Rochdale Borough Council approves funding to upgrade primary schools

This investment, funded by the Department for Education (DfE) Basic Need and School Condition Allocation grant, was approved by councillors at a recent cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 18 March 2025.

18 schools maintained by the local authority will benefit from the grant in total, with works set to feature roof replacements, heating upgrades, accessibility improvements and safety enhancements.

Some schools will also benefit from toilet renovations and resurfacing of external areas among other areas of improvement.

Councillor Rachel Massey, portfolio lead for children’s services and education, said:

“We want our children and young people to continue to have access to a good education.

“This fundamentally starts with high quality teaching but also a learning environment where the facilities they use are of a good standard because this goes hand in hand in giving our children and young people the very best opportunities to grow and flourish when they are at school.

“This grant from the DfE helps us to achieve this with upgrades to a number of our local primary schools, an investment I know will be warmly welcomed by our local teachers, pupils and parents.”

Works will now go out to tender ahead of these developments being carried out.

The grant comes as part of wider funds issued by the DfE to support the needs of provision for school places and the works to address condition needs of school buildings and estates.