Yesterday, I spoke in an important debate on SEND provision in schools. I raised the case of Westfield School in Leominster, and asked the Government to commit to the School Rebuilding Programme and the vital capital funding it provides. As my question was not answered, I wrote to the Minister of State for School Standards to clarify the Government’s position.

The full text of my letter is below.

Letter to Catherine McKinnell MP, Minister of State for School Standards (Department for Education)

Dear Catherine,

I write to you today to ask that you clarify whether the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is on track, and to urge you to prioritise and accelerate its implementation so that no further delays occur. I raised this issue in the debate in the Chamber today on the NAO report on support for children and young people with SEND.

I recently visited Westfield School in Leominster, and saw with my own eyes the desperate need for long-overdue capital investment. Westfield is one of the hundreds of schools in the country that was allocated funding under the SRP in 2020, but it is suffering from the very slow and delayed implementation of the programme. I understand that, under the previous government, implementation of Phase 1 was much slower than expected, and this has understandably caused anxiety for schools like Westfield that have been promised funding in the coming years.

Please could you clarify whether your department remains committed to the SRP, what is being done to bring its implementation back on track, and when Westfield School can expect its much-needed and previously-promised school rebuilding programme to begin?

Thank you for your attention to this important issue. I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Ellie Chowns