Strategy to manage crumbling schools’ estate unsustainable, auditor finds

The condition of Northern Ireland’s schools’ estate is deteriorating and the current strategy for managing it is unsustainable, an Audit Office report has warned.

The report said a new approach is required from Stormont’s Department of Education to make better use of limited funding for maintenance and capital investment.

Comptroller and Auditor General Dorinnia Carville’s said her findings suggested the department “does not have a full understanding” of the true condition of the schools’ estate.

There are more than 1,100 schools in Northern Ireland – with a total estimated capital value of £4.6billion.

In 2023-24, the department recorded a total capital expenditure of £276.4million across the estate, and a spend of £28.4million on maintenance.

The report concludes that the department is currently focused on keeping schools open and safe.

It said: “In practice, this means that funds are being directed at replacing and repairing critical estate issues, in lieu of a strategy based upon comprehensive data on the estate’s overall condition, suitability and maintenance needs.”

The report said the department estimates at current prices it will need 30 years and £3.2billion to complete its current list of approved capital projects, with the current maintenance backlog estimated at around £450million.

It states: “A continued reliance on a short-term, reactive approach will see the schools’ estate continuing to deteriorate, leading to more reactive, and expensive, repairs and replacement works in the future.

“This may, in turn, impact negatively on value for money, delivery of education, and, ultimately, educational outcomes.

“The department fully recognises that decisions being taken to manage expenditure are having a significant impact on pupils and schools and that the current approach is unsustainable.”

The report said an additional challenge facing the education system will be ensuring that the schools’ estate supports a target to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

It said current progress towards that target has been slow.

The report said: “No schools in Northern Ireland have been built or refurbished to a net zero standard, and it is estimated that retrofitting the schools’ estate will cost upwards of £2 billion.”

Ms Carville said: “While this report finds that the department’s existing estate management practices address some aspects of good practice, the absence of an overarching strategy risks storing up greater challenges for the future.”

“The schools’ estate is recognised as a vital public asset, but our findings suggest that the department does not have a full understanding of its true condition.

“That is why this report recommends, among other things, the completion of regular condition surveys to inform future decision-making.

“This data will be vital in supporting a move towards better planning, prioritisation and preventative action which will support schools’ sustainability and deliver better value for money.”

The report also highlights that the Department of Education is currently committed to paying for 20 schools within nine Public Private Partnership (PPP)/Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts.

These schools remain in private ownership until contracts end, when their ongoing maintenance becomes a public sector responsibility.

The auditor said that the first contract ends in 2025, bringing additional maintenance demands on departmental budgets, with maintenance “unlikely to be available on the same basis as during the contract”.

The report urges the department to ensure that it has appropriate plans in place to manage this transition as “assets not in an appropriate condition at handover risk putting additional pressures on the system”.

It also said that the department “did not react as effectively as it could have” after concerns were raised in other parts of the UK about the use of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in school construction between the 1950s and 1990s.

The report said when commissioned to investigate, the Education Authority’s Maintenance Service was quick to identify and complete surveys and to date, only one instance of RAAC has been identified in Northern Ireland.

Education Minister, Paul Givan said there had been “historic under-investment” in schools in Northern Ireland.

He added: “We are now facing a twin crisis of an ageing schools’ estate and requiring large numbers of additional specialist places for rapidly increasing numbers of children with Special Educational Needs.

“I welcome today’s report by the Audit Office which brings into sharp focus the maintenance backlog across the schools’ estate and the challenges faced in managing the estate effectively including funding availability and rising construction costs.

“Children across Northern Ireland have the right to be educated in schools which are comfortable and safe, are of good quality and are properly designed and resourced to support their learning.

“This will require a significant step change in the level of capital investment by the Northern Ireland Executive.”

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