More than 90 primary schools in England will shut or face closure because their classrooms are mostly empty, new figures show
- Department for Education data showed 88 schools were about two-thirds empty
- A further four schools in England are also set to close, according to the figures
More than 90 English primary schools will shut or face closure because their classrooms are mostly empty, according to recent figures.
The data, provided by the Department for Education, showed 88 schools were more than 66 per cent empty last year, and a further four were already set to close.
Falling birth rates and young families leaving urban areas in the face of increased house and childcare costs has caused the drop in numbers and associated per pupil funding, according to the Guardian.
Head of Analysis at the Education Policy Institute Jon Andrews said: ‘The Department for Education has estimated that the total pupil population will fall by over 900,000 by 2032.
‘Most school funding is allocated on a per-pupil basis, so falling pupil numbers can lower budgets for schools.’
The data, provided by the Department for Education, showed 88 schools were more than 66 per cent empty last year, and a further four were already set to close. File photo of empty classroom
Falling birth rates and young families leaving urban areas in the face of increased house and childcare costs has caused the drop in numbers and associated per pupil funding, according to the Guardian. File photo of empty classroom
Mr Andrews added: ‘At a time when school finances are already under pressure, school leaders may struggle to absorb any further reductions in their budgets.
‘Around 1 in 5 schools in England are also currently operating over capacity. While in most cases this is by a relatively small number of pupils, where the problem is more acute it can mean additional demands on teaching staff, as well as a greater number of pupils being left without access to their preferred school.’
The average vacancy rate recorded by 156 schools that have closed since 2009 and 2010 in their last year of operation was 66 per cent, nearly the same figure as last year.
Around 50 per cent of schools in inner London and 33 per cent of those in the south-west of England had fewer pupils in 2021-22 compared with 2009-10.
But around 66 per cent of schools in the north-west and the West Midlands had had an increase in pupil population.
The vacancy rate is not the only indication of the risk of closure, as some schools may not have had problems filling their places but decided to close for other reasons, including the size of the reception year.
The average vacancy rate recorded by 156 schools that have closed since 2009 and 2010 in their last year of operation was 66 per cent, nearly the same figure as last year
The number of reception-year pupils had fallen between 2019-20 and 2021-22 in almost half of the primary schools that offered places, with about 2,000 of them (13 per cent) below the replacement rate, meaning the number of children in reception is smaller than their year 1 and year 2 cohorts.
Since 2009, about 160 primary schools had closed and about 570 had merged, analysis of the DfE figures showed. During the 2021-22 academic year there were 16,791 primary schools in England.
A Department for Education spokesman said: ‘Next year, school funding will be at its highest level in history –in real terms – as measured by the IFS, following the additional £2bn of investment for both 2023/24 and 2024/25 in the autumn statement.
‘It is for local authorities and academy trusts to balance the supply and demand of school places, in line with changing demographics, as they have done for many years.’
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