Spending Review: updates on the School Rebuilding Programme

As part of the Government’s Spending Review the Chancellor has set out government spending plans for the next three years, boosting the schools budget, extending the rebuilding programme and increasing Ofsted’s funding.

But the school funding increase will only amount to a roughly 1 per cent average real-terms increase to per-pupil funding each year and it also has to cover cash for SEND reforms, the free school meals expansion and next year’s pay award.

Core Schools Budget:

The core schools budget, which constitutes the largest portion of the Department for Education's day-to-day spending (about 70%), will see a £4.2 billion increase in cash terms over the next four years but when inflation is taken into account it amounts to around £2 billion in real terms over the Spending Review period.

Given the expected decreases in pupil numbers over this period, the real-terms freeze in the schools budget effectively means a 3% increase in spending per pupil.

School Rebuilding Programme:

The Government had already committed to ramping up the school rebuilding programme, and the Spending Review reaffirmed the Government's commitment to the School Rebuilding Programme with an annual investment of £2.4 billion.

When the Programme was announced in 2021, it was set out as a 10-year programme aiming to rebuild around 500 schools and the Government has announced that as part of its 10-year infrastructure strategy, it will commit to expand the programme, providing long-term certainty through to 2034-35, although it has not said how many schools will now be targeted.

Industry experts have described this as an important step,  given that the last Audit Commission report on the condition of school buildings found the condition of the overall school estate was declining, with about 700,000 pupils learning in a school that needed major rebuilding or refurbishment.

The Government have also confirmed that £370 million has been allocated across four years to deliver more school-based nurseries in spare primary classrooms and £132.5 million has been allocated to investment in school libraries and additional facilities to support disadvantaged young people to access music, sport, and drama.

School Maintenance:

Spending on school maintenance and repairs will also rise by around £400 million to around £2.3 billion a year by 2029-30;  however the Spending Review confirmed that this rise was only in line with inflation.

School leaders have criticised this announcement advising that as the annual maintenance budget will only be increasing in line with inflation, it is hard to see how the decline in the school estate will be reversed, with many feeling that the allocation is not nearly large enough to address the extent of dilapidation which exists across many state schools up and down the country.

However the overall increase in school capital spending does equate to a 7 per cent real-terms increase which has reversed the real-terms cuts which have arisen since 2015.

SEND:

The Spending Review documents show that the Government will spend £547 million in 2026-27 and £213 million in 2027-28 on reform of the SEND system, money which will come from a £3.25 billion transformation fund. The Government has said it will set out its approach to SEND reform in a white paper to be published  in the autumn.

Integrated settlements:

Following on from the Government’s recent devolution white paper, more mayors will receive funding through integrated settlements in 2026. These are budgets that combine funding sources from different government departments into one pot, giving mayors more freedom to fund priority projects.

The Government has announced the mayors of Greater Manchester and the West Midlands would be the first to get the integrated settlements for 2025-26 and the spending review confirmed that the Greater London Authority and mayoral strategic authorities in West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, North East and Liverpool City Region will also receive integrated settlements from 2026-27.

Summary and Conclusion:

Whilst as to be expected there is room for improvement on the amount of funding which has been made available for Schools to rebuild, maintain and improve their estates,  the Spending Review does provide reassurance that the Government is committed to providing funding to try and assist Schools and Academies with doing so.

It is clear from the Spending Review that money has been made available especially under the School Rebuilding Programme, and if you or anyone at your organisation needs guidance or assistance with any elements of the Programme then Forbes will be happy to assist.