As many as six in 10 schools in parts of England have buildings in urgent need of repair or replacement. Nationally, there were 7,158 state-funded schools that had at least one building with materials that were past their lifespan or at “serious risk of imminent failure”, according to a survey.
That was 32.5% of more than 22,000 surveyed across England, which means around one in three had one or more buildings with components in a bad state of disrepair. The figure for all schools is as of January 2019, around the time the survey took place.
But in the London borough of Bromley, 61 (59.2%) of its 103 schools had at least one building given the worst rating – the highest percentage of 152 areas across the country. That was followed by Kensington and Chelsea (57.5%), Brighton and Hove (53.5%) and Wakefield (53.1%).
The poor conditions were revealed via a survey that saw building surveyors and engineers inspect state-funded schools between 2017 and 2019. Each school building component, such as a roof, window or wall, was given a grade from A meaning “good” to D, or “life expired and/or serious risk of imminent failure”.
Materials with the worst grade were classified as requiring immediate remedial action or replacement. The results are the most recent assessment available of the state of England’s schools. The Government is in the process of repeating the survey but has not released any of its findings so far.
Every council area except the Isles of Scilly and the City of London – the two smallest local authorities – had at least one school with a seriously faulty building part. And in 138 (90.8%) of the council areas, at least one in five schools had one or more buildings with components in the poorest condition.
The Liberal Democrat’s education spokesperson Munira Wilson, who obtained the figures through a parliamentary question, said that parents deserve to know the schools they send their children to are safe but that “crumbling buildings” are putting them at risk. She added: “Conservative ministers are too busy propping up Boris Johnson instead of dealing with pressing issues like repairing our schools.
“They are ignoring warnings from their own officials that some school buildings are unsafe, let alone fit for purpose. The Government must explain how they will ensure every one of these schools is repaired as soon as possible. Education is an investment in our children’s future, paying for itself in the long-run many times over. It is time for the Prime Minister to step up and give our schools the funding they so desperately need.”
The figures come after the Observer reported on leaked emails sent from the DfE to Downing Street in which officials ask for more money to repair school buildings and described some structures as posing a “risk to life”.
A DfE spokesperson said: “The safety of pupils and staff is paramount. We have one of the largest and most comprehensive condition data collection programmes in Europe, and this helps us to assess and manage risk across the estate.
“Buildings where there is a risk to health and safety will always be prioritised and we have allocated over £13 billion since 2015 to improve the condition of school buildings and facilities, including £1.8 billion this financial year. In addition, our new School Rebuilding Programme will transform the learning environment at 500 schools over the next decade, prioritising schools in poor condition or with potential safety issues.”
Number and proportion of state-funded schools with at least one building component rated “Life expired and/or serious risk of imminent failure”, according to a survey carried out between 2017 and 2019 - top 10 areas by proportion:
Council area // Schools with at least one building component graded D (2017-2019) // State-funded schools (Jan 2019) // Percentage of schools with at least one building component graded D
Bromley // 61 // 103 // 59.2%
Kensington and Chelsea // 23 // 40 // 57.5%
Brighton and Hove // 38 // 71 // 53.5%
Wakefield // 76 // 143 // 53.1%
Wandsworth // 44 // 85 // 51.8%
Newcastle upon Tyne // 51 // 100 // 51.0%
Merton // 29 // 57 // 50.9%
Redcar and Cleveland // 30 // 59 // 50.8%
Brent // 43 // 85 // 50.6%
Lewisham // 43 // 85 // 50.6%
Gateshead // 43 // 85 // 50.6%
