Policy S3 — Education and childcare facilities

Policy S3 Education and childcare facilities A To ensure there is a sufficient supply of good quality education and childcare facilities to meet demand and offer educational choice, boroughs should: 1) prepare Development Plans that are informed by a needs assessment of education and childcare facility needs. Needs should be assessed locally and sub-regionally, addressing cross-boundary issues. Needs assessments should include an audit of existing facilities. 2) identify sites for future provision through the Development Plan process, particularly in areas with significant planned growth or need for school places (including Special Educational Needs and Disability places) 3) ensure that development proposals for housing and commercial facilities incorporate suitable childcare provision and encourage nursery provision within primary schools, where there is a need. B Development proposals for education and childcare facilities should: 1) locate facilities in areas of identified need 2) locate facilities in accessible locations, with good public transport accessibility and access by walking and cycling 3) locate entrances and playgrounds away from busy roads, with traffic calming at entrances 4) link to existing footpath and cycle networks to create healthy routes to schools, and other education and childcare facilities, to enable all children to travel actively to school (walk, cycle or travel by public transport) 5) maximise the extended or multiple use of educational facilities for community or recreational use, through appropriate design measures 6) encourage the shared use of services between schools, colleges, universities, sports providers, and community facilities, and between early years and health and social care providers 7) ensure that new developments are accessible and inclusive for a range of users, including disabled people, by adopting an inclusive design approach 8) ensure that facilities incorporate suitable, accessible outdoor space 9) locate facilities next to parks or green spaces, where possible C Development proposals should ensure that there is no net loss of education or childcare facilities, unless it can be demonstrated that there is no ongoing or future need. Any proposed loss of sport or recreation land (including playing fields) should be considered against the requirements of Part C of Policy S5 Sports and recreation facilities . 5.3.1 Access to high quality education and training has a profound effect on people’s life chances and is one of the most powerful ways to break down inequalities and improve social mobility. Every child, young person and adult should be given the best possible chance for success and be equipped to make the most of the economic opportunities the capital has to offer. High quality education and training provision, including the allocation of sufficient sites and the development of childcare facilities, schools, colleges and universities in appropriate places, will not only help to provide greater educational choice but will also improve skills, which is critical in tackling disadvantage. Good quality education and training are vital for supporting people into sustainable employment, which is also essential to London’s continued economic success. 5.3.2 Access to affordable, accessible and high-quality childcare (pre-school and school age) provision can play a significant role in children’s development and positively influence school-readiness, future educational attainment, economic participation and health. Universal, high-quality, early childhood education and care not only benefits the whole population but can particularly benefit children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. As well as the positive benefit for children, it also helps to enable parents to go back to work. 5.3.3 It is estimated that an additional 100,000 childcare places will be needed between 2016-2041. [86] The Childcare Act 2006 places a duty on local authorities to ensure that there are enough childcare places to enable parents to work or train, and also to ensure that there are sufficient funded early education places for all three and four year-olds within the local authority area. In consultation with parents, the private, voluntary and independent sectors, and other key partners, boroughs should ensure the location and provision of a range of childcare services in different types of settings to meet the needs of local communities. 5.3.4 Childcare facilities should be safe, accessible for all, and provide both indoor and outdoor learning opportunities and should be provided within new housing and/or commercial developments where there is a need. Nurseries should be incorporated into new primary schools where appropriate. 5.3.5 There is a growing need for school places in London, with projected need for 705,000 mainstream state-funded primary school places required for the academic year 2018/19. This is an increase of 7,000 over the number of places required in 2016/17. The level of need is projected to fall to 686,000 places a year by 2027/28. In 2016/17, there was a need for 403,000 places in mainstream state-funded secondary schools. The number of places required is projected to increase by 65,000, over the period to 2027/2 [87] This need, particularly for secondary school places, requires a strategic approach to delivery, making it harder to quantify within individual boroughs. Boroughs are encouraged to work together to meet the needs for secondary school places. Where possible, sites for schools should be allocated within Development Plans. 5.3.6 There is a need for an increase in Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) provision in London and it is important that these places are planned for. Some of this provision will be within mainstream schools and some within specialist schools. It is important that all schools are designed to be accessible and inclusive, meeting the highest standards of accessible and inclusive design (see Policy D5 IncLondon Plan Policy S3 · official source →