Last updated:
8th December 2025
Planning new school places
School Place Planning
The Wokingham Borough School Places Strategy 2025 to 2030 was approved by the Council’s Executive on 20 November2025.
The strategy assesses the sufficiency of education provision over this period; with options to address likely shortfalls.
Summarised by phase:
For child care and early years education the Council does not envisage a shortfall in provision that will require council action.
For the primary sector, the key focus must be on reducing the number of places available to reduce surplus provision. Otherwise in development areas where new schools may be desirable to look at creating solutions, including relocations of existing schools.
For the secondary sector, the Borough continues to see high demand for Year 7 places. However, as demand falls there will be a need to manage down capacity in partnership with schools and trusts to keep surplus capacity at circa 7%.
The post-16 focus is on 6th form provision. Although the rising demand seen in the secondary Year 7 rolls will in time reach the Borough’s sixth forms, the new Bohunt Wokingham School sixth form, and likely capacity in several of the borough’s schools sixth forms, show that there is no immediate need for more provision. However, it will be important to maintain sixth form capacity at the Emmbrook School by replacing their temporary 6th form provision with permanent capacity.
The Special Education Needs and Disabilities focus is on creating more capacity in the borough through a mix of new special schools and resourced provision in mainstream schools.
It is intended that the strategy will be reviewed annually.
Special Education Needs
Two new special schools to serve the borough are under development by the DfE (Department for Education.)
Resourced provision at Loddon and Radstock primary schools in Earley has been approved and opened this September. Read the June 2025 Special Education Needs and Disabilities Sufficiency Statement (PDF)
New nursery class at the Colleton Primary School
The Council proposes to establish a new nursery class for up to 56 children at the Colleton Primary School in Twyford in September 2025. This will replace the Little Acorns Pre-School that is currently based on the school site.
Full details of the proposal are set out in the Notices below:
- Statutory Proposal to lower the age range at the Colleton Primary School (PDF)
- The Colleton Primary School Statutory Notice (PDF)
These Notices are part of a statutory consultation process that the Council must follow before the proposal can be formally determined. They set out why the Council is making this proposal and how you can respond to the consultation, if you wish to do so. The consultation ran from 24 April 2025 to 22 May 2025.
On 29 May 2025 the Council's Executive agreed to the proposed new nursery for the Colleton School, offering 52 places from September 2025. The decision paper, including the reason for the decision can be read below:
