The backlog of repairs needed by English schools would require 8.5bn to fix, according to recent internal civil service estimates.
The dire condition of large parts of the 110bn school estate has become a source of panic, according to officials at the Department for Education, which accepted a 60 per cent cut to its capital budget. It has only 16bn to last the rest of the parliament.
Officials estimate that half of Englands schools were constructed between the second world war and the mid-1970s. Many of these schools are asbestos-riddled, flat-roofed and a long way beyond their intended lifespans.
These repair cost estimates do not account for new problems caused by the expectation many schools until recently held of being refurbished as part of Building Schools for the Future (BSF), Labours 55bn secondary school rebuilding plan.
The scheme was shut down last July by Michael Gove, education secretary, who cancelled 735 scheduled BSF projects. But those schools which were expecting to be rebuilt under BSF now need extra repairs
Meanwhile, repair costs are growing. The price of building materials has risen by 9.5 per cent since the start of the year.
Many schools built between the end of the second world war and the 1970s were of a CLASP system build type, in which, asbestos was used extensively, particularly for column fire protection. Due to wear and tear these schools are now in a potentially dangerous state and the HSE recommended that the gaps between the floors and walls should be sealed with silicone sealer to prevent the accidental escape of asbestos fibres into the classrooms.
With many schools now opting for Academy status, the headmasters of these schools will now become the sole duty holder for the asbestos in their schools, but how many will understand their responsibilities?
AMS run both asbestos awareness and duty to manage asbestos courses at their training centres in Cramlington and Wigan. If you are the duty holder responsible for managing the asbestos in your school or building, call us to book a half day course that will give you a definitive path to compliancy with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.