ASCL comment on funding for school buildings and places

Commenting on the government press release outlining funding for upgrading and refurbishing school and college buildings, and for more school places, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“While we are always pleased to see any investment in schools and colleges, this announcement comes against a background of inadequate funding that has literally left school buildings on the point of collapse.

“Between 2009 and 2022, Department for Education capital spending declined by 50% in real terms, according to a recent House of Commons report. The department’s own reports have identified the risk of ‘the collapse of one or more blocks in some schools’ and put the overall backlog of repairs in England’s schools at £11.4 billion.

“As such, we have to seriously question whether the funding in this latest announcement – which is the result of adding up various funding streams – is anything like enough to meet the needs of an education estate that has been shamefully neglected over the past decade.”