£38bn 10-year Education Estates Strategy
Education Estates Strategy – Investment designed to address poor-quality buildings, which have been found to affect attainment and engagement of pupils.
Pupils across England will learn in “safe, high-quality and inspiring school and college buildings”, according to the government’s Education Estates Strategy.
Under the strategy, the government plans to roll out £38 billion in investment from 2025/26 to 2029/30, with long-term funding confirmed through to 2034/35 for capital maintenance funding for schools and colleges and the School Rebuilding Programme.
This is to be delivered across three areas:
- Manage your estate: This will see schools undertake “effective and proactive estate management” through guidance tools and data.
- Improve and renew the estate: This is focused on maintenance, renewing and improving the condition of the bricks-and-mortar estate, including a £710 million retrofit programme. It will link with sustainability and clean energy goals, too.
- Build and rebuild the state: Where renewal is not possible, school and college buildings will be rebuilt and refurbished, while entirely new schools and colleges will also be built to help meet demand. The government also confirmed that all schools not being rebuilt will be Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC)-free by 2029
Education Estates Strategy plans for rebuilding
Gordon Parker, managing director at Coretex and associate lecturer at BNU, said: “Schools and colleges have been trapped in a cycle of ‘patch and mend’, with many built between 1941 and 1980 now in especially poor condition. The strategy concedes that ‘historical underinvestment’ and a lack of long-term certainty have created a rising maintenance backlog, compounded by climate risks: 32% of schools report overheating and 38% of secondary buildings face high flood risk.
“The promise of future capital – including £3.7bn for SEND and a new £710 million Renewal and Retrofit Programme – is welcome, but delivery will depend on whether funding reaches the most vulnerable estates. Condition alone does not always equate to risk, value, or best use of public money.”
Secretary of state for education, Bridget Philipson MP, said: “After years of underinvestment, too many children are learning in buildings that have already deteriorated, are in need of repair and at risk of overheating. At the same time, the availability of space and resources has not kept up with the need for specialist provision to support children with special educational needs
“We will continue to rebuild schools in the worst condition, but more needs to be done so our 22,000 schools and colleges are well managed, maintained, and where necessary renewed so they can last for decades, alongside rebuilding those in most need.”
