Date updated: Monday 2nd September 2019

We are in the midst of a housing crisis. So, it makes sense that we are in a school places crisis as well - more houses necessarily means a need for more school places. Homes England continues to announce much-needed plans, for example 3,000 in Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire and 1,300 in Ripon in Yorkshire.

That’s a lot of new school places. Joining up the dots to ensure that all of the relevant people and organisations are working well together to tackle the crises is no mean feat!

And so, in places where new homes are being built, local schools (academies and others) might choose to keep their ears to the ground and get involved in the process of designing and delivering new schools or additional school places at an early stage. There can be some uncertainty in council circles of the contribution that academies can make and more importantly, of their willingness to do so.

The first step, of course, will be to make sure that the funds are available. The Department for Education has recently released new guidance for local authorities in relation to securing developer contributions for education. The guidance aims to assist local authorities in securing contributions to the cost of providing new school places, which might also include the cost of acquiring new land.

It is highly important that schools seek to insert themselves into the process as early as possible. The capacity of existing schools and their scope for expansion is a critical part of dealing with the demand for school places and the building of a new school may have serious knock on effects on existing schools – their views need to be taken into account. Further, in order to properly plan education projects and assess the funding requirements, local authorities will need to work closely with the provider that will run any new school.

The second step will be to ensure that the funding is used appropriately – schools will play a crucial part in this. As the ‘end-users’ with extensive practical experience, schools will inevitably be best placed to answer many of the questions that need to be dealt with as part of the process of building new schools or expanding existing schools. Schools will have important views on the suitability and deliverability of different designs and construction. And so, for the sake of avoiding finding down the line that a project is undeliverable or not fit for purpose, the involvement of schools and the use of their expertise will be vital.

Of course, schools will also be the ones responsible for the land and buildings going forward. So, it is right for schools to be involved in the conversation from the outset. And schools need to be provided with the right land arrangements and funding to ensure that the school has the flexibility and ability to adapt to the inevitable changes that will arise in the future in any new housing development.

Housing expansion offers real opportunities to schools which are alert enough to take advantage of developments. We are ready to help if needed.