A guide to the School Rebuilding Programme

Information about the School Rebuilding Programme – including how responsible bodies can nominate a school

The School Rebuilding Programme carries out major school and sixth form college rebuilding and refurbishment projects across England. The School Rebuilding Programme is a 10-year programme that was announced in 2020, with 100 schools selected for the programme in 2021. This rebuilding programme is for schools with buildings in very poor condition which need to be refurbished or replaced. There are a very limited number of places on the programme and priority will be given to schools with the most severe condition need. The DfE reserves the flexibility to include schools in the programme for a small number of cases where the severe and urgent need for rebuilding is identified outside the processes set out in this guidance.

Currently confirmed schools

There are currently 100 confirmed projects in the programme; the DfE announced the first 50 schools in the programme in February 2021 and the second set of 50 schools in July 2021. The first 100 schools were prioritised because they either have buildings:

• of specific construction types that require replacement; or
• with the highest condition need, identified in data collected in the Condition Data Collection and verified through the collection of additional condition information

You can find more information about how the DfE prioritised schools in the published methodology notes for the first 50 schools and the second set of 50 schools.

Prioritisation of schools for future projects

The DfE consulted the school sector on the approach to prioritising schools for future places on the programme between 19 July and 8 October 2021. The government’s response to the consultation has now been published and the approach the DfE has adopted for the current selection process is based on feedback received in the consultation.

In 2022-23 the programme expects to prioritise up to 300 schools, reserving remaining places for later in the programme. Schools selected will be informed that they have been provisionally allocated a place on the programme, subject to further due diligence, and projects will then enter delivery at a rate of 50 per year. The DfE have published an equalities impact assessment, covering the impact of their selection approach on school building users with protected characteristics.

Information about the School Rebuilding Programme and previous prioritisation rounds is available. This includes the government’s response to the consultation on future prioritisation of the programme. 

Guidance for responsible bodies on how to nominate schools for the next round of the programme has now been published. Responsible bodies can nominate schools from 3 February 2022 to 3 March 2022 using the online portal. Responsible bodies will have an additional four weeks to submit supplementary evidence where the need is severe enough to require the school to close imminently and this can only be resolved through a rebuild. This can be submitted until 31 March 2022.

Responsible bodies have a responsibility for the safety and maintenance of the buildings in their care; if a responsible body has urgent and severe condition needs that it is unable to resolve it should contact the Department for Education (DfE) for advice.

Nominate a school for the School Rebuilding Programme

This nomination guidance is for responsible bodies that would like to nominate a school or schools for consideration in School Rebuilding Programme in 2022, for the next selection round. It explains how to register for and use the online portal and what information to submit.

Responsible bodies – are those responsible for school and sixth-form college buildings, including:

• academy trusts;
• local authorities;
• governing bodies;
• voluntary aided (VA) school bodies acting on the governing body’s behalf.

The types of schools which can be considered for the programme are the same as in rounds one and two, the list can be found on the round two methodology page.

Buildings will be referred to as ‘blocks’, as they are in the Condition Data Collection report. One school building can consist of more than one block; for example, if a building was extended after originally being built, those separate parts will be categorised as separate blocks because their age, construction type and condition could differ.

If you choose to nominate a school you will be asked on the portal to identify blocks for consideration. Nominating a school does not guarantee it will be included in the programme. The DfE plan to confirm the schools that have been selected for the next round of the programme later this year. 

There are two ways to nominate a school for the programme.

1. Block nomination

Responsible bodies should nominate the school(s) they would like to be considered through the online portal, listing the blocks they consider need rebuilding. The DfE will then assess this nomination against the first CDC1 data. There must be a minimum threshold of 1200m² of severe condition need. The gross internal floor area (GIFA) can comprise several blocks within the school, or one single block meeting the total.

2. Exceptional cases

Exceptional cases include where:

• you deem the condition of the blocks to be so severe as to risk imminent closure (or a block is already closed);
• the issues have not been captured by CDC1 (such as structural issues);
• the issues can only be resolved through a rebuild.

In these cases you can submit professional evidence to support your contention that the school block(s) are likely to be forced to close within the next three years, or have already been forced out of use. You must only submit a block for consideration if you are able to meet the acceptable evidence criteria defined in the guidance.

You must provide professional evidence from the last three years to demonstrate the severity of need. This evidence is also to be submitted through the online portal. There is no minimum GIFA requirement for severe condition needs that are nominated in this way.

Process for selection

The process for selection in 2022 allows responsible bodies to submit a nomination for schools that meet the definition of rebuilding need. The information provided through the online portal must be submitted by the responsible body, rather than individual schools. If you are a school that would like to be considered the DfE recommend that you talk to your responsible body about which school(s) are being considered for nomination.

The DfE will review available information, including pupil capacity, before confirming provisional successful schools; if a school that you nominate is successful in entering the programme the timescale to deliver the project will be confirmed with you. You will need to make provisions for estate maintenance, making sure block(s) remain safe until the completion of the building project.

If your nomination is successful feasibility studies will be undertaken to determine the block(s) in the scope of the project; this is based on their assessed condition need – it is not guaranteed that every block you nominate will be included.

The online portal will be available for you to submit information from 3 February 2022.