Pupils at Trafalgar, Solent Juniors and Solent Infants will benefit from more funding to improve their school buildings, as part of Labour’s long-term plan to improve the school estate.
- Trafalgar, Solent Juniors and Solent Infants are some of 684 schools across England to receive grant funding to improve school buildings
- Labour invests to replace heating systems, mend roofs, and update electrical works in schools
- Funding is part of Labour’s 10-year plan to deliver a decade of renewal for schools and colleges across England
The Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) grants worth over £450 million will give 684 schools and sixth-form colleges – including Trafalgar, Solent Juniors and Solent Infants – funding to help to replace heating systems, mend roofs and update electrical works, among other projects, after years of declining buildings.
The funding forms part of a wider package of investment in programmes including the School Rebuilding Programme which is rebuilding and refurbishing schools across the country, including those whose buildings contained dangerous RAAC materials.
These programmes form part of Labour’s 10-year plan to renew buildings across education, and are designed to ensure children in Portsmouth can learn in classrooms fit for purpose – with high-quality and inspiring school buildings.
By improving classrooms, Labour is providing the opportunities children need to succeed in education and prepare for future careers.
Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson said: “The defining image of the school estate under the previous government was children sitting under steel props to stop crumbling concrete falling on their heads. It simply isn’t good enough.
“Parents expect their children to learn in a safe warm environment. It’s what children deserve, and it is what we are delivering.
“This investment is about more than just buildings – it’s about showing children that their education matters, their futures matter, and this government is determined to give them the best possible start in life.”
Schools Minister, Josh MacAlister said: “Opportunity for our children starts with a great education, and children can only learn well in buildings that are safe, warm and fit for purpose – not classrooms disrupted by leaking roofs, failing boilers and declining buildings.
“This funding will help schools tackle urgent issues before they become bigger and more costly problems.
“It is part of our longer-term plan to break the cycle of schools and colleges doing patch-and-mend repairs, by committing to unprecedented long-term funding to improve the school and college estate – because world-class classrooms are key in helping children to achieve and thrive.”
MP for Portsmouth North, Amanda Martin said: “Parents across Portsmouth North will remember the terror of the RAAC crisis, the fear that children were no longer safe in their own school because of years of Tory neglect.
“Labour is turning the page through our Plan for Change, literally fixing the foundations of our schools so local children are in a safe environment where the can achieve and thrive.
“With free breakfast clubs, free school meals and safer schools, Labour is setting children up for the best start in life.”
The CIF programme is just one part of the government’s investment of over £2.1 billion for this year to improve the condition of schools, reflecting Labour’s commitment to high-quality buildings that give children and young people the conditions they need to achieve and thrive.
Labour is also investing at least £3.7 billion between 2025 and 2030 to support councils in providing places for children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision, and to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of mainstream settings.
The government’s Education Estates Strategy sets out plans for an education estate that supports opportunity for all, backed by a decade long plan to transform schools and colleges.
