Photo: Kate with the Head Teacher of Oldfields Hall Middle School (November 2022)
- The 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 Government’s Condition Improvement Fund.
Kate Kniveton MP has welcomed over £450 million in extra funding from the Government to upgrade school buildings across the country, including projects at Picknalls First School; Thomas Alleyne's High School; Outwoods Primary School and Oldfields Hall Middle School in Burton and Uttoxeter.
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 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, Kate Kniveton MP said:
“All children must have a safe, warm and energy-efficient school with high-quality facilities to study effectively and succeed.
“I am delighted to hear that Picknalls First School; Thomas Alleyne's High School; Oldfields Hall Middle School; Outwoods Primary School in our constituency will receive funding as part of this week’s announcement from the Government of £456 million to improve school buildings.
“Today’s funding will deliver over 1,000 building improvement projects across 859 academies, sixth-form colleges and voluntary aided schools as part of the £1.8 billion investment in the school estate in 2023-4.
“From visiting our local schools, I know what an incredible job our schools and local teachers do to help ensure pupils have the skills they need for the future, but we must also continue to invest in the buildings themselves.
“I am pleased that local schools have been successful in today’s funding and what it means for the high-quality education facilities that we have here in Burton and Uttoxeter.”
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.”
