analysis
£6.7 billion needed to return school buildings to ‘satisfactory’ condition
Pupil numbers are continuing to grow and the demand for places is shifting to secondary schools where places are more complex and costly to provide as they require specialised facilities, such as science laboratories. A new report from the National Audit Office looks at the challenges that lie ahead for the Department for Education.
at a cost of £7.5 billion, mostly in good or outstanding schools, enabling them to meet the growing demand for places. The Department has also improved how it estimates the need for school places, collecting more localised forecasts of pupil numbers, and allocates money more closely according to need. However, the NAO found indicators of
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pressure on school places in some local areas, with large amounts of spare capacity elsewhere. Nationally, in 2016, 10% of primary places and 16% of secondary places were unfilled. Some spare capacity is needed to allow parents to exercise choice – it does not mean, though, that all areas have enough places, and there is particular pressure in London and the South East.
Condition of buildings According to the NAO, the expected deterioration in the condition of the school estate is a significant risk to long- term value for money. Responsibility for maintaining the condition of school buildings is devolved to schools, multi- academy trusts and local authorities. The Department’s property data survey estimates it would cost £6.7 billion to return all school buildings to satisfactory or better condition, and a further £7.1 billion to bring parts of school buildings from satisfactory to good condition. The most common major defects are problems with electrics and external walls. While the Department cannot yet
assess reliably how the condition of the school estate is changing over time, it estimates that the cost of dealing with major defects in the estate will double between 2015-16 and 2020-21, even with current levels of funding, as many buildings near the end of their useful
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educationdab.co.uk
ETWEEN 2010 and 2015, the Department and local authorities created 599,000 new school places
lives. Much of the school estate is over 40 years-old, with 60% built before 1976.
Free schools Free schools were established to introduce innovation, offer parents more choice and help improve the quality of education through competition between schools. They are also playing an increasingly important role in addressing demographic need for new school places.
Key numbers
£4.5bn - Of capital funding for schools in 2015-16
599,000 - Net increase in the number of school places between 2010 and 2015
£6.7bn - Estimated cost of returning all school building to a satisfactory or better condition
420,000 - Number of new school places needed between 2016 and 2021
62m sqm - Estimated internal area of the school estate's 21,200 schools
60% - Estimated percentage of the school estate built before 1976
178 - Number of schools in poor condition that the DfE replaced by February 2017 under the Priority Schools Building Programme
883 - Number of free schools that the DfE expects to have opened by September 2020
270,000 - Estimated number of free school places that the DfE will fund between 2016 and 2021.
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