Agenda item

Director for Children and Education Services

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Children and Education which sought approval to the Coventry One Strategic Plan for Primary, Secondary and Special Educational Needs (SEN) Education 2024-2028. The Plan was attached as an Appendix to the report.

Under Section 14 of the Education Act 1996, Coventry City Council had a statutory duty to ensure sufficient school places and fair, appropriate access to education. It was the Council’s role to plan, commission and organise school places in a way that raised standards, and managed supply and demand.

The Coventry One Strategic Plan sets out pupil forecasts for primary and secondary schools, as well as Special Education Needs (SEND) across education planning areas in response to rising or falling pupil cohorts across the city. It was proposed that this Strategy will be a flexible plan, able to adapt to shifting mechanisms of parental preference, unforeseen changes in supply and demand of school places, and future birth rates. To do this, the One Strategic Plan will be monitored and updated annually with presentation to the Cabinet Member whose portfolio includes education, and Cabinet, alongside a wider process of constant review of School Place Planning. In addition, the procuring of school places will take place annually so as not to create an unstable number of school places.

There was commitment through a statement of intent to collaborate and work in partnership to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and young people in Coventry, ensure the sustainability of Coventry schools, and to enable the City Council to meet its statutory obligations. The options within the Strategic Plan had been discussed at Coventry Education Partnership meetings including headteachers and education colleagues from across the city.

The Strategy outlined within the One Strategic Plan Appendix was in line with the statutory requirement as outlined by the DfE to:

i.  Spend capital funding efficiently

ii.  Safeguard the quality of places in the system

iii.  Utilise spare capacity in the estate where it exists.

Capital allocations to meet projected shortfalls in provision were provided by the Department for Education (DFE) to all Local Authorities based on the data provided in the annual School Capacity return (SCAP). Demand for places minus the supply of places was multiplied by a cost per pupil place to inform the final allocation. This return informed the DFE of the expected change in pupil numbers over the next few years, the current capacity of schools to meet those numbers and the planned changes to that capacity. Funding was also secured via S106 contributions from housing developers in response to new housing estates. With recent financial allocations this proposed Strategy was sustainable and in keeping with the financial allocations announced. 

Since the 2021/22 academic year there had been a large increase in the number of pupils moving into the city in year. The impact of this in-year movement had been that more places were required in schools than forecast, using up spare capacity and causing sufficiency pressures in some year groups. In response, a review and update of pupil forecast methodology had taken place, and additional school expansions as set out in the report. Since September 2024 the Authority had seen a decrease in the level of in-year growth, and would continue to factor a range of growth expectations to inform forecasts and sufficient supply of school places.

In response to rising pupil numbers seen since the academic year 2021/2022, bulge classes had been introduced at nine primary schools across the city, specifically in Years 1 to 5. This increase in demand had also led to expansions in secondary schools, particularly in Years 7 and 8. These measures had helped address immediate pressures on school capacity; however, further expansion would be necessary to ensure sufficient school places were available to meet future forecasted demand. Ongoing planning and funding would be essential to maintain access to quality education as the pupil population changed.

The Cabinet also considered a Briefing Note which outlined Scrutiny Co-ordination’s consideration of the report at their meeting on 5 June, 2025. The Committee has recommended that an updated version of the report be circulated prior to the meeting and the Cabinet noted that this had been done.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

1)  Notes that the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee had considered the report at their meeting on 5 June, 2025 and had recommended that Cabinet approves the report.

2)  Authorises the programme of work outlined within the proposed Coventry One Strategic Plan for Primary, Secondary and Special Educational Needs (SEN) Education.

3)  Delegates authority to the Director of Children and Education Services to agree the most appropriate procurement route for the works to be delivered and awarded.

4)  Authorises the funding stream as set out in section 6 of the report to be utilised for the delivery of programme of works in relation to primary, secondary and SEND within the Coventry One Strategic Plan and add 24/25 high needs allocation, 26/27 and 27/28 education basic needs allocations totalling £102.8m to the Council’s Capital programme.

5)  Subject to acting within existing budgets, authorises the acquisition of land by way of agreement as is required to facilitate sufficiency of school places within Coventry.

6)  Delegates authority to the Direction of Children and Education Services, following consultation with the Director of Finance and Resources and Director of Law and Governance, to undertake all necessary due diligence including acceptance of terms for such acquisition and the entering into appropriate legal agreements to bring into effect the recommendation in (5) above. The power under this delegated authority shall also include all necessary actions required to commence the free school presumption process to appoint an operator and any ancillary or incidental actions required.