School Organisation in Cheshire East

Cheshire East Special Free Schools

In March 2023, the Department for Education confirmed that Cheshire East Council had been successful in its bid to secure government backing for two new schools for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

The successful bids mean that the Department for Education will fund and build two new special schools, one being located in Middlewich and the other located in Congleton. The two schools will create a total of 120 places for children and young people from five to 19 years old. 

To align with formal process, as outlined by the Department for Education, the next stage will be for the Local Authority to publish the school specification with contextual information. This will provide interested trusts with an overview of the new school required by Cheshire East Council. 

For further information use the links below.

Current Consultations:

Recent proposals

If you require information on any proposals prior to the ones listed above please contact SOCS@cheshireeast.gov.uk

School Capacity (SCAP return)

Every year the authority has a duty to submit the Primary, Secondary and Special Educational Needs & Disability forecasts to the DfE. Information is submitted via the annual SCAP return. An overview of the primary and secondary forecasts and information regarding SCAP was presented to the Children and Families Committee on 18 September 2023. 

Guidance on Developer Contributions for Education 

On the 11 March 2024 the Guidance on Developer Contributions for Education was approved as part of Cheshire East’s Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document, by the Council’s  Environment and Communities Committee. This is aligned with the Department for Education’s guidance for Securing Developer Contributions (August 2023) and Local Authority scorecards. 

The Guidance and Policy Guidance on Developer Contributions for Education has been implemented with immediate effect; any planning applications received by the Council after 11 March 2024 will be assessed using the new methodology and costings. Any applications that were assessed for contributions prior to the 11 March 2024 but have not yet been approved,  will not be re-assessed with the new yields and costs. However, should a variation or revision be made to the ongoing application and there is a need for the Education contributions to be revised then a new assessment will be carried out under the advice held in the Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). This is also the same for any applications that have already been approved; if a variation is received and a new assessment is required then this will be done in accordance with the SPD.

Schools in Cheshire East

In Cheshire East we have 154 schools + 1 nursery; 123 primary schools; 25 secondary schools, and 6 special schools; consisting of:

72 primary academies; 27 community primary schools (inclusive of 1 federation); 1 primary foundation school; 6 voluntary controlled primary schools and 17 voluntary aided primary schools and 1 community nursery.

18 secondary academies; (inclusive of 1 alternative provision); 2 secondary free schools; 1 studio school (14-19); 2 community secondary schools; 1 foundation secondary school; 1 University Technical College (UTC) (14-18).

2 community special schools; 2 special academies and 2 special free schools.

Contact School Organisation in Cheshire East 

School Organisation and Capital Strategy
Cheshire East Council


SOCS@cheshireeast.gov.uk

0300 123 5012

Fax: 01270 6864911

Page last reviewed: 11 January 2024