05.08.20
Education Secretary gives green light for £560m in school improvements
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has given the green light to £560m in school improvement investments today (Aug 5) with allocation to 580 building projects.
Sixth form colleges, academies and voluntary aided schools in England will benefit from new facilities and improved school buildings.
The money will enable repairs and upgrades to be carried out on school facilities, creating modern, fit-for-purpose spaces that meet the needs of pupils and staff, as well as increasing capacity.
It will also aim to make buildings more energy efficient, with boiler upgrades and more ‘green’ facilities.
The funding comes from the Prime Minister’s announcement last month highlighting investments in schools and job creation, with the majority to be completed by the end of this financial year.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:
"As we work towards all children returning to school in September, this investment in our school and college buildings helps create modern environments that lend themselves to great teaching, making sure every child has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
"We have worked at great speed to release this additional £560 million of condition funding to schools for projects this year to kick-start the economy and transform the buildings so vital for excellent teaching.
"We have now allocated over £2 billion this year to improve the condition of our school buildings, paving the way for our new transformative ten-year school building programme starting later this year with over £1 billion funding for the first wave of 50 schools."
£180m of the funding will be delivered to the 580 projects through the Department’s Condition Improvement Fund, selected based on bids earlier this year, and the remainder of the £560m will be given to local authorities, larger multi-academy trusts and large voluntary aided school bodies.
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