sent out an invitation to existing academy schools and trusts who may be interested in sponsoring the new schools we will need in the coming years.

While our planning and forecasting continues to be fairly accurate, we are also experiencing significant migration of families into Kent, throughout the year, who require school places for children of all ages.  For example, in addition to the school places we planned for and delivered for this September, there were a significant number of new arrivals in Kent this summer of families and children that the local authority was not aware of.  Through the work of the Admissions Team and Area Education Officers 150 children arrived in the summer who needed school places of which there were only 14 children that the Local Authority was still working with to secure a school place for the start of the new school year.  This has taken a lot of work and the cooperation of many schools to go over their Published Admissions Number and I am grateful to the schools in these locations, specifically in Gravesham and Swale, for responding so helpfully.

As we go forward the current Education Commissioning Plan sets out the following projections:

The number of Primary age pupils is expected to continue rising significantly from 114,275 in 2013-14, to 129,338 in 2018-19, which is more than 15,000 extra pupils over the next four years. The number of pupils continues to rise slightly further until the start of the next decade, following which they are expected to decline in all Districts, except Dartford.  There will be a need to continue to make new provision available in some Districts on both a permanent and temporary basis.  

The number of Secondary age pupils (Years 7-11) in Kent schools is expected to rise significantly from 78,222 in 2013-14 to over 94,000 in 2023-24.  Beyond this point the longer term strategic forecasts indicate a slight fall in pupil numbers, although this estimate is heavily influenced by projections of new housing development beyond 2026.

The Commissioning Plan, therefore, identifies the need for additional permanent and temporary school places as follows:          

The Plan is being revised at present and will be re-issued in late autumn. Much of the additional provision will be achieved by expanding existing schools, although new Primary and Secondary schools will be needed.  

I am very grateful to all the schools that helped to deliver the additional provision this year, by expanding, adding temporary bulge classes or by sponsoring a new school. 

If you would like to contribute to future developments please contact your Area Education Officer to discuss the needs in the area and the proposals that might develop for your school.

Patrick Leeson
Corporate Director Education and Young People's Services