School Places Strategy published for review

Friday, 3 March 2023 00:00

A document setting out long-term plans for ensuring sufficient school places in Wiltshire has just been published for review.

The Wiltshire Council School Places Strategy maps out school provision across the county setting out where there are surplus or insufficient places and what can be done to address it. The report details a range of influencing factors including military moves and housing developments alongside national trends including a declining birth rate.

The report separately captures each geographical area, providing specific information on the schools, local birth rate, projected pupil numbers, current and proposed new housing and what this means for primary and secondary provision in that area.

It identifies both gaps or over provision and sets out how the local authority will address these using agreed policies and principles. The data helps key stakeholders including schools, parents, local communities, businesses and other providers of education to understand what school places are needed.

The data is used by Wiltshire Council and partners to inform decision making on:

Future provision of school places Guiding policies and principles on which decisions will be informed Details of the council’s strategy for capital investment in schools to secure places for every child.

Cllr Laura Mayes, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills said: “This week we are once again able to provide 95% of our families with their first preference secondary school. We have a strong track record in meeting parent preferences and this is down to the dedication and forward thinking of our school team.

"They take the long view and assess what will be needed in the future. We also know when to act to provide additional provision and this year we have invested £7m in our school capital programme to ensure sufficient school places.

"The key document for these decisions is the School Places Strategy, setting out how we will approach school places in the next few years to ensure we address all the challenges.”

You can access the Education strategies and policies - Wiltshire Council and submit comments to schoolorganisation@wiltshire.gov.uk .

The strategy will go to council leaders at cabinet later in the year for final approval.