Building improvements for Derbyshire schools

More than 50 schools across Derbyshire are set to benefit from building improvements thanks to the county council’s £1.6 million funding programme.

Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet has approved proposals to provide 54 Derbyshire primary and secondary schools with joint-funding for maintenance projects costing between £20,000 and £100,000.

The funding is available through the Insurance Maintenance Pool Allocations for 2019-20 – a building maintenance scheme that generates funding from schools which sign up to carry out repairs and improvements – the majority of which the council match-funds.

The current IMP has generated £1,195,800 which has been match-funded with £452,000 from Derbyshire County Council’s children’s services capital budget, totalling the £1,647,800 improvement budget.

The council says that this will now fund projects at 54 schools, including new roofing, boilers, heating systems, new walls, floors, doors and improved path and pedestrian areas.

Maintenance projects as part of this round of IMP funding has a value between £20,000 and £40,000 for primary schools and between £50,000 and £100,000 for secondary schools

Alex Dale, cabinet member for Young People, said: "We are pleased that primary and secondary schools throughout the county are going to benefit from our IMP joint-funding programme. It is vitally important that our schools have the funding available to carry out maintenance projects so every child can learn in the best possible environment and be inspired to achieve their potential.

“We’re keen to approve projects like these which highlights our commitment to helping schools achieve their plans, make improvements and prevent the need for costly repairs in the future. These improvements will not only help us ensure that every child has the best start in life but will also have a positive impact on staff, visitors and the local community.”