South East schools will 'absolutely' get funding

The education secretary has said schools in the South East will "absolutely" get the funding required for new buildings and maintenance.

Bridget Phillipson and the Chancellor Rachel Reeves paid a visit to a school in Kent on Thursday to announce an additional £20bn to expand the Schools Building Programme over the next decade.

But the secretary of state did not identify which schools in the South East would be joining the expanded programme, saying: "We'll work through all of that process... we want to make sure we're identifying the schools that have the greatest need."

Opposition politicians in the area accused her of not understanding the pressures on schools.

Wrotham School, near Sevenoaks, was selected by the previous Conservative government to join the scheme in 2021, and work on the new buildings is due to finish in 2026.

Its teachers say funding announced by the Labour government has secured the future of the re-build.

Asked whether she could guarantee schools in the region would be part of the new programme, she replied: "Absolutely, we'll make sure that the South East gets the funding that's required in order not just to rebuild schools, but also to put money into maintenance at the schools that are already there, but need extra support too."

More than 500 schools are part of the existing Schools Building Programme. The government says the funding announced on Thursday will allow the re-build of a further 250 schools.

The announcement is part of the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, which sets out the government's long-term plan for economic, housing and social infrastructure.

It comes after last week's Spending Review, in which the chancellor was criticised by some South East politicians for "ignoring" the region.

The deputy leader of East Sussex County Council, Nick Bennett, said: "I don't think she got lower than Milton Keynes.

"I'm not sure they've really got some of the pressures around deprivation and need around health and social issues that there is in [Sussex]."

Responding to criticism the South East is being neglected, Phillipson said the government wanted to see "good, strong growth right across the country".

She said she wanted to see "brilliant opportunities for our children and job opportunities being created".

"That's why we'll make sure that there are great new schools being rebuilt in the South East and right across England," she added.

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