Speaking ahead of the government’s Spring Budget statement on Wednesday (15 March), Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“While there are many demands on the government in this Budget, there cannot be any more important than the safety of children and school buildings.”

It has recently been revealed that the government admits that the risk of some school buildings collapsing is ‘very likely’, but has said it doesn’t know which ones are at risk.

Mr Whiteman continued: “Ultimately, this comes down to funding. Since 2010 we have seen a 50% real-terms decline in capital funding and the government has allowed the school estate to fall into a state of disrepair.

“Currently, there is no sign of a proper plan or meaningful extra funding to help identify all these buildings and, more importantly, make them safe.

“In the most serious cases, children’s lives are potentially being put in jeopardy and we need to see far greater urgency from the government in taking action to make sure that these buildings are made safe.

“The budget this week is an opportunity for the Treasury to give the Department for Education the resources it needs to make this a priority.”