8th August 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Figures released this week show that 120,000 children may not be able to start primary school this year due to a shortage in places. The Labour party conducted an analysis of the government’s plans to increase school places by 230,000, which showed that there will still be a significant shortfall this Autumn. Labour warned that the lack of primary school places would lead to parents scrambling for places come time for registration, and many students left in temporary classrooms or unable to start school for a year. Shadow Education Secretary Stephan Twigg said that thousands of parents would now face a “summer of worry”.
The government is now having to respond to reports that some schools have already closed their libraries and performing arts rooms in order to create classrooms to accommodate the overflow. Many schools have already set up temporary mobile classrooms in their playgrounds. Labour has said that the figures show that the government’s free schools programme is failing to provide schools in areas where they are needed. They accused the government of wasting hundreds of millions on building free schools in areas where there is no demand for extra places, whilst neglecting areas where there are severe shortages of places.
The Department for Education has responded by saying that with the help provided by the government, schools would be able to cope with the increase in students. The government has said that they intend to spend £5bn by 2015 on new school places, and are looking to create 74,000 extra places in areas of need. They argue that free schools will create thousands of extra places and go a significant way towards tackling the shortfall in school places. The national Audit Office has said that over 230,000 primary school places will be required in time for September, with one in five primary schools full or near capacity. The NAO also highlighted the fact that the greatest need for new school places in in London, which accounts for one third of the current shortfall.