Sustainability and the School Estate

The Education sector is now entering another big period of change. Audit Partner and Head of Education, Pam Tuckett, looks at how sustainability will play a part in effecting the estate.  

I believe the sector is now entering another big period of change. Whilst we have seen huge change over the last 2 years, there are some equally challenging issues facing the sector which will require trusts to be flexible and forward thinking.

Sustainability 

One of the areas of significant change will be in the school estate and a key element affecting the estate is around sustainability.

This is gathering pace quickly and it is fair to say there are different levels of engagement with this emerging issue, but most Trustees have not yet assessed the likely impact this will have on their trust.

The DfE has issued its draft strategy on sustainability and climate change. The draft strategy states that The UK requires the education sector to play its role in positively responding to climate change.

To understand what this means for the sector we need to look at the government’s wider plans on sustainability.

The government’s industrial decarbonisation strategy forms the basis of the UKs approach to climate change and getting the UK to net zero by 2050.

Whilst there are many considerations for academies, premises is likely to be the biggest area of spend. Much of the school estate is old and cold, with boilers that are not eco-friendly.

Academies will be a key part of the solution as Schools and universities represent 36% of total UK public sector building emissions.

The government has already launched some initiatives to address these issues, but there is a huge task ahead, given that there are 32,000 schools in the UK.

The total estate per the Academy sector annual accounts is valued at 31 Aug 2020 as £56 billion. Equivalent data for maintained schools is not available but bear in mind just over 50% of pupils are now in an academy, so the combined total is likely to be over £100 billion.

The 20-21 condition data from the government’s State of the estate report issued in respect of the Climate Change Act 2008 shows that £11.4 billion is needed to support a net zero pathway for academies.

The government has an ambition to achieve its clean growth strategy of reducing emissions by 50% by 2032. So that is only 10 years away now!  And in our recent survey 89% of academies said they thought they would have to do more in the next 3 years

On top of this, the 2021 Environment Act sets out to restore nature, clean our air, improve water management and decrease waste.

This is likely to introduce initiatives that will impact on schools such as return schemes for drinks containers, drainage and sewerage management planning, and air quality schemes.

What is this going to mean for the Education sector?

It is likely that Trusts will need to prepare a decarbonisation plan for each school/building because without this you cannot assess the cost.

Some trusts eligible for CIF were successful in bidding for funds from the Low Carbon Skills Fund and those trusts need to complete their heat decarbonisation plans before 31 March 2022.

The sector has an opportunity to again lead the way and lead by example.  

There is an expectation that the sector will do this in the same way that it rose to the challenge of covid and led the way on many community issues

But there is a conflict between value for money and doing the right thing. These two principles do not always lead to the same decisions and the sector must raise this with the government to ensure that guidance is produced, perhaps in the next Academy trust Handbook

So, looking forward, estates is going to be a key area for Trusts.

We don’t know if there will be any more funding for this so centralisation of all back-office functions should be on the agenda, as this should help save money which will enable Trusts to spend more on estates amongst other things.

There is no doubt in my view that being in a MAT will help as the central team will lead on this, in a similar way to how they led during covid with the ever-changing rules and risk management.

New build/urgent work

There is some good news for new buildings, which is a good place for the government to start. All new schools must now comply with net zero.

We know that the DfE is investing in 500 major school rebuilding and refurbishment projects across England over the next decade. There are currently 100 projects in the programme.

And there is also good news for urgent building condition issues.

There is an opportunity to submit professional evidence of severe condition need in buildings and apply for separate funding.

This is most likely to include schools where the building condition need is so severe that there is an imminent risk of closure.

Again, these schemes will be net zero. Schemes will include things like bi-solar roofs, sustainable drainage, and other green infrastructure.

Regular Maintenance

But this scheme is not going to help with less critical work which will need to be funded from school condition allocation, condition improvement fund, devolved formula capital, general annual grant, or unrestricted funds.

So, it’s important for all Trusts to understand their estates strategy and where funding will need to come from.

With the recent change to the condition improvement funds rules, academies now have to match fund 30% of the costs to gain maximum points in the bid assessment process.

Perhaps it is now time for MATs to introduce a similar match funding policy for their own schools to enable them to meet the increasing demands of condition issues. This would also mean a level playing field for schools across the academy sector.

There is good guidance on this on both the DfE website and the Trust Network website which is a peer support group.

The Trust Network upcoming Estates conference on 9 March is worth a  look. The more the sector can share knowledge and experience the better.

We know that the sector lobbied the DfE for additional funding of £5.8billion as part of the public sector spending review last year, but this focussed on educational needs coming out of covid. There was nothing in this bid for money that will need to be spent on the estate.

Trusts need to understand the implications of funding on how they tackle the issues facing their school estate. And they need to start thinking about sustainability, as it’s better to be on the front foot and know what it is coming in the short term.