Recommendation 6

HM Government Accepted in Part

Recommendation: Partially accepted The most significant factor affecting the condition of school buildings is their maintenance history. The department is taking steps to address known issues in buildings using Intergrid or Laingspan construction or that have RAAC panels. It is not aware of any other historic construction materials or techniques that pose a high risk provided they have been well maintained. Responsible bodies are responsible for the maintenance of their buildings and ensuring they are safe to occupy and operate. The department agrees that regular surveys are essential for responsible bodies to identify changes in their buildings’ condition and plan effective maintenance. The School Estates Management Standards, published in 2025, set an expectation that responsible bodies will have up-to-date condition surveys for their buildings. The frequency for updating a condition survey will depend on a building’s characteristics such as age, condition and construction type. Responsible bodies should follow the recommendations of condition surveys including carrying out specialist structural surveys to investigate specific issues in their buildings. From autumn 2026, we will ask responsible bodies to make a light touch annual return via the new digital service Manage Your Education Estate to confirm they are meeting the School Estate Management Standards. For those who are not meeting the standards, we will put in place an estate management capability support plan – an informal agreement with the responsible body setting out actions and support to bring estate management up to the expected standard within 12 months. The department has published guidance for responsible bodies on the monitoring and maintenance of construction types commonly found in the post-World War II estate. This guidance will be updated by summer 2026 to include findings from the research project discussed in the following recommendation.