Schools in Burton, Uttoxeter and South Derbyshire battling against national shortfall in secondary school places

Schools in Burton, Uttoxeter and South Derbyshire are working to deal with a any potential shortfall in the amount of secondary school places they can provide, they ave said.

Both Staffordshire and Derbyshire county councils say they currently have ample capacity for pupils, and are working with housing developers and governing bodies to see what forecasted needs there will be.

The authorities spoke after a local government organisation warned nationally there could be a shortfall in secondary school places.

Local pupil forecasts have been compiled by the Local Government Association on the predicted pupil numbers per year and the number of new places the local authorities have firm plans for. They have based their figures compiled by the Department of Education.

Nationally, the new analysis warns that more than 125,000 children face missing out on a secondary school place by 2022/23. The association (LGA) said councils urgently need to be given powers to force academies and free schools to expand if additional places are needed in a local area and voluntary agreement cannot be reached.

With nearly two thirds of secondary schools now academies, the LGA claims this is the only way to make sure councils can fulfil their statutory duty to ensure every child has a school place.

The LGA, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, has repeatedly warned of the looming crisis in secondary schools places nationally.

A surge in demand for primary school places has seen councils help deliver an additional 600,000 primary school places since 2010. This has been achieved mostly by expanding existing council maintained primary schools, where councils have the powers they need to require schools to expand, said the LGA.

In Derbyshire an increase in pupil numbers is being achieved by the proposed expansion of John Port School in Etwall. The school could be expanded to accommodate up to an additional 500 pupils.

Derbyshire County Council also says there are potential new secondary school sites on Infinity Garden Village and at Thulston Fields.

Over the border in Staffordshire, construction is well under way on the new £30 million high school in Tatenhill, which will accommodate 1,440 pupils and is due to open in September 2018.

Councillor Richard Watts, chairman of the LGA's children and young people board, said: "As the LGA has previously warned, the school places squeeze is now about to hit secondary schools. More and more families will face growing uncertainty when trying to secure their child’s secondary school without action.

"Councils have worked hard to help create almost 600,000 additional primary places since 2010. This is no small feat. However, as those children move on to secondary schools, the majority of which are now academies, securing new secondary places in the areas where they are needed is becoming increasingly difficult.

"Councils are working with one hand behind their backs to help as many pupils as possible receive a place at their first choice school.

"If we are to avoid this looming secondary school places crisis, councils need to be able to force existing academy schools to expand if voluntary agreement is impossible and must be given back powers to open new maintained schools themselves."

A spokesman for Derbyshire County Council said: "Detailed projections for population growth in Derbyshire are carried out by the council to help plan for the required number of school places. While across the county as a whole there is ample capacity to accommodate the total number of pupils, we understand that demand for places in schools varies from area to area.

"Where the number of school places available is an issue, we will work with schools and governing bodies, as well as the Department for Education and housing developers, to see what the needs are and what steps can be taken to address them. The council is building and opening new schools where this is required.

"The figures show we already plan to increase the number of school places by more than 700 over the next two years, which clearly demonstrates that we are planning ahead to ensure that the education of children in Derbyshire is not adversely affected by issue of available places."

County Councillor Philip White, cabinet member for learning and skills at Staffordshire County Council said: "Over the past three years, we have been looking at projected rises in pupil numbers over the next 15 years and formed a comprehensive county-wide plan to ensure there are enough primary and secondary school places available across the county.

"In Burton, planned housing developments and an increasing birth rate mean a considerable number of new secondary school places will be needed over the next 15 years. Construction is well underway on the new £30 million high school in Tatenhill, which will accommodate 1,440 pupils and is due to open in September 2018.

"In addition to this, we are already working on a number of options for providing more pupil places when they are needed, as shown by the LGA’s data. Due to our forecasting and extensive planning, we are confident in Staffordshire that we can provide the secondary school places needed over the next few years."