A 50% decline in spending on school buildings over the last decade has left many of them unfit for the future, seven education unions have warned.
Seven unions have written an open letter to the secretary of state for education highlighting what they describe as the ‘shocking state’ of school buildings.
Research by the House of Commons Library calculates that between 2009-10 and 2021-22, overall capital spending on school buildings declined by around 37% in cash terms and 50% in real terms.
The unions – Community, GMB, NAHT, NASUWT, NEU, UNISON and Unite – warned that the failure to invest in the maintenance and renewal of the school estate meant that some schools were at risk of collapse.
In last year’s annual report, the Department for Education (DfE) also warned there was ‘a risk of collapse’ of one or more blocks in some schools that were built in the years 1945 to 1970.
The unions accused the DfE of not knowing which school buildings are at risk of collapse.
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said: ‘It is disgraceful that over the last decade of austerity our school buildings have been allowed to deteriorate to the extent that some are at risk of collapse, and the Government does not even know which buildings fall into this category.
‘In one of the most advanced economies in the world it is shocking the many children, young people and school staff work and learn in an environment that is dangerously unsafe.’
A Department for Education spokesperson said: ‘If the department is made aware of a building that poses an imminent risk of collapsing, immediate action is taken to ensure safety and remediate the situation. At present, the Department is not aware of any school building that remains open in this state and would expect responsible bodies to immediately approach us if this were the case.
‘We have allocated £13bn of capital funding since 2015, including £1.8bn in 2022-23, for essential maintenance and improvements. On top of this, we recently announced a further 239 schools who will benefit as part of our School Rebuilding Programme, which is transforming 500 schools across the country over the next decade.’
