Prime Minister Boris Johnson sets out a transformative 10-year rebuilding programme for schools across England.
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 £1bn in funding. Further details of the new, multi-wave 10-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 Boris Johnson 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.”
Boris will commit:
- Over £1bn to fund the first 50 projects of a new, 10-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 £14.4bn in funding for schools over three years. That translates to £135m 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.
Education funding “essential for social infrastructure”
Steve Beechey, Group Strategy Director and Education Lead at Wates, commented: “We very much welcome the announcement from the Prime Minister regarding the new 10-year school rebuilding programme which will see more than £1bn in funding pumped into the sector.
“It is this scale of commitment and focus on the next generation that will make a huge impact in boosting the economy post COVID, and enable us to deliver much needed investment into local communities across the UK.
“Long-term planning is exactly what is needed to upgrade our schools estate and this decade-long initiative will deliver valuable jobs, educational facilities and community hubs in the areas that need it most.
“We also welcome the Government’s commitment to greener, more sustainable buildings delivered using Modern Methods of Construction such as offsite manufacturing, which we provide from our award-winning purpose built facility in the Midlands.
“To echo Mr Johnson’s words, access to the best possible education is essential to our social infrastructure, in order for young people to grow, thrive and make their own positive impact on the world.”
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