At a glance
- England’s primary schools had over 611,000 empty places last year - enough to fill 23,000 classrooms - marking the highest vacancy rate since records began, according to the Institute for Government
- London has been hardest hit, losing more than 8% of its primary pupils since 2018, as falling birth rates and families moving out of the city drive school closures and mergers
- The report warns that shrinking pupil numbers and rising SEND costs are straining school budgets, with two-thirds of special schools now over capacity and government reform plans delayed until January
There were enough vacant primary school spots to fill around 23,000 classrooms last year, the highest number since records began, according to the Institute for Government.
About 611,300 primary school places were left unfilled in the 2023-24 school year, making up 12 per cent of the 4.95M total. This marked a whopping increase of 34,000 on the previous year, research from the think tank found.
