3:00pm Tuesday 6th January 2009
By Sarah Hilley
HEADTEACHERS have welcomed Swindon Council’s £80m bid to repair or rebuild schools in the town, but some fear there may not be enough money to go around.
The Building Schools for the Future Programme (BSF) is releasing money earlier than planned for school investment in Swindon.
The council has put in a bid for £80m, which could see two new schools, including an academy being built.
Churchfields headteacher Steve Flavin supports the bid, but is disappointed that all schools in need are unlikely to be rebuilt as originally promised by the Government.
He said: “It is clear that the building stock of Swindon schools including secondary, primary and special is in need of urgent attention. I welcome the Government’s decision to bring this forward for Swindon schools.
“However, I am concerned that a Government promise to replace all of the nation’s schools appears to have been constrained. This seems to suggest that some schools will be refurbished when a complete rebuild is necessary.
“I think it is important that the strategy includes wide consultation with schools and their local communities.”
Commonweal headteacher Keith Defter said the school buildings desperately needed investment but welcomed a general cash boost for any school in Swindon.
“The biggest constraint upon Commonweal moving forward is our buildings, which have been the subject of a number of negative comments from Ofsted,” Mr Defter said.
“We are very keen to improve the quality of our facilities for the students at Commonweal.
“If our school is part of a successful bid then we will be happy to be so. But we support the bid irrespective of where the money goes because it is for the general good of Swindon schools.
“Despite the frustration that the situation is no longer the same as when BSF was originally announced, the fact remains if some schools benefit from extra capital investment then it is a good thing.”
Peter Wells, chairman of the Swindon Association of Secondary Headteachers, added: “Obviously an injection of capital funding will enhance all our schools and the provision for all our students so I hope the bid will be successful.
“It is important that members and officers do all they can to attract resources to our town and it is good to see them trying to achieve this for Swindon. But if revenue funding remains low even new buildings will not sustain any improvement.”
Ridgeway School, which is need of major refurbishment, believes it could be overlooked.
Headteacher Steven Colledge said: “The Ridgeway would be one of the last schools to benefit in the current plans due to the Government requirement that funding tackles areas of social need first.”
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