By Paul Dicken
14 July 2010
Many school buildings in Wales are still not ‘fit for purpose’, despite attempts to address years of underinvestment, auditors have said.
A report by the Wales Audit Office, published today, said Welsh Government programmes had made significant improvements to the school estate. However, there was still a long way to go to bring all schools up to the same level because of weaknesses in capital spending management.
The WAO found that effective planning was hampered by a lack of reliable information and local authorities’ reluctance to rationalise schools, following falls in pupil numbers.
The watchdog also warned that some local authorities did not have enough expertise to achieve relatively large programmes of investment.
Interim auditor general Gillian Body said: ‘A lot of work has gone into trying to get the schools estate in Wales up to scratch, and many pupils and teachers have benefited from a much improved working environment. However, there have been weaknesses in the management and evaluation of the capital investment.’
The Welsh Government and Welsh Local Government Association have offered to help councils draw together asset management data, thereby improving planning.
The WAO is recommending that the Welsh Government evaluates the impact of major school building projects and establishes clearer criteria for determining if schools are suitable.
14 July 2010
Many school buildings in Wales are still not ‘fit for purpose’, despite attempts to address years of underinvestment, auditors have said.
A report by the Wales Audit Office, published today, said Welsh Government programmes had made significant improvements to the school estate. However, there was still a long way to go to bring all schools up to the same level because of weaknesses in capital spending management.
The WAO found that effective planning was hampered by a lack of reliable information and local authorities’ reluctance to rationalise schools, following falls in pupil numbers.
The watchdog also warned that some local authorities did not have enough expertise to achieve relatively large programmes of investment.
Interim auditor general Gillian Body said: ‘A lot of work has gone into trying to get the schools estate in Wales up to scratch, and many pupils and teachers have benefited from a much improved working environment. However, there have been weaknesses in the management and evaluation of the capital investment.’
The Welsh Government and Welsh Local Government Association have offered to help councils draw together asset management data, thereby improving planning.
The WAO is recommending that the Welsh Government evaluates the impact of major school building projects and establishes clearer criteria for determining if schools are suitable.
