It was encouraging to hear that Esher Church of England High School is one of 31 schools across Surrey which will receive funding from the government this year to improve their school buildings.
The school will receive two funding allocations from the Department for Education’s Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) – one for replacement windows, and one for a roof replacement. Well-maintained facilities are crucial for a high-quality education, so this is good news for the school and its pupils.
In total, in 2020/21 the CIF is providing over £434m for nearly 1,500 projects across 1,243 academies, sixth form colleges and voluntary aided schools in England.
This is just one part of the government’s ambitious plans for England’s schools. Last month, the Prime Minister announced a transformative, ten-year school rebuilding programme, which will begin with over £1 billion for the first 50 projects in 2020/21.
This is in addition to the £14bn boost to school budgets between 2019/20 and 2022/23, and the government’s guarantee that, this year, all primary schools are receiving a minimum of £3,750 per pupil and all secondary schools a minimum of £5,000 per pupil.
As we move towards pupils of all age groups returning to schools in September, these measures will help to ensure that they receive the excellent education they deserve.