£3.55bn school rebuilding plans

More than 1,500 primary schools in England will be rebuilt or refurbished in the next two years under approved building plans valued at £3.55 billion due to be announced by the Government.

Ed Balls is announcing major plans to rebuild schools Ed Balls is announcing major plans to rebuild schools

More than 350 primary schools will be newly built, new facilities will be constructed, and major refurbishment carried out at a further 850 schools and smaller building works will take place at another 350.

Schools secretary Ed Balls said it was a "once-in-a-generation chance to transform primary education in every part of the country".

Ministers have given the green light to plans put forward by 133 local authorities.

A further 15 local authorities will now be given expert advice to help get their plans up to speed, so that more funding can be released next April.

The announcement was welcomed by the British Council for School Environments, who said it was a "real cause for celebration".

Mr Balls said: "This is a once-in-a-generation chance to transform primary education in every part of the country - to sweep away buildings now reaching the end of their shelf life and drive up the quality of our schools.

"A decade ago many classroom facilities were in an appalling condition. Children deserve the best facilities that we can build and teachers deserve better classrooms to work in. Schools are now being revolutionised by the biggest, sustained capital investment for 50 years - benefiting every single primary, secondary, academy and special school in England.

"Today's announcement means we can build state-of-the-art primary schools at the heart of our communities - so every child and family has access to year-round extended childcare; parenting support, after schools activities; and access to ICT, sports and arts facilities."

Ministers said work on the 1,500 schools will begin over the next two years.

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