Rebuild snub for over half of schools ‘at risk of closure’

More than half of schools nominated for rebuilds because they have blocks in such a state of disrepair they are deemed at “risk of imminent closure” missed out on cash under a flagship government scheme.

The names of the 239 schools to get new buildings were announced today under the 10-year School Rebuilding Programme (see full list of winners below).

This was the fourth lot of schools announced – meaning 400 of the 500 schools and sixth forms that will be rebuilt have been selected.

As part of the third and fourth selection round, academy trusts and councils were able to nominate their schools for the programme and submit evidence to back up their case.

This included nominating schools as “exceptional cases”, where “professional evidence” showed school “blocks had issues that: presented a risk of imminent closure … and could only be resolved through a rebuild”.

But of 623 schools put forward as ‘exceptional cases’, just 267 were selected for rebuilds in July and December this year. This equates to 43 per cent of buildings deemed to be in severe need of rebuilding.

‘Exceptional cases’ had either structural issues, asbestos or flood risks. But in a methodology document, the Department for Education (DfE) said the guidance was clear that it aimed to select “sizeable projects” to “to ensure the best investment for the limited number of places in the programme”.

Schools were also prioritised where issues were “verified” to be so severe there was “a significant risk to pupils and staff”.

School rebuilds will be net-zero

School buildings will be rebuilt to be net-zero in operation. Previously, 161 schools had successfully been accepted to the scheme since it launched last year.

The first 100 projects were selected by the government based on its condition data collection survey – schools did not need to bid to be considered.

But in February, academy trusts and councils were able to nominate schools for future rounds of the programme and submit evidence to back up their case.

Department for Education (DfE) data shows 1,105 schools were nominated by the end of March, more than double the number of rebuilds available.

After eight nominations were withdrawn, the department assessed 1,097 schools. It said prioritisation for this group would be “largely informed by consistent data” from its condition data collection (CDC) survey.

But responsible bodies were also able to submit exceptional cases with professional evidence of severe need not captured by CDC.

Academies benefit most from latest round of programme

An analysis of the latest schools to be accepted onto the programme shows that 150, or 63 per cent, are either standalone academies or part of an academy trust.

The DfE’s own data shows that in the 2021-22 academic year, 9,836 schools in England – or 45 per cent of all state-funded schools – were academies.

A further breakdown of the fourth set of schools shows that 113 are secondaries, 103 are primaries, 13 are special schools and one is alternative provision.

Six all-through schools, three sixth-form colleges and one middle school were also selected.

The East of England saw the fewest schools confirmed for the latest round of rebuilds – with just 15. Yorkshire saw the highest number of schools announced, at 39.

The south east had 34 schools selected, followed by the south west with 31, West Midlands with 29, London with 25, East Midlands with 24, north west with 22 and north east with 20.

List of latest schools announced for rebuilding programme