Millions needed to fix schools in 'state of disrepair'

Many schools in Northern Ireland "are in a state of disrepair," and it would take up to £800m to fix them.

A damning report from assembly members on Stormont's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the school maintenance backlog "may pose a risk to the health and safety of pupils and staff".

Spending watchdog, the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO), had previously found that many schools needed "significant repair".

Education Minister Paul Givan said he acknowledged the PAC's concerns and shared its commitment to ensuring that every child is educated in a safe, modern, and inclusive environment.

The PAC said there had been "systemic failure in the management of Northern Ireland's school estate," in which there are more than 1,100 schools.

The report said that many children and teachers were working in overcrowded, poorly heated and "failing structures".

The members said that the Department of Education (DE) and Education Authority (EA) had relied on "a reactive short-term approach", rather than having a "clear plan" for taking care of school buildings.

They called that "an alarming example of poor governance," and said the department's approach was "unsustainable, ineffective and economically wasteful".

The report also criticised the collaboration between the EA and the department.

The committee said the school maintenance backlog was between £600m and £800m.

They set out several recommendations for change, including more regular condition surveys of schools and a comprehensive strategy and annual delivery plan from DE.

"The school estate is in unacceptably poor condition for children and staff and action is long overdue," they said.

The principal of Whiteabbey Primary School said his pupils are "in sub-standard accommodation".

Keith Wysner said the school recently benefitted from three permanent replacement classrooms.

"In 2025, that's the first permanent provision of classroom accommodation since 1939."

The principal of Presentation Primary School in Portadown said his schools heating system is "not fit for purpose" and has "actually been condemned".

"Our boiler has been condemned for a good while now so the work still hasn't been carried out on that. We do have heating but it's very, very temperamental," said Gavin Fox.

The principal of Mercy College post-primary school in north Belfast, Martin Moreland, called the issues uncovered by the PAC report "unacceptable".

Mr Moreland said the school was in line for a new building, "but getting there is probably going to be a 10-year journey".

"Whilst you're waiting on that, it's a very expensive job maintaining an old school," he said.

"We've ongoing and frequent problems with heating, lighting, very dimly lit rooms because of the old lights, leaks in roofs constantly.

"We had several incidents last year where the heating system broke down on really cold days."

In a statement, the EA said it welcomed the publication of the report, "which clearly reflects the scale of the financial challenges faced by the education sector".

"Recurring shortfalls in budgets mean that no funding is available for routine maintenance of the school estate", the statement said, and only urgent repairs are undertaken.

"This limited but unavoidable focus inevitably leads to deterioration in the condition of the estate."

However, the EA said it was taking action "in relation to the £29m statutory remedial backlog referenced in the report".

The Education Minister Paul Givan welcomed the PAC's focus on "urgent need for investment in the schools' estate".

In a statement Givan said: "I acknowledge the committee's concerns and share its commitment to ensuring that every child in Northern Ireland is educated in a safe, modern, and inclusive environment.

"I value the report's contribution in exposing the scale of the challenge, particularly the chronic underinvestment in our schools' estate over many years."

The minister said the key issue is a lack of funding.

He said: "Nowhere is the pressure more acute than in Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision.

"The cost of emergency SEN placements has soared from £9 million in 2019 to a projected £85 million this year, which is an 850% increase in just six years."

He said he was committed to improving the condition of the schools estate, but was calling for urgent, cross-party support to secure the investment needed.