School’s renovation plans are unveiled
A West Lothian primary school will be renovated as part of an £800 million project, John Swinney has announced.
The secretary for education announced recently that East Calder Primary School is one of the schools selected across Scotland for the Learning Estate Investment Programme.
All in, 25 new schools and campuses are to be constructed or refurbished to provide modern, state of the art learning facilities for approximately 21,000 children and young people across Scotland.
John Swinney said: “I am pleased to confirm that the projects to benefit from the second phase of the Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) will be announced today.
“Through Phase 2 of the LEIP, 25 new schools and campuses will be constructed or refurbished to provide modern, state of the art learning facilities for approximately 21,000 children and young people across Scotland.
“The Scottish Government contribution, alongside local authority contributions to Phase 2 of the Programme, will help enable almost £800 million of investment across 18 local authorities.”
The programme will deliver digitally enabled, low-carbon schools and campuses, ensuring they are inclusive and welcoming places that meet the needs of the whole community.
Mr Swinney said the investment will boost the construction industry and help economic stimulus with creation of jobs.
The £1 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme aims to benefit around 50,000 pupils across Scotland by the end of the next Parliament and is managed on behalf of the Scottish Government by the Scottish Futures Trust.
Mr Swinney continued: “I am determined that our pupils have access to highquality, up-to-date facilities that parents, staff and children can be proud of.
“This next phase builds on our commitment and proven track record in replacing schools in the poorest condition so that more children or young people can be educated in high quality buildings and ensure equity of provision.
“Scotland’s construction industry has worked incredibly hard to deal with the many challenges presented by the covid pandemic.
“This funding will help the sector, sustaining many jobs and providing a welcome boost to communities across the country.
“Many of the projects will include wider community facilities and integration as part of the new school build or refurbishment.
“These facilities are so much more than just a school where children are educated, they are the centre piece of communities with links to the wider learning estate such as further education facilities and community libraries.”
Councillor Stephen McCabe, COSLA’s Children and Young People spokesperson said: “Scotland’s Councils are determined to provide our Children and Young people with the first class learning environment that they deserve. This second phase of joint investment from Scottish and Local Government has far reaching benefits, but can only be delivered through strong partnership working.
“It’s been a really challenging year for our communities so this is good news , and it gives our children and young people a sense of the importance that all spheres of government place on their learning environments.
“Councils are quite rightly prioritising this investment, at a time when there are real challenges and competing priorities.”
Gemma Boggs, senior associate director at the Scottish Futures Trust, said: “We are delighted to see the launch of phase 2 of the Learning Estate Investment Programme.
“As programme managers, we will continue to work collaboratively with our public and private sector partners to deliver this additional investment which will be welcome news to the construction industry.
“These new or refurbished facilities will provide worldclass, digitally enabled learning environments and be designed with communities at their heart.
“Ambitious programme energy targets will contribute to our net zero goals.”