Is the UK’s School Rebuilding Programme fit for purpose? Jackie Maginnis, chief executive of the Modular & Portable Building Association, scrutinises the detail and considers if the Labour government will do any better than the previous regime
The state of the nation’s schools has been under an intense spotlight after buildings across the country were forced to close due to the presence of dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). It has been a tough time for education estate managers but is it likely to get any better under the current administration?
There are a lot of big numbers being banded around and the crucial question is: can these rebuild projects be delivered efficiently and cost-effectively? To try to get to grips with the enormity of the task in hand, I thought it would be good to take a look back and see what has been achieved so far.
Announced in 2021, there are currently 518 projects in the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP), according to government figures. To be clear, this is not building new additional schools but refurbishing, extending and rebuilding existing estates.
To date, work on 23 of the most dilapidated and dangerous schools in the programme has been completed. Previously, the Department for Education (DfE) aimed for 83 contracts to be awarded by March 2023. But by June 2024 – according to a Freedom of Information request by the BBC – only 62 contracts had been issued.
The current government has committed an additional £1.4bn to make sure SRP can continue. A further £2.1bn is being allocated to maintain and improve school buildings, which is an increase of £300m compared with last year. Colleges will receive a further £300m to invest in further education estates.
The government claims this will result in 100 projects starting next year to keep the SRP on track and upgrade 518 schools in total. The previous administration aimed to deliver 50 rebuild projects per year but as we now know has delivered only 23 to date. The question has to be asked: will doubling the target actually have the desired outcome?
Frameworks are fundamental to successful delivery
In my opinion, construction frameworks have a major part to play in the delivery plan. According to the government website, and as many will be aware, the Department for Education Schools Offsite Framework (MMC1) expired in January 2024. In addition, the Construction Framework (CF21) is due to expire in November 2025.
There is a possibility that a collaborative framework based on the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) model could be reshaped to deliver the SRP, with the DfE reported to be working on a new contractor framework designed to speed up the delivery of projects.
The planned Alliance for Learning framework was being worked up to deliver the principles of the review by David Mosey, Constructing the Gold Standard, published in 2021. Information on the Alliance for Learning framework is sketchy, but the government is “confident” that the construction industry has the capacity to deliver these 100 projects next year.
Without doubt, this has to be good news but as we all know, between a myriad of commitments, aims and targets, there can be a great void in actual delivery.
Councils have warned deputy prime minister Angela Rayner that her housebuilding targets are “wholly unrealistic” and could be “impossible to achieve”.
In her spring statement, the chancellor rowed back on the 1.5m target, downgrading it to 1.3m after just nine months in office.
But is delivering 100 school rebuilding projects in a year an equally challenging task – not only for the DfE but also for the construction industry?
Making a case for offsite
Maximising the benefits of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and volumetric modular technology specifically, we have witnessed the successful completions of so many public sector projects, especially across healthcare estates.
Exploiting cutting-edge digital design and manufacturing technology, volumetric modular construction combines the ability to carry out on-site groundworks at the same time as manufacturing modules in quality-controlled factory environments. The efficiency benefits of this most advanced of offsite construction methods cannot be overlooked.
It is now well established that volumetric modular technology is a game-changer for the construction industry – reducing build times by an impressive 50%, according to data from members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
The MPBA and our members firmly believe that volumetric modular technology is fundamental to the successful delivery of the School Rebuilding Programme.
The benefits of volumetric manufactured buildings begin in the factory, continue to the construction site and will last through the lifetime of education buildings.
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