£140M Earmarked for North East Schools
16 Schools will either be rebuilt or refurbished with Government money.
A further 16 schools across the North East will see their buildings rebuilt or refurbished under the Government’s flagship Priority School Building Programme (PSBP).
Improving the standard of school buildings so that pupils learn in high quality classrooms and teachers have access to the best facilities is a vital part of the Government’s long term plan for education and will help build a stronger economy and a fairer society.
Nick Clegg and Nicky Morgan confirmed today that around £2 billion will be invested in rebuilding or refurbishing buildings at 277 schools across England, under the second phase of the Government’s flagship Priority School Building Programme (PSBP). 260 schools are already benefiting under the first phase of the programme, including 31 across the North East, bringing the total number of schools to receive a revamp to 537 and 47 across the region.
Schools including Vane Road Primary School, Durham and Dinnington First School, Newcastle are among the additional schools announced today across the region that will benefit from the scheme.
Thanks to the PSPB, school buildings are being rebuilt faster and cheaper than those built under the previous school building initiative - Building Schools for the Future (BSF). Under the BSF it took three years for construction work to begin. This was slashed to one year for the PSBP, with projects costing around a third less.
As well as this continued investment to improve school buildings in the worst state though the PSBP, the Government has also published today details of how over £4 billion will be allocated between 2015 and 2018 to schools, local authorities, academy trusts, and voluntary-aided partnerships to help them improve the condition of schools across the country.
This three-year commitment will not only give those responsible for schools in the North East more certainty but - thanks to more accurate targeting - the funding is now being provided where it is needed most according to the size and condition of schools.
Announcing details of the major £6 billion funding investment today, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:
“It is crucial that we invest properly in education, so that every child has a fair start in life.
Thousands of pupils will benefit from better, brighter, warmer classrooms thanks to this funding. Children can’t learn and teachers can’t teach in schools that are cold and have leaking roofs.
To create a stronger economy we have to invest in a fairer society so that our young people can be successful in the future."
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said
“As part of our long term economic plan, we have continued to invest in school buildings which will ensure we can deliver even more great new schools, transform the learning environment for tens of thousands of pupils and their teachers whilst delivering value for money for the taxpayer.
We’re also making sure, for the first time, that every local area can benefit from more funding certainty, so that local councils, academy trusts and voluntary-aided partnerships can plan ahead and make the right investment decisions that will deliver the best possible value for their schools.
This announcement is a major step towards ensuring all children no matter what their background and no matter where they live have access to the best possible schools and learn in an environment that gives them the knowledge and skills to succeed in the global race.”
You can find out which schools are on the list here