£47m for schools

LANCASHIRE County Council’s Cabinet has approved a report which sets out priorities for spending £47 million on the county’s school buildings over the next three years.

The schools capital grant allocation comes from the Department for Education to enable the county council to provide the right number of school places across the county and ensure its schools are in good condition.

The £47m investment will be spent on supporting an increase in pupil places, targeted investment in mainstream and special schools and maintenance of school building stock.

County councillor Susie Charles, cabinet member for children, young people and schools, said: “This investment is wonderful news for children and young people in Lancashire.

“It means we can provide the right number of school places across the county, popular schools can expand to meet demand and we can keep our schools in good condition.

“We are fortunate to have excellent schools in our county, providing a first-rate education, and this investment will help us build on our current success.”

The cash will be spent on providing additional mainstream primary and secondary school places. Some will also be invested in projects in special schools and in replacing temporary buildings with permanent ones in cases when their deteriorating condition could jeopardise the school’s ability to cater for the current number of pupils. Some of the money will also go towards community, voluntary controlled and foundation schools.