Thousands of new school places to be made available in Harrow

Almost 3,000 new school places will be available in Harrow by 2015 now that the council has secured the amount of funding needed. The 2,836 places will be spread across 15 schools throughout the borough and will be paid for by the Department for Education.

As well as places being provided throughout primary and secondary schools, £2.5 million of funding will also be awarded to Harrow College. The college will be able to provide for young people with special educational needs thanks to the money from the department. Around 80 special educational needs places will be created for those aged between 19 and 25 at the Harrow Weald site of Harrow College.

Council officers worked with the 15 schools to submit the bids to the Department for Education, which resulted in them being awarded some of the £820 million that has been earmarked for schools by the government. This pot will enable improvements to be made to 378 schools throughout the UK that will see new placements being created.

This latest move is further supporting Harrow Council's Phase 2 primary expansion programme. The programme has been set up to accommodate for the increasing numbers of children throughout the borough. This programme is expanding on the Phase 1 project that is currently underway in nine borough schools and is set to be rolled out to 24 schools at the start of the next academic year.  

The funding, awarded through the government's Targeted Basic Needs Programme, will also allow for more support to children with special educational needs. Special schools are to be set up and provisions will be created within several mainstream schools to provide places for children with specialist educational needs.

Zarina Khalid, schools councillor and portfolio holder for children, schools and families, said: “Harrow Council is leading the way when it comes to planning for London’s unprecedented rise in children. I am absolutely delighted that we were successful in securing this funding for so many of our schools.

“Our Children and Families Department has worked tirelessly with schools to make compelling bids to the Department for Education. We now have funding in place for school expansions which will change the lives and offer new opportunities for our youngest residents.”

 

Published 22nd July, 2013

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