Junior school crisis as more parents opt for free education

THOUSANDS of families are facing a mounting shortage of primary school places as the recession pushes state education to the brink of crisis, councils warned today.

Primary schools in London currently have no room for 2,250 children who are due to start this year, a report has found.

More than 18,000 extra places will be needed for pupils who will begin compulsory education aged five by 2014, the study by think tank and lobby group London Councils found.

The explosion in demand is being explained by London's soaring birth rate and more parents choosing a free, state education instead of paying private school fees in the recession.

Low property prices also mean boroughs cannot sell off assets in order to pay for building more classrooms.

London Councils, which promotes the interests of the capital's local authorities, called on ministers to provide emergency funding for school building projects in order to accommodate the extra pupils.

Schools are being forced to erect temporary huts and teach children in larger classes as a short-term solution, the group added.

Its report, Do the Maths, said: "Over the next few years, councils and schools face an enormous challenge in being able to provide enough places for new pupils starting primary school."

The warning comes at a crucial time for parents of 80,000 children in London who are in the process of being told which primary schools they have been allocated for September.

James Kempton, a leading member of London Councils, said: "All London's children deserve to enjoy the very best education and school facilities we can offer. Temporary classrooms and expanded classes are simply not good enough, but London's boroughs are being forced into a position where these are our only option to provide places for the capital's five-year-olds. We urgently need the Government to bring forward emergency funding to cover the current and expected demand for places. London's children deserve better."

London Councils found that 25 local authorities were warning of a shortage of primary school places. An Evening Standard investigation suggested that west London boroughs were particularly badly hit.

In Richmond, demand was so high that one in 10 families was not offered a place at any of their three chosen primary schools for September. Richmond council said it was creating 129 primary places this year.

An extra 300 places are being created across 10 primary schools in Kingston, while Ealing is increasing the number of places for September by 120.

Bromley and Barnet were among the other boroughs expanding their primary schools this year. An estimated 7,000 children will have to be taught in temporary classrooms or large classes with extra staff when they start primary school in September, the report added.

Local authorities needed £740million over the next five years and £260million "immediately" to guarantee every five-year old a place at a state primary school, according to the study.

A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said that it was too late to allocate more money to councils. Boroughs had "a duty to make sure that every child has a suitable school place", he said.

"We have already agreed and allocated funding for schools for the 2008-2011 period based on pupil projections by local authorities.

"London Councils are looking into whether these projections were sufficiently accurate. We will read their research with interest and take it into account in future decisions."