Academy schools have been accused of refusing to accept enough new pupils in a growing admissions crisis that will see tens of thousands of children miss out on their choice of secondary school.
Councils are demanding the power to force academies — which were set up during the Tony Blair era and are state-funded but independent of local authorities — to take more students.
The Department for Education accused the local authority leaders, most of whom are Conservatives, of “scaremongering”. Today is national offer day, when parents will be informed by email or letter whether their child has been allocated a place at their choice of secondary school.
After several years of intense pressure for more primary school places in many cities, particularly in London and the south, secondary schools are now on the front line of heightened demand for places.
Secondary school head teachers said that pressure on school places was being exacerbated by teacher shortages. A quarter said that they had been forced to merge classes. Almost two thirds said that non-specialist teachers were taking classes and two thirds said that they were hiring more temporary teachers through agencies.
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Academy heads and governors cannot be forced to accept more pupils in areas where there is a shortage. Council leaders are angry at separate rules that stop local authorities themselves from opening new schools unless they first advertise for sponsors to open a free school — which is approved and funded by the DfE — and then run a competition for other providers.
Roy Perry, chairman of the Local Government Association children’s board, said: “Councils have a statutory duty to ensure every child has a school place available to them but find themselves in the difficult position of not being able to ensure schools, including academies, expand. Finding suitable sponsors with the capacity to take on the running of a successful new school is also proving a challenge.”
Simpson Millar, a law firm, released freedom of information requests to local authorities showing that many have received far more applications for places at secondary schools than are available. Hounslow in west London had the biggest shortfall, of 2,244 places, followed Buckinghamshire, Trafford and Kent.
A Department for Education spokesman said: “Despite rising pupil numbers, 95 per cent of parents received an offer at one of their top three preferred schools last year. Councils are responsible for ensuring there are sufficient school places in their area, and we expect them to plan effectively and make good investment decisions.”