School buildings and capital funding (England)

Capital funding for schools, which is used for things like new buildings and upgrading existing buildings, declined over the 2010s and early 2020s. This has led to concerns that school buildings have not been adequately maintained. There are also specific concerns about reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

The government has increased capital spending for the 2025-26 financial year and it published an Education Estates Strategy in February 2026, which sets out its approach to managing the school estate for the next 10 years. Earlier work under the Conservative government included a School Rebuilding Programme, which continues and is open for applications until April 2026.

Changes in departmental capital spending since 2009-10

In financial year 2024-25 capital spending by the Department for Education (DfE) was around £5.6 billion in cash terms and £5.8 billion in real terms 2025-26 prices (after adjusting for inflation). This includes capital spending on schools as well as other establishments, such as early years and further education providers.

Overall, between 2009-10 and 2024-25, DfE capital spending declined by 24% in cash terms and 48% in real terms.

Planned capital spending for 2025-26 is around £6.8 billion, which is a 17% real-terms increase compared to 2024-25.

School Rebuilding Programme

On 29 June 2020 the Conservative government announced what the Education Secretary described in the House as “a 10-year, multi-wave rebuilding programme for schools,” to replace “poor-condition and ageing school buildings, with modern, energy-efficient designs.”

The first 100 projects for the School Rebuilding Programme were announced in two stages in February 2021 and July 2021. A consultation followed on prioritising schools for further phases of the programme. The government published its response in February 2022.

The programme has since been expanded to a current total of 519 projects.

The programme is open for new applications until midday on Thursday 23 April 2026.

Education Estates Strategy

In February 2026, the Labour government published its Education Estates Strategy: a decade of national renewal, which sets out its strategy for managing the estate over the coming decade.

“Significant risk” from condition of school buildings

The DfE’s annual report for the financial year 2021-22, published in December 2022, said that the condition of school buildings, particularly those built between 1945 and 1970, was one of six “significant risks” the department was managing.

The department’s most recent annual report, for 2024-25, said one of its key risks was that structural safety issues could cause building failure or building element failure in the publicly funded estate.

National Audit Office reports

The National Audit Office (NAO) published a report on the Condition of School Buildings in June 2023.

The report said that “following years of underinvestment, the estate’s overall condition is declining and around 700,000 pupils are learning in a school that the responsible body or DfE believes needs major rebuilding or refurbishment”.

The NAO said that the rate of school rebuilding is significantly below what the DfE estimated was required to maintain the school estate, and that there was also an unknown number of schools that may need rebuilding due to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

In January 2025, as part of a wider report on Maintaining public service facilities, the NAO identified a £13.8 billion maintenance backlog in English schools, as of October 2024.

Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC)

There have been serious concerns about the use of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in school construction. RAAC is a lightweight, ‘bubbly’ form of concrete commonly used in construction between the 1950s and mid-1990s.

It has been identified as a risk because it is more susceptible to moisture damage than conventional concrete, which can cause RAAC panels to fail suddenly when they otherwise appeared to be in good condition. It has been reported that RAAC has a safe lifespan of around 30 years.

In August 2023, it was announced that several schools had been told they may need to shut buildings following the discovery of RAAC; some schools had already been closed or relocated because of RAAC.

In February 2024, the government confirmed its plans to permanently remove RAAC from all affected schools and colleges in England.

At 22 October 2024, 237 schools and colleges had confirmed RAAC.

The government has committed that by 2029, every school and college in England that is not being fully or substantially rebuilt will be free of RAAC.