- The Conservative Government is investing over £450 million in extra funding to improve school buildings, with over 1,000 projects receiving new investment to deliver safe, well-maintained facilities that support a high-quality education for pupils.
- 859 academies, sixth form colleges and voluntary aided schools are set to benefit from the latest round of funding from the Conservative Government’s Condition Improvement Fund.
- By making sure pupils have access to the facilities they need to succeed, the Conservative Government is helping to grow the economy as it delivers on the Prime Minister’s five priorities to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists, and stop the boats.
Bim Afolami MP has welcomed over £450 million in extra funding from the Conservative Government to upgrade school buildings across the country, including projects at Roundwood Park School and Beech Hyde Primary School in Hitchin, Harpenden and the villages.
859 academies, sixth-form colleges and voluntary aided schools will receive a share of £456 million from the Condition Improvement Fund, with over 1,000 projects selected.
This new investment will upgrade and improve school and college facilities, providing pupils with safer and warmer classrooms, and more energy efficient school buildings.
The Conservative Government announced £1.8 billion of capital funding for the financial year 2023-24 to improve the condition of school buildings – including £1.1 billion for local authorities, large multi-academy trusts and voluntary aided bodies.
The announcement follows on from the 239 new school buildings confirmed in December as part of the Schools Rebuilding Programme, with 400 out of 500 schools and sixth form colleges now selected for rebuilds through the ten-year programme.
Commenting, Bim Afolami MP said:
“We have a world-leading education system but we must continue to invest in safe, warm and energy efficient classrooms so pupils have the facilities they need to study effectively and succeed.
“That is why I welcome the news that the Conservative Government is investing an additional £456 million into our school buildings across the country, delivering over 1,000 building improvement projects, including at Roundwood Park School and Beech Hyde Primary School in Hitchin, Harpenden and the villages.
“Every school should have access to high-quality facilities and our investment will deliver this so pupil can develop the skills they need for their careers as we grow the economy.”
Commenting, Minister for the School System, Baroness Diana Barran MBE said:
“Our Condition Improvement Fund has already completed over ten thousand projects, making a difference to pupils and teachers across the country. These projects help to create safer learning environments that make a difference to the quality of education for pupils.
“It’s hugely important that every school has access to high-quality learning facilities and these funding allocations will make sure that responsible bodies can start to plan ahead and get projects started to replace roofs, boilers and windows – so pupils and teachers can learn and work in a comfortable space.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The Conservative Government is investing in schools and colleges by:
- Investing £450 million to improve school buildings, making sure pupils have the facilities they need to learn the skills they need for the future as we grow the economy. By investing an additional £456 million into our school buildings we are delivering over 1,000 building improvement projects across 859 academies, sixth-form colleges and voluntary aided schools as part of our £1.8 billion investment in the school estate in 2023–4 (DfE, Press Release, 22 May 2023, link).
- Providing £2 billion extra school funding this year and next, helping schools and colleges with the highest spending on schools in history. 2024-25 will be the highest spending year in history for schools – the total the schools budget will be £58.8 billion in 2024-25, with the Conservative Government putting more into schools than ever before (DfE, Press Release, 26 April 2023, link; DfE, Press Release, 6 December 2022, link).
- Delivering almost £490 million in extra funding to boost skills training and upgrade colleges and universities across the country. £432 million will fund state of the art university and college facilities at 100 provider and £57 million will support 20 specialist higher education providers to deliver a wider range of high quality specialist courses (DfE, Press Release, 8 December 2022, link).
- Providing £500 million for energy efficiency upgrades for schools and colleges, helping them to save on their bills. On average, a primary school will receive approximately £16,000, a secondary school will receive around £42,000, and further education college groups will receive approximately £290,000 (DfE, Press Release, 6 December 2022, link).
- Investing £350 million to renovate further education colleges across the UK. We brought forward £200 million of the £1.5 billion it to transform colleges over five years, renovating 180 providers. In fast-tracking this initial investment, colleges could start immediate work to repair and refurbish buildings. Applications have now opened for £150 million in extra grant funding for T Level providers (DfE, News Story, 19 August 2020, link; DfE, Guidance, 22 November 2022, link).
- Investing £3.8 billion in skills training, equipping people with the skills needed to grow our economy. We are expanding T Levels, funding more traineeships, building Institutes of Technology, upgrading our colleges estate, quadrupling places on our skills bootcamps, and spending record sums on apprenticeships (Prime Minister’s Office, Queen’s Speech 2021: background briefing notes, 11 May 2021, link).
