Poor school buildings damaging pupils health and education
BBC News | Judith Burns | Education reporter | 11 May 2016
Too many British pupils are trying to learn in classrooms which are damaging their health and education, say architects.
And too many teachers are quitting, blaming stressful and overcrowded working conditions, says the Royal Institute of British Architects.
It blames rising pupil numbers and government cuts to capital funding.
England’s Department for Education says it will invest £23bn in school buildings over the next five years.
In England, only 5% of 60,000 buildings in 18,000 schools surveyed were in top condition, performing as intended and operating efficiently, according to Riba’s analysis of government figures published last year.
The report also highlights separate figures published by a construction journal in 2014 which suggested almost a quarter (23%) of councils in England rated the condition of school buildings in their areas as “extremely poor” or “very poor”.
“From damp, leaky buildings to serious issues like exposure to asbestos, too many pupils are trying to learn in classrooms that are damaging to their health – and their education,” says the report.
