The authority says it has received significantly less funding from central government this year
There is a risk that hundreds of Nottinghamshire pupils could be left without a school place in their local area following significantly less funding from the government.
Nottinghamshire County Council has raised concerns about the availability of secondary school places from September 2027.
In a cabinet report from July, the authority states that its allocation of government funding intended to ensure sufficient school places in the area is significantly less this year, placing it in a precarious situation.
Local authorities depend on central government funding to support school expansion schemes, where officials submit current pupil forecasts based on planning areas to the Department for Education annually to inform these decisions, but funding settlements are determined over multiple years and do not always match the immediate requirements of an area.
Between January 2018 and January 2026, the number of year seven pupils in Nottinghamshire rose by 10 per cent, from 8,703 to 9,578, and recent forecasts indicate this demand is likely to remain high before gradually decreasing from the 2029 to 2030 academic year.
The council has already taken steps to address this high demand, establishing 1,700 additional secondary places since 2022, facilitating 303 extra year seven places becoming available for 2026 to 2027 within current school buildings and progressing with school construction schemes intended to boost secondary school capacity for 2027 to 2030.
However, the authority must now pause these schemes at Serlby Park Academy, Carlton Academy, South Nottinghamshire Academy and Lady Bay Primary School, representing over £10 million in projects, because the anticipated funds are not available.
Due to the reduced funding, striking data from the cabinet report currently indicates approximately 28 year seven pupils in the county could be totally without a school place in September 2027, with similar shortages expected for the following two years.
The authority states that in September 2027 and September 2028 there will be an insufficiency of school places in Hucknall, Worksop, Harworth, Retford, Broxtowe South, Carlton, Mansfield, Warsop, Rainworth, East Leake, Rushcliffe East and West Bridgford, which could result in around 338 pupils needing to travel outside their local area to attend school.
Speaking at July’s cabinet meeting, Councillor Rory Green (Ref), cabinet member for children and families, described the halting of the projects as a sensible decision and said it meant the authority was not just walking blindly into them without the necessary funding, adding that a pause means pause, it does not mean no, never again.
Cllr James Walker-Gurley (Ref), cabinet member for Economic Development and Asset Management, said there is nothing to panic about right now, stating that in September next year, they may potentially fall short of places, so that gives them the summer holidays next year as well to get everything ready, so they are being proactive.
He said they are working again as members to lobby MPs and doing everything they should be in a proactive manner.
Council leader, Mick Barton (Ref), has written to the Secretary of State for Education to lobby for additional government funding to get the building projects to increase secondary capacity back on track, to help prevent shortfalls in pupil places from occurring.
He wrote that the current position in Nottinghamshire is that the cost of required places across the county is presently outstripping the available funding. They expected a further allocation of Basic Need funding this year which was not forthcoming.
He added that if left unaddressed, the downstream effects could see impacts on the sufficiency of school places, with fewer parents obtaining their first preference school for their child.
He wrote that they have been in dialogue with Department for Education officials about funding but this is yet to yield results. He would point out that they have an excellent track record in school building and refurbishment, with a valued and experienced team and supply chain.
In a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Wayne Bexton, the council’s Director of Economy, Environment and Assets, said that this year they did not get a further allocation of funding as expected, therefore they currently do not have the funding available to complete five projects at four schools or academies they had planned, worth over £10 million.
He said they have no other option than to put these expansion projects on hold. These four schools or academies now face uncertainty about sufficient school places for local children and families in 2027 and 2028.
Dr Orlaith Green, the council’s Temporary Director of Education, Learning and Inclusion, said the authority is urgently lobbying the government for funding.
She said they have made the relevant schools and academies aware of the situation and recommend they write to their MP and Department for Education to describe the impact this could have for their schools, pupils and wider community.
She said in Nottinghamshire to date, they have a strong track record providing school places, with the majority of families being offered their first choice school place each year, and they want to do everything they can to ensure this continues.
She added that they remain ready to deliver all these projects if and when funding is made available to them.
The Serlby Park Academy project in Bircotes was intended to provide an additional 50 secondary school places and the Carlton Academy expansion was due to deliver an extra 40 year seven places for 2027 to 2028 onwards.
In Rushcliffe, an additional 30 temporary year seven places were secured at South Nottinghamshire Academy for 2026 to 2027 and 2027 to 2028 to allow the school’s published admission number to admit 180 children, up from 150.
According to documents, this should have led to a permanent increase for 2028 to 2029 but the expected additional places will not be available, and the expansion at Lady Bay Primary School will also be put on hold.
The government’s allocation to the council was £76.7 million from 2023 through 2024 and through to 2027 and 2028, where the forecast was based on data the authority provided on pupil projections until September 2028.
In Spring 2027, the Department for Education is due to bring forward its next funding allocation to help local authorities supply sufficient school places going forward, where any council projections will be taken into account.
The Department for Education was contacted for comment but did not respond at the time of publication.