Publication - Advice and guidance

Determining primary school capacity: guidance for local authorities

Published: 24 October 2014
Directorate: Learning Directorate
Part of: Education
ISBN: 9781784128623

Guidance on the determination of the capacity of primary schools, with the aim of providing a consistent approach to calculating the capacity.

Supporting documents

3. Worked Examples

Example 1:

In this example there are 10 class bases to be included in the Capacity calculation.
The area of each room is divided by 1.7m ² to determine the maximum number of pupils which can be accommodated in the room based on size.
A realistic class distribution is then applied and the Planning Capacity determined by applying class size maxima.

To calculate Working Capacity for a specific school session, the assigned class distribution for that session is applied.
Working Capacity is then calculated by applying class size maxima.

				Planning Capacity		Working Capacity
Teaching Space	Type of Space	Area (m ²)	Divided by 1.7m ²	Realistic Class Distribution	Planning Capacity	Actual Class Distribution	Working Capacity
1	Class Base	55	32	Composite	25	P1	25
2	Class Base	55	32	Composite	25	P1/2	25
3	Class Base	55	32	Composite	25	P2	30
4	Class Base	55	32	P1	25	P3	30
5	Class Base	55	32	P2	30	P3/4	25
6	Class Base	60	33	P3	30	P4	33
7	Class Base	60	35	P4	33	P5	33
8	Class Base	60	35	P5	33	P5/6	25
9	Class Base	60	35	P6	33	P6	33
10	Class Base	60	35	P7	33	P7	33
11	GP Area	50	-	-	-	-	-
12	GP Area	50	-	-	-	-	-
				Total:	292		292

Example 2:

In this example there are 5 class bases to be included in the Capacity calculation.

The area of each room is divided by 1.7m ² to determine the maximum number of pupils which can be accommodated in the room based on size. A realistic class distribution is then applied and the Planning Capacity determined by applying class size maxima.

To calculate Working Capacity for a specific school session, the assigned class distribution for that session is applied. Working Capacity is then calculated by applying class size maxima.

*In this case, the Working Capacity of one of the rooms has been adjusted to allow for a full class to be accommodated. The metric has not fallen below 1.5m ² per pupil.

				Planning Capacity		Working Capacity
Teaching Space	Type of Space	Area (m ²)	Divided by 1.7m ²	Realistic Class Distribution	Planning Capacity	Actual Class Distribution	Working Capacity	Working Capacity (Adjusted)
1	Class Base	50	29	Composite	25	P1	25	25
2	Class Base	50	29	Composite	25	P2	29	30*
3	Class Base	50	29	Composite	25	P3/4	25	25
4	Class Base	50	29	Composite	25	P4/5/6	25	25
5	Class Base	50	29	Composite	25	P6/7	25	25
6	GP Area	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
				Total	125		129	130

Example 3:

In this example there are 16 class bases to be included in the Capacity calculation.

To calculate Working Capacity for a specific school session, the assigned class distribution for that session is applied. In this case, a Local Authority policy on P1 intake levels has been applied, showing a maximum of 15 pupils per P1 class.

				Planning Capacity		Working Capacity
Teaching Space	Type of Space	Area (m ²)	Divided by 1.7m ²	Realistic Class Distribution	Planning Capacity	Actual Class Distribution	Working Capacity
1	Class Base	55	32	Composite	25	P1	15
2	Class Base	55	32	Composite	25	P1	15
3	Class Base	55	32	P1	25	P1	15
4	Class Base	55	32	P1	25	P1	15
5	Class Base	55	32	P2	30	P2	30
6	Class Base	55	32	P2	30	P2	30
7	Class Base	55	32	P3	30	P3	30
8	Class Base	55	32	P3	30	P3	30
9	Class Base	60	35	P4	33	P4	33
10	Class Base	60	35	P4	33	P4	33
11	Class Base	60	35	P5	33	P5	33
12	Class Base	60	35	P5	33	P5	33
13	Class Base	60	35	P6	33	P6	33
14	Class Base	60	35	P6	33	P6	33
15	Class Base	60	35	P7	33	P7	33
16	Class Base	60	35	P7	33	P7	33
17	GP Area	-	-	-	-	-	-
18	GP Area	-	-	-	-	-	-
				Total	484		444

Example 4:

In this example there are 13 class bases to be included in the Capacity calculation.

To calculate Working Capacity for a specific school session, the assigned class distribution for that session is applied. This example shows how this could differ from year to year. Working Capacity is then calculated by applying class size maxima.

				Planning Capacity		Working Capacity
Teaching Space	Type of Space	Area (m ²)	Divided by 1.7m ²	Realistic Class Distribution	Planning Capacity	Actual Class Distribution (Year 1)	Working Capacity (Year 1)	Actual Class Distribution (Year 2)	Working Capacity (Year 2)
1	Class Base	60	35	P1	25	P1	25	P1	25
2	Class Base	60	35	P2	30	P1	25	P1	25
3	Class Base	60	35	P3	30	P1/2	25	P2	30
4	Class Base	60	35	P4	33	P2	30	P2	30
5	Class Base	60	35	P5	33	P2/3	25	P3	30
6	Class Base	60	35	P6	33	P3	30	P3	30
7	Class Base	60	35	P7	33	P3/4	25	P4	33
8	Class Base	60	35	Composite	25	P4	33	P4	33
9	Class Base	60	35	Composite	25	P4/5	25	P5	33
10	Class Base	60	35	Composite	25	P5	33	P5/6	25
11	Class Base	60	35	Composite	25	P6	33	P6	33
12	Class Base	60	35	Composite	25	P6/7	25	P6/7	25
13	Class Base	60	35	Composite	25	P7	33	P7	33
14	GP Area	-	-	-	-	-	-
15	GP Area	-	-	-	-	-	-
				Total	367		367		385

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3. Worked Examples

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