Planned number of new Liverpool school places won't meet demand
480 new school places are planned.
Liverpool's planned number of new school places will not meet the expected demand in 2026, RADAR reports.
Department for Education (DfE) figures show 480 new school places are planned to be created across primary and secondary schools in Liverpool between May 2024 and September 2026. However, the department estimates around 270 further places are needed to meet the area's forecasted demand for the 2026-27 school year.
It includes an additional 180 primary school and 90 secondary schools places.
Across England, the number of planned primary and secondary school places will need to more than double to meet demand, with an estimated 54,800 school places needed on top of the already planned 47,000 new places.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said there are significant variations between different parts of the country, individual schools and year groups.
"Many secondary schools are now facing the kind of pressure on places experienced by primaries a few years ago,” he said. “Even though primary schools in some areas are seeing pupil numbers decline due to factors including falling birth rates and a lack of affordable housing, competition for places in some schools remains high."
He added: "These forecasts also underline the importance of the Government addressing the teacher recruitment and retention crisis facing schools."
A DfE spokesperson said parents should be reassured, with over 97% of children accepted to one of their top school choices.
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They added: "Through our Plan for Change this Government is determined to make sure every child, wherever they live, can achieve and thrive in school.
"Councils are legally responsible for ensuring there are enough school places for their local communities and should work in collaboration with academy trusts and other local partners to balance the supply and demand of school places, in line with changing demographics.
"Through the landmark Children's Wellbeing and School's Bill, we will require councils and schools to work together on admissions to make sure every family has access to a good local school."