Tens of thousands of new school places are to be created to cope with England’s population boom.
Ministers have set aside £680million to fund 40,000 places in primary and secondary schools across the country by 2021.
They are needed in part because of a baby boom fuelled by high migration under the Labour government.
Earlier this year, the Government said an extra 600,000 secondary school places would be needed in England by 2023, plus almost 80,000 new primary places.
That means the extra money announced last night will only begin to fund the shortfall.
There will also be fears that hundreds of schools will be blighted by temporary classrooms until permanent ones can be built.
Ministers said £50million of the funding will go on places for children with special educational needs.
Children’s minister Nadhim Zahawi said: ‘All parents want to send their child to a good local school, one that meets their individual needs and supports them to achieve their full potential, regardless of the challenges they may face.
‘This funding will help to create thousands more school places across the country, with a clear focus on transforming the experience of education for children with special educational needs or disabilities.’
The places shortage has led to many pupils being taught in classes of more than 30, and has made it more difficult for parents to get their children into their first choice of school.
The funding comes after a Government projection found that, over the next five years, the number of secondary pupils will rise by more than 600,000.