Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson says ‘walls and ceilings made from dangerous concrete held up by steel props, shabby classrooms that tell children they simply don’t matter’
I have always said that my job is the best job in government. I get to shape young lives; give our young people the better futures they deserve.
And as Education Secretary I believe that background shouldn’t mean destiny. What you go on to achieve shouldn’t come down to your postcode, or your parents’ income. Opportunity should be for every child, in every school, in every part of the country.
But walk into too many schools today and you’ll see opportunity literally crumbling. Walls and ceilings made from dangerous concrete held up by steel props, shabby classrooms that tell children they simply don’t matter. This is the Tories’ legacy in education.
Fixing it will be Labour’s. That’s why, today, I’m setting out exactly how we make it right.
By the end of this Parliament, every single school and college in England that isn’t being fully or substantially rebuilt will be RAAC-free. And for those schools needing to be rebuilt, every project will be in some phase of delivery.
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It means every child learning in safety, every classroom fit for purpose, every child shown that they matter. We’re already getting on with the job, removing RAAC from 62 schools to give more than 42,000 children safe classrooms without dangerous concrete overhead. For those needing more extensive rebuilding works, more than half are already underway.
We’re fulfilling Labour’s ambition for our children. Because this isn’t just about bricks and mortar. It’s about children’s life chances.
Research suggests children learning in poor condition buildings have lower attainment. And crumbling schools don’t just harm attainment, because when a child walks into a crumbling classroom, they learn something before the lesson even starts.
They learn that adults don’t value them enough to keep them safe, that their education isn’t a priority. That they’re not worth the investment. And for too many children – those already facing disadvantage, those with SEND, those written off by a system that should champion them – it is vital that they feel like school is a place for them.
Following years of underinvestment, our £38 billion capital investment in education – the highest annual levels since 2010 – is crucial in telling children they matter, that their education matters and our country is invested in their futures.
Earlier this year we announced a 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy giving certainty schools have never had before. Cash for school maintenance will rise to nearly £3 billion annually through to 2034-35.
That’s on top of rebuilding 250 additional schools beyond the 500 already in our programme. These new buildings will be fit for the future – net zero carbon in operation, future proofed against the risks of climate change and with more access to nature.
Because you can’t give children a first-rate education in second-rate buildings. You can’t give them opportunity when the walls around them are crumbling. You can’t tell them there’s no ceiling on their ambition when the ceiling is literally falling in.
Our children are the engineers, the artists, the doctors of the future. The tech entrepreneurs, carers, and teachers of tomorrow. And they deserve schools that match our ambitions for them – schools returned to pride of place in our country as anchors in our communities.
Every child walking into school should see possibility, not peeling paint. That’s our plan for national renewal in action – a government that values them enough to give them classrooms they can be proud of.