Maintaining school space left empty by falling pupil rolls will create “a large cost burden”, a senior official has warned.
However, Lara Newman, chief executive of the Department for Education’s property company LocatED, cautioned against selling school sites, saying it could be hard to rebuy land if needed in future.
If responsible bodies “sell off school sites” and then there is population growth again in future, “we will be in a really difficult situation”, she said.
This means “careful consideration” over how to use this space is needed to avoid it being “permanently lost from the education system”, she added.
Speaking at today’s Westminster Forum conference on the future of school buildings, she said London boroughs are expecting an average decrease of 7.3 per cent in pupils starting Reception in the next five years.
A countrywide issue
Similar patterns related to falling rolls are being seen in many other parts of the country.
But “schools are not necessarily configured in the best way for changing needs”, Ms Newman added.
Ms Newman’s presentation slides stated: “The resulting vacant and unused school accommodation will be a large cost burden as unused buildings are kept safe and secure.
“Long-term, given the pressure on land supply within central London and the difficulty and cost of finding suitable sites, careful consideration should be given before this space is permanently lost from the education system.”
Baroness Barran also urged caution in closing schools owing to falling rolls at the Schools and Academies Show last month.
The DfE and LocatED run a pilot where certain schools that have surplus buildings or land and also have a need for capital investment can sell off the surplus space to unlock money for school condition need.
LocatED’s Building Up initiative identifies schools in areas where housing value is high enough to fund a full school rebuild. Under this initiative, homes could be built “above and adjacent” to the newly built school.
Some 25 schools have been shortlisted for this so far after more than 315 were reviewed.
The fall in primary pupils is eventually expected to affect secondary schools, with London Councils forecasting demand will fall by 5 per cent between 2022-23 and 2026-27.
‘Difficult to kick people out’
Ms Newman discussed how schools can deliver more for the community in her presentation.
Options included opening up land and buildings for community use, and co-locating health and wellbeing services in school buildings.
However, Ms Newman cautioned it is “difficult to kick people out of space” once loaned out, if that space is needed again in future.
She added that she worries about schools having the therapeutic space pupils are asking for.
Councillor Wendy Meikle, cabinet member for education at Stockport Council, also said at the conference that she was “concerned about schools selling off land”.
A DfE spokesperson said: “It is for local authorities and academy trusts to balance the supply and demand of school places, in line with changing demographics, as they have done for many years.
“Local authorities and trusts should work collaboratively to ensure they are managing the local school estate efficiently and reducing or re-purposing high levels of spare capacity, in order to avoid undermining the educational offer or financial viability of schools in their area.”
