Forecasts for primary and secondary school planning areas

The forecasts submitted to the DfE as part of the annual School Capacity (SCAP) return for each primary and secondary school planning area are shown at the end of the main document.  The DfE publishes a Local Authority school places scorecard on an annual basis (with the exception of 2021 as the DfE cancelled 2020 statutory returns due to Covid).  Up to 2022, this detailed the accuracy of forecasting on a one-year and three-year basis. 

From 2023, this has changed to report the accuracy of forecasting on a one-year and two-year basis. Preference data and the quality of new places is also shown nationally and for individual local authorities.  From 2022 the national cost of new places has been reported.  As Cumberland was formed as a new Council in April 2023, no scorecard data is yet available, but the link above will, in future, show how well our projections compare with those of other local authorities.