Net capacity assessment programme
Find out about the net capacity assessment (NCA) programme and when school site visits will take place.
Applies to England
Overview
From 2023 to 2025, the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) NCA programme will ensure accurate and up-to-date information on pupil capacity is available for every government-funded secondary school and special school in England.
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) will visit approximately 4,500 schools in England to collect data on pupil capacity.
The VOA will:
- measure rooms
- record room types
- use the NCA tool and methodology to calculate the number of children a school can accommodate, based on the size and use of spaces available
NCA reports will be shared with:
- schools
- local authorities
- dioceses
- multi-academy trusts
NCA programme guide
Further information can be found in the .
Benefits
The benefits of the NCA programme include:
- identifying spare capacity where demand for places is high
- providing a complete record of pupil capacity in special schools for the first time
- more effective use of space and curriculum planning
- independent verification of capacity for admissions and appeals
- providing more accurate information for responding to emergencies, such as school places for refugee children
Scheduled school site visits
Find out the dates of school site visits using the .
Assessment tool and area guidelines
DfE has also published:
Updates to this page
Published 9 June 2023Last updated 27 September 2024 + show all updates
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Updated 'tranche list' document.
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Updated 'tranche list' document.
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We have updated the programme guide and tranche list, and added a link to a tool to carry out net capacity assessment.
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First published.