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‘£7bn ticking time bomb’ across English schools estate
THE mounting backlog of school repairs is “a £7bn ticking time bomb”, says one of England’s largest multi-academy trusts. Andy Simpson, National Director of
Services, Oasis Community Learning, a Multi-Academy Trust with 49 academies, told delegates at a Westminster Education Forum: “Everyone’s talking about new places in new buildings, but most of our children are in ageing buildings. This is a £7bn hole ticking time bomb, and I think the Department for Education knows the current level of capital investment is wholly insignificant and therefore the ticking time bomb exists across the entire estate. “Just in Oasis, in our near-50 schools,
we’ve got a £302m hole that has no solution. Some schools will close, and those places will not be places unless there is a Government solution.” Simpson’s warning was backed by
Wayne Bates, an official at NASUWT, the second-largest national teachers’ union. He commented: “In a recent survey we conducted, more than 58% of teachers said the overall physical condition of their school had declined since they started working there. Additionally, 71% said there were signs of leaks, damp or mould around the school and 55% said the same for their classroom. Nearly 60% said there was not an adequate number of
toilets for staff or pupils and 53% said that the toilets they had were not in good condition. And let us not forget that almost 20 years after all asbestos use was banned more than three-quarters of schools continue to contain asbestos fibres, with variable management of this killer material, and this was demonstrated in a 2016 Department for Education survey which found 20% of schools not fully compliant with asbestos regulations. “We as a union are very concerned that
the money isn’t there and the state of the current school estate is crumbling quite rapidly and that extra money needs to be put in as a matter of urgency.”
Council blasts Edinburgh schools group
EDINBURGH School Partnership, which operates 17 schools in Edinburgh, has been criticised by the city council for failing to carry out repair work it had promised to undertake. In February this year, a pupil was hit
by a tile that fell from the ceiling of Oxgangs Primary and the roof was damaged by wind in March. Although Edinburgh Schools
Partnership told the council the building had since been made safe, the council’s own survey discovered this was not correct. The council has itself been carrying out emergency repairs.
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educationdab.co.uk Edinburgh Council said: "Despite
confirmation from ESP that the issues identified had been made safe, the results of the proactive inspections by the council showed further issues that were not addressed." The council has commissioned ceiling
and roof checks to be carried out on the other 16 schools that are managed by ESP under a PPP1 contract. Edinburgh Council Chief Executive
Andrew Kerr said: “We have always stated that the health and safety of our pupils and staff is paramount which is why we are making sure these issues are
remedied immediately and as a precaution, we will be carrying out similar checks on the other 16 schools in the PPP1 project. "We are extremely concerned at these
latest construction defects at Oxgangs Primary School following the wall collapse two years ago and the Edinburgh Schools Partnership have to be held accountable.” An Edinburgh Schools Partnership
spokesman said: "We are currently reviewing all issues regarding ongoing work at Oxgangs Primary School. We will be releasing more information once this review has been completed."
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