Schools across England are set
for a transformative ten-year rebuilding programme under radical
plans to be set out by the Prime Minister tomorrow [Monday
29 June].
Representing the first major
rebuilding programme to be launched since 2014, schools will
benefit from substantial additional investment. Schools and
colleges will also receive funding this year to refurbish
buildings in order to continue raising standards across the
country.
The rebuilding programme will
start in 2020-21 with the first 50 projects, supported by over £1
billion in funding. Further details of the new, multi-wave
ten-year construction programme will be set out at the next
Spending Review.
Investment will be targeted at
school buildings in the worst condition across England –
including substantial investment in the North and the Midlands –
as part of the Prime Minister’s plan to level up opportunity for
all.
Prime Minister
said:
“All children deserve the best
possible start in life – regardless of their background or where
they live.
“As we bounce back from the
pandemic, it’s important we lay the foundations for a country
where everyone has the opportunity to succeed, with our younger
generations front and centre of this mission.
“This major new investment will
make sure our schools and colleges are fit for the future, with
better facilities and brand new buildings so that every child
gets a world-class education.”
He will commit:
- Over £1bn to fund the first 50 projects of a new, ten-year
school rebuilding programme, starting from 2020-21. These
projects will be confirmed in the autumn, and construction on the
first sites will begin from September 2021.
- £560m and £200m for repairs and upgrades to schools and FE
colleges respectively this year.
Rebuilding projects will be
greener, helping meet the government’s net zero target, and will
focus on modern construction methods to create highly skilled
jobs and boost the construction sector.
Investment in schools will be
prioritised on the basis of buildings’ condition and further
details of the programme, including the approach to eligibility
will be confirmed following the Spending Review.
The £560m for school repairs
and upgrades comes on top of over £1.4bn in school condition
funding already committed in 2020-21.
The £200m for FE colleges this
year brings forward plans announced by the Chancellor at Spring
Budget this year for £1.5bn of investment over five years to
transform the FE college estate.
This fast tracked activity will
further support the government’s wider plans to protect jobs and
incomes and drive forward the country’s economic recovery from
the pandemic.
Later this year government will
launch a competition for further funding to ensure that all of
England is covered by Institutes of Technology, making sure
everyone has the chance to gain higher technical skills and
helping unlock growth across the country.
Earlier this month, the
Education Secretary announced a £1bn Covid catch-up plan to
tackle the impact of lost teaching time.
This included new measures to
help primary and secondary pupils catch up, including £650m for
state schools to lift educational outcomes and a £350m tutoring
scheme specifically for the most disadvantaged
This one-off grant to support
pupils in state education during the 2020/21 academic year
recognises that these young people have lost time in education as
a result of the pandemic, regardless of their income or
background.
In his first months in office,
the Prime Minister announced an extra £14.4 billion in funding
for schools over three years. That translates to £135 million a
week and means that every secondary school will receive at least
£5,000 a year for each pupil, and primaries at least £4,000 a
year.
ENDS
Notes to
editors
- In delivering the ten-year rebuilding programme, the
Department for Education will ensure value for money by
continuing its focus on innovative, modern methods of
construction to deliver school building more efficiently.
- The National Audit Office found in 2017 that whole school
building projects under the Priority School Building Programme,
which launched in 2011, were around a third cheaper per m2 than
under the earlier Building Schools for the Future programme.
- By bringing together Further Education and Higher Education
providers with employers, Institutes of Technology can deliver
the technical knowledge combined with the practical workplace
skills that employers are demanding, unlocking the potential of
our home-grown talent and ensuring they are equipped with the
skills of tomorrow.
- This year’s competition will provide additional funding of
£120m to ensure all of England is covered by IoTs.
