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Councils respond to new figures released by the Department for Education on primary and secondary school offers for 2015.

Commenting on the recent publication of national statistics on primary and secondary school offers for 2015, an LGA spokesperson said:

"Meeting the expectations of parents to find a place for their child in a good school is a priority for councils and these figures highlight that the vast majority of children (over 96 per cent for primary schools and over 84 per cent for secondary schools) are able to go to their first choice of school.

"They also show that councils have managed to maintain those high levels by working hard to accommodate growing demand for places, with the primary school figure going up very slightly and the secondary school figure only down by 1 per cent.

"However, this should not mask the fact councils are continuing to have to accommodate rapidly rising numbers of pupils. LGA research shows by 2018/19 three in five parts of England will have more primary-age pupils than places for them. 

"Councils and schools have proven they can rise to the challenge and be both innovative and cost effective. In all, 300,000 primary school places have been created since May 2010 with many schools going to extraordinary lengths to ensure there is a place for every child, including increasing class sizes, diverting money from vital school repair programmes and converting non-classroom space, such as music rooms. 

"Government now needs to properly address the issue by committing to provide long term and sufficient funding for school places so that councils and schools can continue to successfully meet the need."

Notes

1. Analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) shows that two in five parts of England will have more primary-age pupils than places for them in 2016/17. This increases to more than half in 2017/18 and three in five in 2018/19.

2. Last year, the LGA revealed councils had to divert at least £1 billion of their own money on creating school places. It estimates the total cost of creating places for the 880,000 pupils expected at England's schools over the next decade could be £12 billion.

3. The LGA is asking the Government:

• to move to allocating funding in five-year blocks, rather than three-year blocks, so councils can plan longer-term

• to return to councils the power to open new schools

• to allow councils to compel academies to expand to admit extra pupils if there is demand.

Download the full statistics on the Department for Education website.