Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire, Ranil Jayawardena, has welcomed the announcement that Robert May’s School in North East Hampshire will benefit from funding to improve school facilities.
North East Hampshire has been allocated a share of the £434 million investment to expand classrooms, upgrade facilities and improve the education of children across the whole country.
This funding will ensure schools have well-maintained facilities to provide students with safe environments that support a high-quality education. It is part of the £1.4 billion of capital funding for 2020-21 announced in April and is provided through the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).
On top of this, the Prime Minister has also announced a new transformative 10-year school rebuilding programme. This will be kick-started with over £1 billion for the first 50 projects in 2020-21. As we bounce back from the pandemic, it’s important we lay the foundations for a country where everyone has the opportunity to succeed, with our younger generations front and centre of this mission.
This major new investment will ensure our schools and colleges can focus on teaching, with brand new buildings and better facilities so that every child gets the world-class education all our children deserve.
Schools across the country have played their part in responding to coronavirus, ensuring their doors remained open for the children of essential workers – who have kept the NHS, public services and economy going throughout this crisis.
The £1 billion package is on top of the £14 billion three-year funding settlement announced last year - recognising the additional work schools will need to do to help students to catch up.
Commenting, Ranil Jayawardena MP said:
“Our local teachers have done a fantastic job teaching as many children as possible remotely and there have been some great resources online to help parents too. Yet we’ve all faced challenges from this pandemic, not least our children, who have been kept from their friends, their teachers and their schools.
“Many pupils are now back to school, so it’s right that we now support pupils to ‘catch up’ – and support our schools to ‘bounce back’ and ‘level up’ their facilities too.
“I’m delighted to see this funding commitment to improve facilities here in Hampshire, which builds on the £1 billion recently committed to help children ‘catch-up’ on learning, and will make sure our children have the very best possible schools and highest-quality education that they deserve; supporting them to gain all the knowledge and skills they need for future success.”
Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson said:
“My number-one focus will always be to make sure every student has access to excellent education and training.
“Replacing and upgrading poor condition school and college buildings with modern, energy efficient designs will give our students and teachers the environment they deserve, and support them to maximise their potential.
“As we look forward to this September and all children returning to school, we can be assured that for years to come this country’s education system will drive opportunity and prosperity for all.”