£500m for energy efficiency upgrades in schools and colleges, and an extra £2bn for schools next year to be split between mainstream schools and high needs
Schools and colleges in England will be allocated a share of £500 million to spend on energy efficiency upgrades, helping save on bills during winter and manage energy consumption.
This will help them save money and make them more energy efficient during the cold period and increase winter resilience for future years.
Estimations show that, on average, a primary school will receive approximately £16,000, a secondary school will get £42,000, and a further education college group will benefit from £290,000. Improvements could include installing better heating controls, insulation to reduce heat loss from pipes or switching to energy efficient lighting.
This builds on the Government’s Energy Relief Scheme, which supports schools and colleges this winter and will run until the spring.
On top of this, as announced in the Autumn Statement, the Government is investing an extra £2 billion in funding for schools next year and the year after. This is the highest real terms investment in our schools in history.
This £2 billion new money will be allocated between mainstream schools and high-needs funding. Local councils will get an extra £400 million for high-needs budgets to help support children with special educational needs or disabilities. Academies-maintained mainstream and special schools will all be guaranteed a funding boost, which will arrive in April next year.
This means the average funding per pupil for mainstream schools will increase by approximately five percent in the next financial year compared to 2022-23.
A typical primary school with 200 pupils will get approximately £28,000, and secondary schools with around 900 pupils will receive approximately £170,000. In total, schools will be receiving £58.8 billion in 2024-25 – meaning in real terms, we are putting more into schools than ever before.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:
Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine is driving up energy prices worldwide, so it is important to look at the things we can do to make classrooms more energy efficient and resilient to price fluctuations.
We’re putting this cash in the hands of school and college leaders quickly, so they can decide what work is needed and so that our brilliant teachers can focus on teaching in a warm and safe environment.
Education is rightly a top priority for this Government and we will continue to strive to provide every child with a world-class education.
New guidance has also been published today (Tuesday, 6 December) to support schools to maximise energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and improve sustainability and resilience this winter and beyond.
This funding comes on top of £1.8 billion of capital funding already committed this year for improving the condition of school buildings. The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme also invests over £1.4 billion in public sector buildings, including schools, over the next three years.
