text: Soaring immigration means most parts of the country could have fewer available primary school places than pupils in just two years. Pressure on the education system has intensified following a baby boom and continued migration, forcing schools to boost class sizes and add classrooms. The Local Government Association warned they may not be able to create more places at the rate that is needed. Pressure on the education system has intensified following a baby boom and continued migration, forcing schools to boost class sizes and classrooms - but say they may not be able to continue doing so . Its analysis of official figures indicates that by September next year, two in five local authorities in England will have more children ready to start school than there are places. This will increase to more than half by 2017/18 and to three in five by the following year. It comes after the head of Ofsted Sir Michael Wilshaw warned last year that schools were struggling to cope with growing numbers of migrant pupils. ‘When they’re faced with an influx of children from other countries, they need the resources and capacity to deal with it and if those resources aren’t there, that’s a big issue for government,’ he said. In 2013, a leaked paper prepared by the Department for Education revealed a steady increase in the number of babies being born has helped fuel the crisis. The LGA said that councils have created more than 300,000 primary school places since May 2010, with many increasing class sizes. Money set aside for school repair programmes has been diverted into converting areas such as music rooms into classrooms. The Local Government Association warned they may not be able to create more places at the rate needed . But the association warned the situation is reaching a ‘tipping point’ and made a fresh call for an incoming government to hand councils enough cash and fresh powers to open new schools and establish more places. It comes as parents brace themselves for ‘primary school offers day’ later this month, when councils will tell families whether they secured their first choice of school. Last year, research based on an LGA report found an extra 130,000 primary places would be needed across the country within three years. Many parts of the country saw a rise in applications last year and up to four in ten children were denied admission to their chosen primary schools. David Simmonds, the chairman of the LGA’s children and young people board, said: ‘Mums and dads rightly expect their child to be able to get a school place where they live. ‘But our fear is that we will reach a tipping point when councils or schools cannot afford the massive cost of creating places or find the space necessary for new classes.’ Yesterday, Labour seized on the predictions to attack the Coalition’s free schools programme, claiming that it was creating extra places in areas where they were not needed. Labour’s education spokesman Tristram Hunt said: ‘David Cameron’s crisis in school places is yet more evidence the Tory plan is failing children and working families. ‘Make no mistake, his decision to plough hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money on free schools into areas where there are no shortages of school places comes at the expense of the families in the areas where there is a desperate need.’ According to the LGA, no areas currently have more pupils than places, as councils in oversubscribed parts of the country have managed to create enough slots. Of the more than half of areas expected to have more pupils than places by 2017/18, the worst hit will be in London and the South East. Unless action is taken, the LGA estimates that Harrow in North West London will have 122 pupils for every 100 places, while Newham in East London will have 120 and Reading will have 114. The worst-hit areas are those which tend to be popular with both young families and migrants. 'Human right': Play can help children develop socially . Children should be allowed to learn through playing in the classroom until they reach the age of seven, a union says. Many pupils are not ready to sit down to do formal reading, writing and maths when they start school, according to the National Union of Teachers. Instead the union is expected to call for ‘play in the curriculum’ throughout infant schools, at its annual conference this weekend. The union is also due to raise the issue of lunch and break times, which it believes are being used for ‘coaching and cramming’ too often. Members believe this deprives youngsters of their ‘fundamental human right to play’ and socialise with their classmates. Instead, schools should follow the lead of countries such as Finland and introduce 45-minute lessons immediately followed by 15-minute playtimes, the teachers said. A resolution due to be put forward at the conference tomorrow says: ‘Primary schools are now being driven more and more towards a test and accountability culture which in turn makes them drive children of primary age to be educated in a formal way.’ It goes on to suggest that learning through play is known to help youngsters develop vital communication and social skills and that ‘over-formalisation of learning can cause disaffection with school’. Speaking ahead of the conference, NUT general secretary Christine Blower said many children are not ready for the ‘formal, sitting down, “come on let’s do some work” stage’ before they are seven. ‘There is a question about whether we’re expecting children to do things they’re not developmentally ready for,’ she said. The resolution comes amid growing debate over what children should learn, with politicians and education experts increasingly calling for schools to instil and teach values and abilities such as character, teamwork and resilience alongside academic subjects.
target: Pressure on education intensified following baby boom and migration .
  Schools are being forced to boost class sizes and add classrooms .
  LGA warns they may not be able to create more places at the rate needed .
  By September next year two in five local authorities in England will have more children ready to start school than there are places .