Asbestos Excluded From Schools Surveys

The Education Funding Agency has recent published the result of the Property Data Survey Programme. A schools survey programme where asbestos was excluded from the information collected.

This schools survey programme consisted of a series of high-level surveys of educational establishments in England. The schools surveys were to provide detailed information on the condition of the school estate. The initial purpose for this was to formulate and allocate funding where it is most needed.

18,830 schools were surveyed of which there were 59,967 individual blocks / buildings. – this excludes those schools that had been recently modernised or are part of a long-term PFI arrangement.

As a percentage of the total ‘Condition Need,’ 48% are either in a Poor or Bad condition.

Schools Survey ‘Condition Need’ of 59,967 blocks

• Good.                 Grade A –            (0%)       3,039 blocks have no condition needs
• Satisfactory.    Grade B –             (52%)
• Poor.                  Grade C –            (39%)
• Bad.                    Grade D –            (9%)

The manner in which the results are summarised is indeed not clear.

49 different elements of each building were examined from toilets, fire alarms and decoration to windows, doors, walls and roofs.

Each element has a code that indicates the ’Condition Need’ which gives some indication so that the approximate cost of repair can be calculated.

However alarmingly asbestos was specifically excluded. Therefore many of the estimates detailed within the report will significantly underestimate the actual cost of repair.

This is acknowledged when the report states that the estimates give a relative need rather than a ‘full estimate of the cost of carrying out works in any one building.”

It states that the actual cost will vary significantly from one school to the next depending if temporary buildings are required or asbestos is present.

View the reports here

Property Data Survey Programme Summary Report

Property Data Survey Programme Condition Need Model

For more information regarding asbestos in schools, check out our asbestos in schools page. Or if you would like to speak to one of our consultants please contact us.