Schools and colleges get rebuilding cash boost, says Keegan
The Education Secretary said her department was also working to retain and recruit ‘brilliant teachers’.
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Your support makes all the difference.Some 239 schools and sixth form colleges have received funding to replace crumbling classrooms, dilapidated sports halls and dining rooms, the Government has said.
Those sites are in addition to 161 which were previously given the go-ahead by the Department for Education (DfE).
It means 400 out of a possible 500 projects have now been selected for overhauls, through the department’s school rebuilding programme.
The DfE plans to open up bidding to 100 other schools in due course.
There's 500 schools in total, 239 announced today - that takes the total to 400 - and there'll be another 100 to come, so if a school hasn't been successful, there's still a chance
Speaking during a visit to Coundon Court School in Coventry, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “We’ve looked at the condition of the school estate and had bids come forward.
“There are some schools that are 1950s or 1960s-style, they’re not particularly energy efficient either – which is why we had an announcement last week to have some short-term funding to help with the energy crisis, over the winter, to get some efficiency (measures) in.
“There’s much more modern methods of construction now, triple-glazing, heat pumps, they’re going to have solar panels in this school (in Coventry).
“A lot has changed in terms of modern methods of construction in the intervening period.”
All the latest rebuilds will be net-zero in operation.
Ms Keegan added: “There’s 500 schools in total, 239 announced today – that takes the total to 400 – and there’ll be another 100 to come, so if a school hasn’t been successful, there’s still a chance.”
We're doing a lot to invest in the continuing professional development for teachers as well. We have bursary programmes for new teachers, apprenticeships for teaching, so that you learn and earn at the same time. So we're looking to broaden the routes in (to teaching)
Coundon Court has been home to a high school since the 1950s, but before that the site was the family seat of George Singer, who patented the curved forks still in use on bicycles today.
School leaders successfully bid for an earlier tranche of rebuild money, and are part-way through replacing its worn-out concrete post-war classrooms with a modern campus-style layout for more than 2,000 pupils – which is due to be finished by 2027.
The Education Secretary also said funding for mainstream schools will increase by more than £2 billion in 2023/24, while there are other measures to retain and replace teachers, after Ofsted warned of the impact of staffing pressures in the sector.
It came after a recent annual report by the education watchdog warned that staff shortages are compounding issues in schools already grappling with the impact of the post-Covid era, an energy crisis and subsequent economic pressures.
The report stated that many of the problems identified in the sector were “either created or exacerbated” by workforce issues, and urged staffing to be addressed in order to ensure education and social care could be “resilient in the face of future challenges”.
Ms Keegan said: “We’re doing a lot to invest in the continuing professional development for teachers as well.
It's important we get the next brilliant teachers, inspiring the next generation
“We have bursary programmes for new teachers, apprenticeships for teaching, so that you learn and earn at the same time.
“So we’re looking to broaden the routes in (to teaching).
“But like everywhere, there is a skills shortage in lots of areas of the economy.
“That is an overhang from the pandemic.
“It’s important we get the next brilliant teachers, inspiring the next generation.”
On the issue of teachers’ pay – with industrial action gripping other sectors such as nursing, the Royal Mail, and the railways – the Education Secretary said the department is following the recommendation of the independent School Teachers’ Review Body.
“The board came back and said we should pay teachers more, so they recommended 5% for experienced teachers, 8.9% for new teachers, and we accepted that recommendation in full.
“That’s what has been put to the unions, the unions are putting that to their members and are balloting their members at the moment and we will find out more in January.”
Ofsted had also flagged staffing issues as feeding into continued pressure within the special educational needs and disabilities (Send) system.
Ms Keegan said the department is “in the throes of putting together an implementation plan to respond” to that issue early in the new year, adding “there is a lot more work to do”.
“We are investing in SENCo (special educational needs co-ordinator) teachers as well,” she added.
The Government has said it is continuing annual capital funding for schools in addition to the rebuilding project, to the tune of £1.8 billion this financial year.
This new funding will give a much-needed uplift to the resources they (schools) have available to target at the individual needs of their disadvantaged pupils
It has also set out funding allocations for councils next year, stating that school funding will be at its highest ever level in real terms per pupil, totalling £58.8 billion by 2024/25.
A 5% increase to pupil premium funding rates for 2023-24 – equivalent to £180 million – has been welcomed by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).
Pupil premium funding is targeted at poorer pupils and the Government said the rise will support schools to keep using “high-quality tutoring as a key means of targeted support for the children who need it most, and embed tutoring in schools long term”.
EEF chief executive Professor Becky Francis said: “This new funding will give a much-needed uplift to the resources they (schools) have available to target at the individual needs of their disadvantaged pupils.”
But she warned that “tackling education inequality is a long-term challenge that requires concerted and multi-faceted efforts”.