School organisation in Cheshire East

Local Authorities have a statutory duty to ensure there are enough school places available in their area for every child of compulsory school age including children with special educational needs, post 16 education, early years and childcare, and for arranging alternative provision for pupils who; because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education.

It is for local authorities, academy trusts and local partners to balance the supply and demand of school places, in line with changing demographics locally. The number of places available should be increased in response to need and reduced/repurposed where they are no longer required. Local factors need to be carefully weighed up, along with considerations of the quality, diversity, and accessibility of local provision – and the longer-term forecast demand for places – to determine the most appropriate approach in each area. All partners should be mindful of the need to strike the right balance between protecting parental choice and recognising financial pressures facing individual schools.                                           

Current consultations

There are currently no consultations underway.

Recent proposals

• Kingsbourne Academy, Nantwich - update 
• Basford East Development, Shavington - update

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.  The authority submitted the latest return in July 2025 and data is currently being verified by the Department for Education. 

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 Supplementary Planning Document.

Schools in Cheshire East

• List of schools in Cheshire East (MS Excel, 527KB)

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

79 primary academies; 23 community primary schools; 1 primary foundation school; 6 voluntary controlled primary schools and 14 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