All the major repairs planned for Lancashire schools over the next year

Roof defects, faulty boilers and potential health and safety issues are amongst the problems that will be rectified using money allocated from the government’s Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).

A total of 35 schemes will be undertaken at 30 schools in the Lancashire County Council and Blackpool and Blackpool with Darwen council areas after bids were made to the Department for Education (DfE) for financial support.

The cost of each project has not been revealed – nor the total amount allocated to Lancashire’s trio of local education authorities. However, the county has been awarded a share of the £54m earmarked for the North West during 2025/26 from a £470m nationwide pot.

The funding is in addition to the £16m Lancashire this year received via the annual School Condition Allocations (SCA) distributed to local authorities – £14.5m for the county council and £1.4m and £357K for Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool councils, respectively.

When plans for that cash were set out by Lancashire County Council back in January, the authority acknowledged that it would not be enough to tackle all of the top-priority school maintenance problems in its patch – only those deemed most severe.

CIF funding bids were made to address health and safety risks and buildings in poor condition or those with “compliance” issues in relation to meeting relevant regulations.

WHAT IS BEING DONE WHERE?

The DfE has issued the following descriptions of the works to be funded by the CIF in Lancashire during 2025/26, broken down by district by the Local Democracy Reporting Service:

Blackburn with Darwen

St Wilfrid’s Church of England Academy – external wall cladding replacement

Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School – fire safety improvement works

Queen Elizabeth’s Primary School – electrical safety and statutory compliance works to the infant and junior schools

Blackpool

Roseacre Primary Academy – fire safety and compliance upgrade of fire doors and screens to current regulations; and phase 2 rewiring works to main building

Thames Primary Academy – fire safety and compliance upgrade of fire doors and screens to current regulations

Burnley

Wheatley Lane Methodist Primary School – fire safety and compliance works to address life safety matters

Chorley

Albany Academy – urgent replacement of failed boiler plant and hot water plant to main block

Gillibrand Primary School – fire safety and compliance upgrade of fire doors and screens to current regulations

Highfield Community Primary School – urgent replacement of fire alarm system; electrical safety and compliance urgent electrical rewire of whole school

Southlands High School – electrical safety and statutory compliance, including asbestos removal

St Michael’s Church of England High School – fire safety and compliance upgrade of fire doors and screens to current regulations

Hyndburn

Accrington Huncoat Primary School – replacement of single-glazed timber windows and doors

Oswaldtwistle West End Primary School – replacement of failing roof coverings

Rhyddings, Oswaldtwistle – replacement of failing roof coverings

Lancaster

Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School – structural failure of external walls

Pendle

Colne Lord Street School – site security and safeguarding project

Colne Park High School – replacement of windows and doors

Preston

St. Bernard’s Catholic Primary School, Preston – urgent electrical safety works to prevent health and safety issues

St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Preston – fire safety and compliance works to address life safety matters

St. Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, Preston – urgent fire alarm replacement

The Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School, Preston – fire safety and compliance works to address life safety matters

Ribble Valley

Clitheroe Royal Grammar School – urgent replacement of failed boiler plant hot water plant and central heating system to main school; urgent replacement of oil-fired boiler plant central heating system to the sixth form site (phase 1)

Rossendale

St. John With St Michael Church of England Primary School, Whitworth – partial mechanical systems refurbishment

South Ribble

Academy@Worden – electrical safety and statutory compliance with asbestos removal; works to renew defective roofs

Leyland Methodist Infant School – essential improvement to address urgent safeguarding issues

Lostock Hall Academy – replacement of life-expired single-glazed curtain walling to school hall and gymnasium

West Lancashire

Maharishi Free School, Ormskirk – urgent fire safety and statutory compliance works

Up Holland High School – urgent heating distribution replacement

Wyre

Baines School, Poulton-le-Fylde – roof repairs to T Block

Hodgson Academy, Poulton-le-Fylde – electrical rewire of main teaching buildings (phase 2); renewal of defective flat roof coverings

Source: Department for Education