Education sufficiency, school organisation and provision planning
Information on the sufficiency of education provision 0 to 25 years.
The Council has a statutory duty to make sure there are enough childcare places to enable parents to take up or remain in work and training; to have free early years education for all eligible young children in their area; and undertake an assessment of the sufficiency of childcare places in its area at least every 3 years, with an annual update, and publish the assessments in the prescribed manner (Childcare Act 2006)
The Council also has a duty (under the Education Act 1996) to make sure there are sufficient school places for children and young people who live in the county and to make sure these places are of good quality with enough space to promote parental choice and diversity and to undertake an assessment of the sufficiency of school places in its area with annual updates.
Where the need for a new school is identified, the Council should invite proposals to establish a free school (under Education Act 2011).
The Council has a duty (under Education Act 1996), to ensure arrangements for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are kept under review and to secure educational provision made for pupils aged 16 to 18 and over 19 years for those whom an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan is maintained.
The Council has general landlord duties for all buildings which they let to academies (under the relevant academy lease), and for all community school buildings, and overall responsibility for capital strategy including basic need, which applies to all pupils (section 14, Education Act 1996).
In December 2018, °ÄÃŽðËãÅÌ×ÊÁÏÃâ·Ñ´óÈ« Cabinet approved the strategic plan for education place planning in °ÄÃŽðËãÅÌ×ÊÁÏÃâ·Ñ´óÈ«:
To ensure we can meet the above statutory requirements we undertake annual sufficiency assessments for:
- early years and childcare (including private, voluntary, and independent providers)
- mainstream Schools (including academies and free schools)
- SEND Specialist provision (including academies)
- post 16 (including sixth forms and colleges)
These reports are published under the specific sections below.
The annual Education Sufficiency March 2024 Cabinet update can be found here: