The Conservative Government is providing a share of £500 million for energy efficiency upgrades for schools and colleges in the Forest of Dean.
The extra funding will help schools save on their energy bills during the winter months and manage energy consumption, after Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine has driven up energy prices worldwide.
The extra funding from the Conservative Government will not only help schools and colleges save money, it will also make them more energy efficient during the cold period and increase winter resilience for future years.
On average, a primary school will receive approximately £16,000, a secondary school will receive around £42,000, and further education college groups will benefit from approximately £290,000.
State schools and colleges will be supported with installing better heating controls, insulation to reduce heat loss from pipes, or switching to energy efficient lighting. The funding will be available in the coming weeks, helping to accelerate work ahead of the colder months.
This extra funding comes on top of £1.8 billion of capital investment already committed this year by the Conservative Government for improving the condition of school buildings.
More broadly, we are taking steps to ensure that schools have the funding to deliver for pupils. In the Autumn statement the Chancellor announced £2 billion for schools over each of the next two years – increasing school spending to the highest real terms level in history.
For a typical primary school with 200 pupils, the extra funding from the Autumn Statement will equate to approximately £28,000, and approximately £170,000 for a typical secondary school with 900 pupils.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has highlighted this uplift will mean 2024-25 will be the highest spending year in history for schools.
Average funding per pupil for mainstream schools will increase by approximately five percent overall in the next financial year compared to 2022-23. As part of this funding local councils will also receive an extra £400 million for high needs budgets to help support children with special education needs or disabilities.
It’s important that schools and colleges are energy efficient so they can provide the best possible learning environments for young people, minimise operating costs and reduce carbon emissions.
Here’s how we are supporting schools and colleges to become more energy efficient ⬇️
— Department for Education (@educationgovuk) December 6, 2022
This article was first published in the Forester newspaper.