The condition of school buildings

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 24 May 2023 Closed: 8 Mar 2024 Parliament page
In March 2022 the Public Accounts Committee reported on the risks to schools’ financial sustainability , including wide variations in the condition of individual schools and their funding. The school estate in England comprises some 22,000 schools, with the majority overseen by the responsible body in control of the school, … Read more
5 Recommendations
37 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
2 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 5 events
8 Mar
2024
Report published
26 Feb
2024
Correspondence
19 Nov
2023
Report published
19 Sep
2023
Correspondence
13 Jul
2023
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
13 Jul 2023
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The condition of school buildings
Jane Balderstone · Department for Education Jane Cunliffe · Department for Education Susan Acland-Hood · The Department for Education
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Second Report - The condition of school buildings HC 78 19 Nov 2023 42 Response document linked
Recommendations & Conclusions
42 results
2 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Clarify DfE's school estate safety risk appetite and publish its RAAC eradication plan.
DfE’s risk appetite regarding the school estate, and how this aligns with its recent approach on RAAC, appears unclear. Since summer 2021, DfE has recognised a significant safety risk across the school estate. In spring 2023, it continued to assess … Read more
HM Treasury
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3 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Re-examine DfE's funding process for temporary RAAC mitigation, ensuring accessibility and value for money.
Schools are uncertain about the support they can access to mitigate RAAC-related issues, and how they will be reimbursed financially. The temporary classrooms that DfE is providing will generally be for those schools that were known to be affected by … Read more
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4 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Require DfE to provide a detailed assessment of the RAAC problem, plan, and associated costs.
There remains a lack of transparency for schools, parents and communities on where RAAC exists and how long it will take to be fixed. DfE was unable to provide answers to important questions such as how many specialist surveys to … Read more
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5 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Require DfE to demonstrate a full picture of asbestos and adequate management plans in all schools.
DfE has incomplete knowledge of the prevalence of asbestos across the school estate. In May 2022, DfE agreed with our recommendation that it should urgently chase the 7% of schools that had not responded to the asbestos management survey it … Read more
HM Treasury
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6 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Develop a support package and good practice guidance for schools in poor condition.
Unacceptable numbers of pupils are learning in poorly maintained or potentially unsafe buildings. The quality of school buildings has an impact on pupils’ learning experience, and ultimately on attainment levels and teacher retention. An estimated 700,000 pupils attend the 1,200 … Read more
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7 Recommendation
Second Report - The condition of s…
Establish a strategy for timely school repairs and reconsider fire safety value for money analysis.
DfE has focused on reactive measures addressing immediate building concerns that often fail to take account of longer-term value for money considerations. DfE has committed to providing funding for all schools that face critical and immediate safety risks but are … Read more
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8 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Require DfE to provide assurance on School Rebuilding Programme timetable, costs, and scenario planning.
The School Rebuilding Programme is behind its initial schedule for getting contracts in place and schools built. DfE announced the School Rebuilding Programme in June 2020. By March 2023, it had delivered one project compared with a forecast four, and … Read more
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9 Recommendation
Second Report - The condition of s…
Review DfE guidance, support, and funding to improve school building condition and estate management.
There is considerable variation across the school estate, including regional disparity in the condition of school buildings and differences in school types and governance models, which will influence the type of support DfE needs to provide. The map of school … Read more
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10 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Consider supporting local authorities to ensure high-quality places when reducing local school provision.
It is unclear whether decisions concerned with addressing the condition of the estate are coordinated with those relating to the need for school places. Historically, there have been instances of school closures just before another demographic wave of children that … Read more
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1 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
DfE significantly changed safety guidance for RAAC-affected schools in August 2023.
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we first took evidence from the Department for Education (DfE) about the condition of school buildings in England in July 2023.1 On 31 August 2023, DfE significantly changed … Read more
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11 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Schools awaiting specialist surveys for suspected RAAC face prolonged uncertainty regarding building safety.
The schools that have recently responded to DfE’s questionnaire saying they believe RAAC is present in their buildings are likely to be waiting a number of weeks for this to be confirmed by a specialist survey.19 DfE’s guidance for these … Read more
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12 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
DfE lacks proactive funding commitments or eradication targets for RAAC in schools.
DHSC is providing £685 million of funding, to the end of 2025, to mitigate RAAC in hospitals. It has also committed to eradicating RAAC across the NHS estate by 2035.21 DfE has not proactively set out funding commitments or eradication … Read more
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13 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
DfE unable to report total number of temporary RAAC classrooms supplied to schools
We asked DfE about the temporary classrooms it was providing for schools unable to use some of their space because of RAAC. It told us that it had three central contracts in place to supply temporary classrooms, but in general … Read more
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14 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
DfE's central temporary classroom contracts proving ineffective for some responsible bodies
DfE explained that it hoped to use the central contracts to enable speedier delivery of temporary classrooms to all RAAC-affected schools who needed them, and to pay for them centrally—including for specialist equipment within the classroom where 17 September 2023 … Read more
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15 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
DfE outlining reimbursement process for schools' RAAC-related costs and surveys
DfE told us that, where a school hires portable classrooms, this counts as revenue expenditure. In this case, DfE checks that the expenditure is reasonable and the school does not have high levels of reserves from which it should be … Read more
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16 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Caseworker support for RAAC-affected schools facing operational effectiveness issues
DfE told us that it assigned a caseworker to each school affected by RAAC. Schools can liaise with their caseworker about buildings, finances or educational matters.28 However, we challenged DfE with evidence that the system was not working perfectly. For … Read more
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17 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
DfE lacks specific figures on RAAC impact, hindering timely public transparency
We asked DfE some questions intended to shed light on the latest position with RAAC at the time of our evidence session on 11 September, such as the number of pupils who were unable to start the school year as … Read more
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18 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Number of RAAC-affected educational settings continues to increase across the estate
On 19 September, the Secretary of State issued an updated statement on RAAC. It detailed that: DfE had received questionnaire responses in relation to 98.6% of schools with blocks built in the target era; every school that was awaiting a … Read more
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19 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
DfE expects RAAC issues to resolve within weeks, with variable timeframes for complex cases
We asked DfE about when all RAAC-related issues on the school estate might be resolved, given that members of the government had talked in early September about the timeframe being a matter of weeks. DfE expressed confidence that it would … Read more
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20 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
DfE previously agreed to urgently chase non-responsive schools on asbestos survey
In March 2022, we noted that we had previously found DfE did not have a complete picture of asbestos in school buildings, or enough information to ensure that the risks were being properly managed. We concluded that DfE appeared unconcerned … Read more
HM Treasury
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21 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
DfE remains unsighted on asbestos status in 4.4% of schools nationwide
DfE told us that its second Condition Data Collection programme (CDC2), which had covered around 40% of schools so far, allowed it to prioritise schools that had not responded to the asbestos survey. As a result, DfE remained unsighted on … Read more
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22 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Asbestos risk higher in schools due to shared occupancy; oversight concerns raised
In its written submission, NAHT (the school leadership union) emphasised that shared occupancy of school buildings by adults and young people can lead to a higher risk of asbestos disturbance than in other workplaces, and that even normal school activities … Read more
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23 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
DfE policy for asbestos management in schools risks hidden dangers during RAAC works
DfE confirmed that its policy is not to remove all asbestos in the school estate, as this would be expensive and dangerous. However, we raised with DfE a case where a school thought it knew where it had asbestos, but … Read more
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24 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Teacher deaths from asbestos-related mesothelioma are rising, linked to historic exposure levels
We asked about the information DfE holds on the number of teaching staff who have died from asbestos-related conditions. DfE explained that the Health and Safety Executive reviews death certificates to produce data on the last known profession of people … Read more
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25 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Poor school building conditions severely undermine pupil attainment and teacher retention
DfE believes that poor quality school buildings have a negative impact in important ways, including by reducing pupil attainment levels and teacher retention. Stakeholders across the sector also emphasise how buildings being too hot or cold, insufficient ventilation, and disruption … Read more
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26 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
700,000 pupils learning in schools requiring major rebuilding, but only 500 will be addressed
Around 700,000 pupils are learning in a school which the responsible body or DfE believes requires major rebuilding or refurbishment, given safety issues or poor general building condition (which might mean problems with a combination of items, such as roofs, … Read more
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27 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Nearly 6,000 temporary and mobile blocks included in the school estate building count
We asked DfE whether the 64,000 buildings on the school estate include temporary buildings, Portakabins and similar blocks. It replied that the first Condition Data Collection programme (CDC1), from which the total number of buildings was derived, did include such … Read more
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28 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Significant number of school building components in unsatisfactory condition (grades C and D)
DfE told us that its CDC1 programme involved giving a ‘grade’ to every building component within each school. There were four available grades, from A to D, with grades C and D denoting a less than satisfactory condition. DfE explained … Read more
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29 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
DfE prioritises immediate action and funding for urgent school building safety issues
DfE told us that its overarching principle is to act immediately if a building-related issue is putting pupils or teachers in danger but the school is unable to manage the issue itself. The issue might relate to asbestos, or more … Read more
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30 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
HM Treasury funds significantly fewer school rebuilds than DfE recommended annually
In its Spending Review 2020 case, DfE recommended capital funding for the major rebuilding and refurbishment of around 200 schools each year. HM Treasury subsequently agreed to fund a 10-year programme to rebuild 50 schools per year, at an average … Read more
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31 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Funding constraints prevent rebuilding non-hazardous schools, despite better long-term value for money
We asked DfE about longer-term risks to value for money. It described a set of schools that pose no safety risks and can be maintained to a reasonable condition. However, when considering the work needed to keep these schools in … Read more
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32 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
New and refurbished schools continue to lack sprinkler systems despite safety expectations
In written evidence, the London Fire Brigade expressed concern that many schools are continuing to be built, or are undergoing major refurbishment, without automatic fire suppression systems (such as sprinklers), contrary to the ‘expectation’ set out in Building Bulletin 100: … Read more
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33 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
School Rebuilding Programme severely behind schedule on contracts awarded and projects completed.
DfE announced the School Rebuilding Programme in June 2020. As at March 2023, it had awarded 24 contracts, well below its August 2021 forecast of 83, with one project completed compared with its forecast of four. In addition, DfE was … Read more
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34 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Inflationary pressures significantly delayed School Rebuilding Programme contract agreements and project delivery.
DfE told us that in its building programmes, and particularly the School Rebuilding Programme, it had taken longer to agree contracts because of inflationary pressures in the building industry.54 DfE explained that it had responded by amending its funding policies, … Read more
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35 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
External factors like inflation and supply chain issues significantly complicate project cost and timelines.
We have previously examined how external factors, such as inflation and higher price levels, can affect the cost schedule of projects and also the timeframes involved. We have seen how inflation can be largely driven by supply chain issues, meaning … Read more
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36 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Significant geographical disparities persist in school building conditions across England, impacting deprived areas.
We asked DfE about the geographical divide in the condition of schools which manifests itself in two main ways: schools in the north of England appear to generally be in worse condition than those in the south; and schools in … Read more
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37 Recommendation
Second Report - The condition of s…
Many high-need schools failed to apply for rebuilding funds due to capacity or awareness issues.
DfE analysed the 1,000 schools with the highest level of need in terms of the condition of their buildings, and found that in 345 cases the responsible body did not make an application for the School Rebuilding Programme. In 2021, … Read more
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38 Recommendation
Second Report - The condition of s…
Direct funding for multi-academy trusts to dioceses could improve strategic estate management.
In its written submission, the Catholic Education Service argued that multi-academy trust funding for school buildings should be given directly to dioceses, to replicate the economies of scale and scope for longer-term strategic interventions that have been achieved with voluntary-aided … Read more
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39 Recommendation
Second Report - The condition of s…
Smaller local authorities currently lack specific DfE capital support for school estate management.
We noted that there is a diminishing number of schools under local authority control, and that, given their number of schools, 10 local authorities would not reach the threshold to receive maintenance and repair funding directly if they were a … Read more
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40 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
Decisions on school closures and building conditions lack sufficient coordination across authorities.
We expressed concern about whether decisions relating to falling school rolls and improving the condition of schools are sufficiently joined-up across different local authorities and trusts. Historically, there have been school closures due to falling rolls, followed soon after by … Read more
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41 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
DfE regional directors currently play limited role in local school closure decisions.
For maintained schools, the lead decision-maker about educational provision and the upkeep of buildings is the local authority, which retains responsibility for sufficiency of school places. DfE told us that its regional directors do not typically play a strong role … Read more
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42 Conclusion
Second Report - The condition of s…
DfE considers future pupil numbers when selecting schools for rebuilding programmes.
DfE reassured us that, when selecting schools for the School Rebuilding Programme, it considers the likely future pattern of pupil numbers, to avoid prioritising schools that are struggling to attract pupils and therefore do not warrant a full rebuild.65 It … Read more
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Correspondence 2 letters
26 Feb 2024 Correspondence from Susan Acland-Hood, Permanent Secretary, Department for Education, re The condition of school buildings, dated 16 February 2024
Parliament page
19 Sep 2023 Correspondence from Susan Acland-Hood, Permanent Secretary, Department for Education, re Condition of School Buildings, dated 7 September 2023
Parliament page