Decision details

The Department for Education allocates funding each year to help maintain and improve the condition of school buildings and grounds which continue to operate as maintained establishments.

Investment should be prioritised on keeping school buildings safe and in good working order by tackling poor building condition, building compliance, energy efficiency, and health and safety issues. Throughout the year planned works will be required to schools. The below schools have been identified as needing planned works;
- Temple Meadow Primary School (ref SCA/2023/009) structural enabling works to gable brickwork
- Park Hill Primary School (ref SCA/2023/010) - air monitoring during asbestos removal
- Wood Green Junior School (ref SCA/2023/011) – roofing works
- Rood End Primary School (ref SCA/2023/012) – chimney refurb works
- Holy Trinity CE Primary School (ref SCA/2023/013) – window replacement
- Brickhouse Primary School (ref SCA/2023/014) - roof repairs
- Grace Mary Primary School (ref SCA/2023/015) - roof repairs
- Moorlands Primary School (ref SCA/2023/016) - window replacement
- St James C of E Primary School (ref SCA/2023/017) - tarmac resurfacing to playground
- Lyng Primary School (ref SCA/2023/018) - window replacement
- Pennyhill Primary School (ref SCA/2023/019) - window replacement
- Pennyhill Primary School (ref SCA/2023/020) - perimeter fence and wall renewal
- Reddal Hill Primary School (ref SCA/2023/021) - install dry ridge system to roof
- Rowley Hall Primary School (ref SCA/2023/022) - lay new path inc drainage channel
- Rowley Hall Primary School (ref SCA/2023/023) - rebuild flank wall inc rainwater outlets and roofing works
- Causeway Green Primary School (ref SCA/2023/024) - upgrade soakaway to incorporate new drainage run

In addition, following capital appraisal of the mini-programme of works in July 2023 for job references SCA/2023/001-008, Strategic Investment specified a further programme contingency equating to £22,342.61 should be allocated from the School Condition grant, which is included in Appendix 1 as approval ref. SCA/2023/025.

A similar contingency of 10% (£35,438.08) has been included as approval ref. SCA/2023026 for this mini-programme, approval refs. SCA/2023/009-024.

All unspent contingency will be reinvested to the carry forward balance for the retained School Condition grant allocation.

In managing the School Repair Account, officers within Building Services meet on a termly basis with representatives from those schools that have bought back into the Account for compliance monitoring, reactive/ planned maintenance and repairs. The meetings are held to review works completed to date, and any critical issues that will require immediate attention over the short to medium term (i.e. up to 5 years).

Any maintained school that has chosen not to purchase a full service from the School Repair Account do however continue to be considered for support from the School Condition grant funding allocation to ensure council assets are appropriately maintained.

(1) That approval be given to:
i) proceed with the mini-programme of works as listed in Appendix 1 (Approval References SCA/2023/009-026); and
ii) allocate £412,161.47 from School Condition grant funding to enable the works listed in Appendix 1 to proceed.

(2) Require in connection with (1), that the following actions are implemented to reduce any risk to the council in connection with School Condition; ensure that repair / maintenance work for schools is undertaken following an analysis of pre-determined criteria and that records are maintained to demonstrate the priority need of each school.
• Ensure that a corporate Risk Register is maintained and reviewed for to ensure all risks are appropriately identified and assessed, with adequate mitigation;
• That cost estimates are reviewed to ensure that any future costs can be managed within the allocated funding.

This report seeks approval to allocate School Condition grant funding for cyclical maintenance to support maintained schools.

In conjunction with Building Services and Strategic Assets and Land Engineering team, the schools listed in the mini-programme have been identified as requiring maintenance and repair.

There are either no alternative options for schemes identified, or options have already been discounted through project development:

The terms of the School Condition Allocation mean funds must be spent on maintained school’s cyclical maintenance.

Within the maintained schools sector, it is the primary school building stock that will also require a programme of replacement to commence shortly. The deteriorating condition of school buildings will otherwise continue to be a drain on the School Repair Account.