Nottinghamshire County Council make call for new UK government to keep promise on rebuilding Nottinghamshire schools, including Toot Hill School in Bingham
The new government has been asked whether a big Nottinghamshire school rebuilding plan will still go ahead after power changed hands following the general election.
The Department of Education, under the previous Conservative administration, committed to building a 160-place Special Educational Needs school, as well as rebuilding ten existing schools in the county.
Nottinghamshire County Council has now written to Bridget Phillipson, the new Labour Secretary for Education, saying it needs to know whether these will still go ahead.
The government says schools must be fit for the future, and it will set out its spending plans soon.
A letter from council leader Ben Bradley and Sam Smith, the portfolio holder for Education, has been published this week..
They warn that there could be a shortage of school spaces without the work.
Mr Smith told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We have a statutory duty to ensure every child has a school place – these projects have been absorbed into our projections, and if they disappeared it would be very worrying.
“It could lead to some children not having access to school places.
“There’s also high demand for SEND [special educational needs and disability] places, and the Department of Education-funded school would be a vital part of meeting that.
“We are currently assessing sites we own, and once we have confirmation it is going ahead, we can proceed with feasibility studies.”
This would be separate to the council-funded 160-place SEND school approved in March, which is currently being built in Mansfield.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “High and rising school standards are at the heart of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. Ensuring schools have the resources they need is a key part of that.
“School buildings must be fit for the future, and we will set out further details on spending plans – including for capital programmes – in due course.”
The schools which are set to be rebuilt are:
• Toot Hill secondary school, Bingham (target finish date of September 2029)
• The Dukeries Academy, New Ollerton
• Broomhill Junior, Hucknall (target finish date of June 2025)
• Ashfield Academy (currently tendering)
• Outwood Academy in Kirkby
• All Saint’s Catholic Voluntary Academy, Mansfield
• Chilwell School, Beeston
• Meden School, Warsop
• The Garabaldi School, Forest Town
• The Holgate Academy, Huckanll
There are more than 500 schools earmarked for rebuilding nationally, with work started on around 50 each year.
The programme prioritises those most in need of repair or replacement, including those where crumbling RAAC concrete was discovered.
The county council says it is investing £40m into expanding secondary schools across Nottinghamshire and a further £38.5m on 95 school building improvement projects.