46 schools in Shropshire are full or over capacity

In the Telford & Wrekin Council area there are 16, and in the Shropshire Council area the number stands at 30.

The National Education Union has accused the Government of “inadequate planning” for the increase in pupil numbers, and argued local authorities should be allowed to open new schools.

Department for Education data shows there were 15 primary schools and one secondary in Telford and Wrekin which were either at full capacity or overcrowded last year, and 27 primaries and three secondaries in the same situation in Shropshire.

It means Telford and Wrekin’s primary schools are over capacity by 91 pupils, and the secondary schools are over capacity by 63 pupils.

For Shropshire primary schools were over capacity by 268 pupils, and secondary schools over capacity by 32 pupils.

Shropshire Council's director of children's services said the situation was not one to be concerned about and stressed that there are more than 5,000 spare places at county schools.

She said: “The overcapacity reported is quite normal and illustrates the normal year-on-year fluctuations in pupil numbers in schools across a large rural local authority.

"Fluctuations can arise where a small Year 6 cohort leaves and a large reception cohort joins, and for a range of other local factors.

"Over capacity can arise through schools taking pupils from out of catchment area or even out of county, for schools on county borders.

“In overall terms, it’s important to note the aggregate 5,000+ unfilled places across the 147 primary and secondary schools.”

Consult

She added that the council is looking at creating more schools.

She said: "Earlier this month the government announced that Shropshire Council’s bid to establish a special school in Shrewsbury can proceed to the next stage of the process, the trust competition stage.

"We’re proposing a 120 place special school for pupils across the age range 5 to 16, but there is some way to go in the process.

“We’re also about to consult with key stakeholders in the west of Shrewsbury on the provision of a mainstream school to meet the growing demand for school places in this part of Shrewsbury. This could be a two-form entry primary school (420 pupils in total) in the first instance, but with scope to expand in the future to three forms of entry or even become an all-through school, particularly given the potential for further housing in this part of Shrewsbury through to 2036. However, no decisions have yet been made on this and won’t be made until later this year.

“The site in Bowbrook is just under seven hectares, which provides the opportunity for co-locating the special school and mainstream school on the same site. However, no decisions have been made, and a range of options are being explored.”

Telford & Wrekin Council has said it will be investing £31m in the borough’s educational estate over the next three years as demand for places rises because of continued growth.

Projects include a major expansion at Ladygrove Primary School in Dawley which will create four additional class bases, additional class bases at Priorslee Academy, Newport Junior School and St George’s Primary school – all to meet the growing demand for places.

Burton Borough School in Newport will also see the completion of a new hall and additional class bases by Easter and a number of other secondary schools across the borough will see major expansion over the next couple of years with plans in the development stage for this investment.

Growth

Heather Loveridge, the council’s assistant director for education and corporate parenting, said: “Telford is a great place to live, work and visit and all this growth means that it is essential that we ensure that our schools have sufficient capacity as our young population also grows.

“We will see further growth in the next two academic years so it is right that we anticipate growth and invest strategically where demand is greatest. This will mean expanding class bases in primary, secondary and special schools.”

Across the West Midlands, 525 schools were full or overcrowded, with more than 5,000 fewer spaces than pupils.

Andrew Morris, assistant general secretary of the NEU said this “is an unacceptable state of affairs”.

“Our children and young people only get one chance for an education,” he explained.

“This is the result of the Government’s inadequate planning for the increase in pupil numbers and its insistence that local authorities should not be permitted to open new schools.

“This lack of foresight, combined with the year-on-year funding squeeze, has resulted in the highest number of secondary school students in classes of more than 30 since 1982.

“Running schools in an incoherent fashion on a shoestring budget is not good enough.”

Across England, the increase in pupils by 2020-21 is estimated to be almost three times the number of additional planned school places, according to the DfE.

The data does not include free schools.

Speaking about the figures, the Education Secretary, Damian Hinds, said: “Children only get one chance at an education and they deserve the best, wherever they live and whatever their background.

“That’s why this Government is undertaking the biggest expansion in school places in two generations – and the statistics show we are well on track to create 1 million places this decade.

“With standards rising in our schools this will mean that more families have the choice of a good school place.”

A DfE spokeswoman added that the number of pupils over capacity has fallen from 97,000 in 2010 to 50,000 in 2018.