Birth rate rise leads to call for expansion of primary schools

Education bosses at Sheffield Council will today ask the city’s newly-elected Labour administration to commit to spending the money over the next three years to stave off future problems.

Councillors will also be asked to sanction a £360,000 feasibility study to examine which schools should be expanded, and whether permanent or temporary solutions are provided.

Six urban areas have been singled out by education officers as hot spots for school place problems, while the rural communities north-west of the city are also cited as a cause for concern.

The latest proposals come on top of an expansion programme approved last year, which will see a total of 1,545 extra places provided at 11 schools across Sheffield from September.

Dr Sonia Sharp, the city’s executive director responsible for schools, will tell today’s cabinet meeting that birth rates have “fluctuated” leading to the issues now under consideration.

In a report Dr Sharp says: “Birth rates hit a peak of 6,805 in 1990/91, followed by a steady decline to 5,549 in 2001/02. This downward trend has now reversed with 6,602 births in 2009/10.

“Recent data suggests the birth rate in Sheffield is, for the time being, sustained at this higher level. As a result of this, proposals have been brought forward in recent years.

“Expansions in Burngreave and Fir Vale from 2006 were an early sign of the growing trend, and in other areas of the city previously surplus places began to fill.”

Areas to receive extra places this year include Abbeydale, Greystones, Lowfield, Mosborough, Longley, Lowedges, Meersbrook and Walkley with between 90 and 245 places provided at each school.

According to Dr Sharp, the new focus must be on the Darnall, Attercliffe, Hillsborough, Tinsley, Wincobank, Heeley and Firth Park areas, and the rural catchments in the north-west of the city.

She says: “The rising trend in births since 2003 means that the match between pupils and places in many areas of the city is tighter now than it has been over recent years.

“This may mean that small fluctuations in local populations can be more challenging as there will be less spare capacity overall and therefore less flexibility.

“One area that will require particular monitoring is in the north west of the city, specifically around the catchment areas of Oughtibridge and Wharncliffe Side.

“The rural location and relatively high levels of preference for the catchment school mean that when previous peak years have come through, some local families have not been able to access a place at their catchment school.

“As with all areas of the city, we will continue to monitor population data for the area to ensure that appropriate places are available and to ensure that any sustained rise in the population is catered for locally.”

Sheffield Council, in common with all other local authorities in the region, is currently facing heavy cuts in spending, with cabinet members expected to find savings of £200m over the next four years.

But any extra school places required would be funded by central Government because all local authorities have a statutory duty to provide enough school places for the population.

According to projections, the first year of the expansion scheme will cost £1.3m, with the bill hitting £3.6m in 2012/13 and £3.1m in 2013/14.

If the spending is approved today, officers will then publish their proposals and invite comments, before designs for new classrooms and building are developed by December.

Construction work will then start in January next year, with any new classrooms ready for occupation by September 2012.