Calls for funding for North Tyneside schools with structural issues continue post-budget
The search for extra cash for North Tyneside schools afflicted with weak and brittle concrete continues, following Labour’s first budget in 14 years.
Yesterday, the country’s first female chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves announced the government’s budget, including £6.7bn for education in England, representing a 19% real terms rise for next year—£ 1.4bn which includes the school rebuilding programme.
However, North Tyneside Council is still in talks with the Department for Education in an attempt to secure additional funds for schools affected by non-RAAC-related structural problems.
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In December last year, a minor ceiling collapse in Fordley Primary School sparked inspections across other schools in North Tyneside. The inspections found similar structural issues in Grasmere Academy, Churchill Community College, and Hazelwood Primary.
The inspections identified a weak and brittle concrete mix within parts of the schools, alongside a now-disused construction method. Following closures, partial closures, and periods of remote learning, the authority purchased a number of temporary classroom units for Churchill, Fordley, and Hazlewood and all pupils have returned to face-to-face learning.
Council Bids for funds have not included Grasmere Academy as it is not a council-maintained school.
Jon Ritchie, director of resources at North Tyneside Council, said: “Our conversations with the Department for Education regarding funding for these schools are ongoing, and we continue to lobby for both long and short-term support for these schools.
“Prior to the Budget, the position from the Department for Education had not changed and we have not received any funding or funding commitments, but we remain clear that structural issues of this scale and nature are beyond the remit of the Council and the existing funding we receive.
“The announcement in the budget about additional funding for the schools estate is good for the education sector as a whole. At the current time, details of which local authorities will receive funding has not been released so we cannot comment further.”
Calls for extra cash for the schools stretch back months, including questions around additional funding raised in parliament by Mary Glindon MP in May of this year.