Source · National Audit Office

Condition of school buildings

Published: 28 Jun 2023 Recommendations: 7 Type: Value for Money NAO confirmed: 6 Department: Department for Education

Following years of underinvestment, the overall condition of school buildings is declining. Around 700,000 pupils attend a school that needs major rebuilding or refurbishment.

Dept: Department for Education Topics: Education, training and skillsPeople and operationsProperty and estatesSchools nao.org.uk →

Recommendations

7 items

6 accepted 1 partially accepted 6 implemented 1 in progress

Rec	Recommendation	Addressee	Acceptance	Implementation
1	b) identify a set of high-level measures that would allow it to summarise and externally report on how well it is delivering its overarching principle to rebuild schools in the worst condition while allocating enough funding to allow responsible bodies to maintain the rest of the school estate; Ref Page 11, 20 b · Implemented 02/2026	Department for Education	Partially accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
2	a) determine by when, and through what means, it plans to have fully dealt with RAAC as a safety issue across the school estate so that it is no longer a critical risk Ref Page 11, 19 a · Implemented 02/2024	Department for Education	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
3	c) reconsider the appropriateness of its assumptions on the balance between rebuilding and maintenance, given the declining condition of the estate and the funding it has available; Ref Page 11, 20 c · Implemented 02/2026	Department for Education	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
4	g) ensure that schools and responsible bodies, particularly those who must apply for specific maintenance and repair funding and have poor condition or potentially unsafe buildings, are aware of the funding, guidance and support available, so they use it when needed. Ref Page 11, 20 g · Implemented 03/2026	Department for Education	Accepted	Implemented
5	d) assess whether its current plan to carry out 200 invasive structural assessments on system-built blocks remains the best approach to provide an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the nature and the scale of the risks associated with the blocks, and therefore how best to mitigate these risks across the estate; Ref Page 11, 20 d · Implemented 08/2025	Department for Education	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
6	e) use new data, including the results of its second data collection programme when available, to assess whether its current formula for allocating funding for maintenance and repair is sufficiently aligned with need; Ref Page 11, 20 e · Implemented 12/2026	Department for Education	Accepted	In progress ✓ NAO
7	f) formally assess the appropriateness of the threshold which determines whether responsible bodies receive maintenance and repair funding directly or through applying for specific projects; Ref Page 11, 20 f · Implemented 02/2026	Department for Education	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO

Public Accounts Committee follow-up

1 report

The Public Accounts Committee examined this NAO report and published its own recommendations. The government responds to PAC recommendations via Treasury Minutes.

19 Nov 2023 Public Accounts C… Second Report - The condition of school buildings — 16 recommendations · parliament.uk