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Guidance

Net capacity assessment programme for primary schools

Find out about the net capacity assessment (NCA) programme, when school site visits will take place and how to read your NCA report.

Updates to this page

From:
Department for Education
Published:
9 June 2023
Last updated:
14 April 2026
Show all updates

  1. Updated 'tranche list' and 'special schools' documents.

  2. Updated with new information about Valuation Office school visits, a revised NCA programme guide and a new tranche list.

  3. Updated the tranche list of dates for school site visits.

  4. Updated 'Scheduled school site visits' section with the period when the Valuation Office Agency will conduct visits to school. Updated the tranche list and the NCA programme guide.

  5. Added information on the NCA programme for primary schools. Updated the tranche list, NCA programme guide and guidance for mainstream schools on how to read your NCA report.

  6. Updated the tranche list. Added 'How to read your net capacity assessment (NCA) report' guidance for mainstream and special schools respectively.

  7. Updated 'tranche list' document.

  8. Updated 'tranche list' document.

  9. Updated 'tranche list' document.

  10. We have updated the programme guide and tranche list, and added a link to a tool to carry out net capacity assessment.

  11. First published.

Applies to England

Overview

From September 2025, the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) NCA programme will ensure that accurate and up-to-date information on pupil capacity is available for government-funded primary schools in England.

The Valuation Office (VO) will visit primary schools to collect data on pupil capacity.

VO will:

  • measure rooms
  • record room types
  • use the NCA tool and methodology to calculate the number of pupils a school can accommodate, based on the size and use of the spaces available

NCA reports will be shared with:

  • schools
  • local authorities
  • dioceses
  • multi-academy trusts

Benefits

The benefits of the NCA programme include:

  • identification of spare capacity where demand for places is high
  • more effective use of space and curriculum planning
  • independent verification of capacity for admissions and appeals
  • accurate information to help respond to new policies and developments, such as breakfast clubs and additional childcare places

Guidance

Further guidance can be found in the NCA programme guide (PDF, 369 KB, 12 pages) and How to read your NCA report (mainstream schools) (PDF, 234 KB, 3 pages).

Scheduled school site visits

The VO are visiting primary schools in England between September 2025 and March 2029. Use the Tranche list: primary schools (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 1.7 MB) to find the approximate dates for visits. This shows:

  • the quarterly tranche dates between 2025 and 2029
  • a master list of every primary school, indicating the proposed tranche or year for the scheduled visit
  • schools visited in the first 2 tranches before April 2026
  • schools to be visited in each quarterly tranche for the coming year between April and March
  • schools to be visited in subsequent years

The lists can be filtered by local authority, academy trust and diocese. We will review the schedules in October and March each year and publish any changes.

The exact date of each school’s visit within a quarterly tranche will be agreed by VO and the school.

NCA tool and area guidelines

DfE has also published:

NCA programme for secondary schools and special schools

The primary school programme follows the successful 2023 to 2025 programme that ensured that accurate, up-to-date information on pupil capacity is available for government-funded mainstream secondary schools and special schools.

Guidance on how to read your NCA report for the secondary and special school phase is available for:

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