How Local Authorities Are Using Data to Solve the Mainstream and SEND School Places Puzzle
High needs budgets under pressure. Primary pupils dropping. Secondary pupils peaking. EHCP numbers rising at a dramatic pace. A school estate that's ageing, inefficient, and often mismatched to the cohorts it's trying to serve. Sound familiar?
For many Local Authorities, strategic planning has become a reactive scramble. Not because they lack the will or expertise, but because they lack the access to the necessary data driven tools.
Request a ConsultationComprehensive LA Optimisation Services
Our LA Optimise service provides Local Authorities with detailed analysis and planning tools to make the most of their educational estate and resources. We help you identify opportunities for improvement, plan for future needs and make best use of your allocated revenue and capital funding.
Using our proprietary "Optimise" tools and extensive experience in the education sector, we deliver actionable insights that lead to tangible improvements in space utilisation, resource allocation and therefore educational outcomes.
Our team works closely with you to understand your specific challenges and goals, ensuring that our recommendations are tailored to your unique context and requirements.
Key Benefits
- Optimise use of existing school spaces
- Accurate projections for mainstream and SEND/AP provision
- Identify reveneue and capital cost avoidance
- Data-driven development planning
- Comprehensive SEND commissioning strategy
Our LA Optimise Services Include
School Space Planning
- School Internal Space & Mainstream Projections
- School/Other Assets External Space Mapping
- BB103 Sufficiency Review
- BB104 Sufficiency Review
- Timetable/Efficiency Assessments
SEND/AP & Early Years
- SEND/AP Projections/Commissioning Strategy
- SEN Local Authority Benchmarks
- SEN EHCP Caseload
- Early Years Projections
- EHCP Pupil Data
- Exclusion and Suspension Data
- SEN Assessment and Discontinuation Data
Funding & Resources
- DSG Revenue Funding
- SEND Support Services Spend
- High Needs Revenue Projections
- Capital Costs
- Cost Avoidance
- Capital Funding Optimisation
Area Analysis
- LA High Level Profile
- Pupil Home Locations
- Deprivation Data
- Local Developments
- Potential Risks
School Estate
- School Block Age
- DEC Energy Ratings
- DfE Condition
- School Level Profile
- Changes to Local School Places
Planning & Development
- Options Appraisal
- BB103 Development Plan
- BB104 Development Plan
A selection of our "Optimise" Local Authority strategic planning dashboards are shown below:
Forecasting Demand and Supply
Predict future educational needs and ensure adequate provision.
EHCP Caseload Benchmark Comparisons
This powerful benchmarking tool allows Local Authorities to compare their EHCP caseload against statistical neighbours and regional averages. The dashboard provides detailed breakdowns by establishment type, SEN2 groups, and DSG management plans, enabling data-driven decision making for SEND provision planning.
SEND/AP Commissioning Strategy Cost Avoidance
Our SEND/AP Commissioning Strategy dashboard enables Local Authorities to model different scenarios for pupil placement, construction types, and setting types, calculating potential cost avoidance compared to a "Do Nothing" position over an 8-year period.
Maintained School Internal Capacity Shortfall/Surplus Analysis
Interactive visualisation of school capacity data showing surplus and shortfall across the Local Authority area, with geographic mapping and future projections to support strategic planning decisions.
School Block Age, DfE Condition Data and DEC Information
Comprehensive analysis of school building conditions, age profiles, and energy performance to support strategic estate management decisions.
2019 Deprivation Data by LSOA (Latest)
Detailed analysis of local deprivation indices with geographic mapping of school locations and pupil distribution, enabling targeted resource allocation and strategic planning based on socioeconomic factors.
School Options Appraisal Dashboard
Our School Options Appraisal dashboard enables Local Authorities to evaluate schools across multiple criteria, including capacity metrics, pupil demographics, funding, and geographic distribution. This powerful tool supports strategic decision-making for school estate planning and resource allocation.
School Level Profile Dashboard
Our School Level Profile dashboard provides a comprehensive view of individual schools, including pupil demographics, capacity analysis, historical trends, and financial data. This detailed profile supports targeted interventions and planning at the school level, complementing the broader Local Authority strategic planning.
Success Story
Sheffield City Council
Return on Investment
£1 of 1st Planner Fees Resulted in £59 of capital savings, equating to ROI of 5,948%
How We Helped
Sheffield City Council faced challenges with increasing pupil numbers and SEND requirements, while working with limited space and budget constraints. Our LA Optimise service provided a comprehensive analysis of their current estate and future needs.
We identified opportunities to repurpose underutilised spaces, developed accurate projections for SEND provision, and created a strategic plan for estate development that aligned with available funding sources.
Ready to Optimise Your Local Authority's Educational Estate?
Contact us today to discuss how our LA Optimise service can help you create high-quality school places while maximising your resources.