Maree Todd highlights ‘substantial progress’ in condition of school buildings under SNP
Maree Todd has hailed the “substantial progress” made in school buildings since the SNP came to power at Holyrood 17 years ago.
The 2024 School Estate Statistics, released earlier this month, reveal that a record 91.7 per cent of school buildings across Scotland are now in “good” or “satisfactory” condition – up by 29 percentage points since the SNP took office in 2007.
In the Highlands, only 38 per cent of schools were rated as being in “good” or “satisfactory” condition in 2008, a year after the SNP came to power. This percentage has increased to 67 in 2024.
Ms Todd, the MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, noted that Scotland’s Schools for the Future and the Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) – both delivered in partnership with Highland Council – have played a key role in upgrading school facilities in the region.
“These figures highlight the major improvements the SNP Scottish Government has made to the school estate in the Highlands and across Scotland,” Ms Todd said.
“LEIP has provided substantial funding for improvements to the Highland school estate in both phase one and phase two, including upgrades to the Tain 3-18 campus, Broadford Primary School and Nairn Academy.
“Highland Council was also one of the biggest beneficiaries in the previous £1.8 billion Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme, receiving over £63m towards five school projects, including Wick High School and Alness Academy in my constituency.”
Ms Todd added: “While I recognise that some areas of the Highland school estate still need improvement, it’s encouraging to see the substantial progress made by the SNP government since it took office.
“I have received assurances from the cabinet secretary for education, Jenny Gilruth, that the Scottish Government will continue to work alongside COSLA [the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities], local government partners and Scottish Futures Trust to explore how it can deliver further improvements in the school estate.
“The SNP Scottish Government has made investing in public services one of its top priorities and will continue to invest to ensure that all pupils learn in the best possible environment.”
Ms Gilruth said: “This government is determined to deliver high-quality learning environments for all pupils in Scotland – and a key part of that is delivering a world-class school estate.
“Positive school environments play a huge role in the education of Scotland’s young people and our investment is paying dividends, with a record high number of schools being in ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’ condition.
“The Scottish Government is continuing its investment in the school estate through the £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme.
“As set out in our Programme for Government, construction will begin on a further eight school building projects over the next year. This means that by the end of 2027/28 Scotland will have seen 47 modern, state-of-the-art school buildings open, thanks to our investment.”
