Primary education
Demographic changes have altered the sufficiency position for both early years and Reception school places in recent years. Historically, circa 95% of pupils born within the city would go on to attend a Coventry primary school, with the remainder choosing to attending other Local Authority Schools, Private Education, or moving out of the Coventry local authority during pre-school age.
However, in recent years an increasing number of pre-school children have attended a Coventry school. September 2023 being the first year in a 20-year tracking where the number of children attending a primary school was larger than the relevant birth cohort from 4 years previously.
This trend is still being observed and increasing in the September 2024 reception entry. The main reason for this variation being the size of the reception cohort being larger due to in-year migration from families with pre-school children.
| Year ending 31 August | Number of births | Year of entry to Primary school | Number of children attending from 1 September | % of cohort who attended primary school |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 4517 | 2018 | 4337 | 96.0% |
| 2015 | 4557 | 2019 | 4322 | 94.8% |
| 2016 | 4564 | 2020 | 4303 | 94.3% |
| 2017 | 4294 | 2021 | 4170 | 97.1% |
| 2018 | 4327 | 2022 | 4298 | 99.3% |
| 2019 | 4309 | 2023 | 4361 | 101.2% |
| 2020 | 4004 | 2024 | 4299 | 107.4% |
As highlighted earlier, an increase has also been observed across all other year groups due to in-year migration. This has affected the availability of places in all planning areas. To mitigate against this CCC has adopted the following strategy:
- working in partnership with schools to introduce bulge (temporary) classes. Temporary expansions are for a single year (e.g. Year 2 increase, and that increase then moves through the school until that cohort reaches Year 6)
- used the Fair Access Protocol to offer a school place in specific circumstances (e.g. distance, siblings)
This strategy has allowed CCC to accommodate its growing school population by ensuring the availability of adequate school places.
Historically, there have been 3 phases of primary works undertaken on school sites. Phase 1 commenced in 2008, with a series of expansions that introduced 37.3 FE permanent capacity, creating an additional 8,840 Primary school places for children.
Phase 2 started in 2017, strategically addressing the declining birth rate within certain areas of the city most impacted by the birth rate changes. This reduction prompted a re-evaluation of PAN in primary schools, with certain schools witnessing a decrease in pupil numbers, leading to adjustments in PAN.
| School | PAN reduction information |
|---|---|
| Alderman's Green | Reduced from 90 to 60 in September 2020 |
| Coundon Primary | Reduced from 90 to 60 in September 2021 |
| Frederick Bird | Reduced from 120 to 90 in September 2021 |
| Hill Farm | Reduced from 90 to 60 in September 2022 |
| John Gulson | Reduced from 90 to 60 in September 2020 |
| Little Heath | Reduced from 60 to 30 in September 2017 |
| Richard Lee | Reduced from 90 to 60 in September 2018 |
| Spon Gate | Reduced from 60 to 30 in September 2018 |
| St Bartholomew's | Reduced from 60 to 30 in September 2018 |
| St Thomas More | Reduced from 60 to 30 in September 2021 |
This phase lasted until 2022 when the changing demographics led to an increased demand for school places because of increases due to migration by families with school-aged children. Consequently, Education have responded by introducing phase 3, spanning from 2023 to 2026, aimed at expanding places in select primary schools; in partnership with the school headteachers.
To date, this expansion has resulted in the creation of bulge classes at 8 primary schools. The need for further expansion continues, as primary schools continue to deal with the rising demand – which is particularly acute in Year 2 and 4. Future projects will prioritize expanding capacity to meet the growing demand in the wake of demographic shifts and increased migration as and when the additional places are needed.
