Prime Highlight

• Medway Council approved a £25.5m programmeto expand 14 schools, creating 1,435 new places by 2030.
• The expansion will also boost SEND provision, reducing the need for children to travel outside their local areas.

Key Facts

• An additional £4.8m funding for 2025/26has been awarded to strengthen the programme further.
• Projects include expanding New Road Primary in Chathamand relocating the Marlborough Centre for autism to Twydall Primary School.

Background

Several schools across Kent are set to expand after Medway Council approved plans to meet rising demand for places. The government will use the leverage of £25.5m to fund 14 projects over two years, which will result in 1,435 new school places by 2030.

Education portfolio holder Tracy Coombs said the funding would help ensure “quality education in local schools” while also reducing the need for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to travel outside their areas.

One major change involves land at Cornwallis Avenue, Gillingham. The site had been split between Inspire Academy, which will now offer SEND places, and a planned graveyard expansion. A council report suggested that changing burial practices means the land would be better used for education, and councillors have backed the proposal.

The government has also awarded an additional £4.8m for 2025/26, further strengthening the expansion programme.

Some of these projects involve the transfer of the Marlborough Centre of autism spectrum disorder in Hoo St Werburgh Primary to an empty building in Twydall Primary School. Demand is also expected to rise in years four to six in Gillingham, despite spare capacity in early year groups.

To address this, the council plans to expand New Road Primary School in Chatham from 1.5 to two forms of entry, adding one more class per year, at an estimated cost of £2.5m. A similar proposal could see Greenvale Primary School double its capacity, but the £4m needed has not yet been secured.