Responding after the government confirmed funding for school building repair projects for 2025/26, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“School leaders frequently tell us of the unacceptable building conditions with which pupils and staff are having to contend - from RAAC to leaking roofs, draughty portable cabins and school dinners being served in corridors.

“The £300m funding boost for desperately needed repairs is a welcome start, but the National Audit Office has highlighted figures showing the true cost of restoring crumbling school buildings is a staggering £13.8bn.

“The separate funding for school rebuilding, while also a step in the right direction, gets the previous government’s inadequate 10-year programme back on track, but that is only supposed to benefit around 50 schools a year.

“It is clear that much more government investment and a long-term plan is needed to restore the school estate to at least a satisfactory condition.”