Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2014-03-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many primary school places have been created as a result of the Priority School Building Programme since its introduction.

Lord Nash

261 schools were successful in their application to the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) and initial work has started with over 230 of these schools. Construction work has started at 24 schools and the first primary school is due to open in May 2014.

The PSBP is aimed at addressing the condition needs of those schools most in need of urgent repair; it is not a programme aimed at increasing school capacity. However, where a school is seeking to expand and this is supported by pupil planning statistics, we are increasing the capacity of the schools.

The PSBP will create approximately 9,300 new primary school places through the expansion of these schools beyond the existing capacity stated in their application forms.

This number is subject to change. As part of the feasibility study undertaken for each school, we work with the school, local authority and other stakeholders to review pupil planning statistics for the area and confirm that the size of the school being rebuilt or refurbished is sustainable and also meets any demand for pupil places where possible.

We are on track to complete all PSPB schools by the end of 2017. This is two years earlier than was planned when the programme was announced.